Blake's London

In Blake's "London" the speaker connects various characters and socio/political institutions in order to critique the injustices perpetrated in England. The busy, commercial city of London functions as a space in which the speaker can imagine the inescapable interconnections of English institution and citizens. Although separated by differences of class and gender, the citizens of London brush up against each other so that the misery of the poor and dispossessed is a direct indictment …

…poem, which addresses the pervasive sense of misery and entrapment that existed in the city. For us, it is a window into a not so happy past that existed in Europe during the 18th century. It is also striking how some of these 3 problems still seem to plague us today. Blake's poem "London" is truly a timeless comment on the injustices that so many people in so many societies have been faced with throughout time.