London
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| ←The Little Vagabond | Songs of Experience (London) by William Blake |
The Human Abstract→ |
| London is a poem by William Blake, published in Songs of Experience in 1794. It is the only poem in Songs of Experience which does not
have a corresponding poem in Songs of Innocence.
The poem was published during the aftermath of the French revolution. William Blake was an unorthodox Christian of the dissenting tradition, who felt that the state was abandoning those in need. He was heavily influenced by mystical groups, and believed he had conversations with his dead brother. The poem reflects Blake's extreme disillusionment with the suffering he saw in London.
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I wander thro' each charter'd street,
Near where the charter'd Thames does flow,
And mark in every face I meet,
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.
In every cry of every Man,
In every Infant’s cry of fear,
In every voice, in every ban,
The mind-forg'd manacles I hear.
How the Chimney-sweeper’s cry
Every black'ning Church appalls;
And the hapless Soldier’s sigh
Runs in blood down Palace walls.
But most, thro' midnight streets I hear
How the youthful Harlot’s curse
Blasts the new born Infant’s tear,
And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse.
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This work is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago. |
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