Research Paper on "William Blake's London"
Research Paper 4 pages (1212 words) Sources: 6
[EXCERPT] . . . .
Suffering in William Blake's "London"William Blake's poem, "London," revives a certain place and time in Great Britain when mankind seemed to be hanging on the precipice of disaster. The city is in pain and a good deal of this pain comes from society itself. The things mankind works to achieve and the things he thinks he needs are often the things that bring eventual destruction and despair. The poet explores this notion by observing free people in a city where freedom seems to be the least of anyone's concern. Happiness is more than modernity but it is difficult to define from where happiness comes in this scene. The Church and the government are often seen as pillars in the community, offering strength and support but this is an idealist view of what these institutions can actually do for mankind. Through powerful imagery and a touch of irony, Blake forces us to look at what causes man the most pain and, in this case, it is something he created in hopes to find a brighter future not a bleak forecast.
"London" asks us to look at the types of decay eating away at the city. Social and religious matters weight the city down rather than create an atmosphere of building up the individual. Roy Graves points out how the poem is a "dark social commentary" (Graves), focusing on the misery of the people to prove his points. The poem is:
Overwhelmingly concerned with social and political acts and . . . revolves around the institutions of Church, Law, property, generational inheritance and marriage" (Esterhammer 23), writes Esterhammer. Social institutions have already labeled individuals, according to Esterhammer. The poem is also concerned with the "power of di
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We see this in the poet's recollection. As he walks the streets, he sees "marks of weakness, marks of woe" (Blake 4) on the faces of those around him. He hears "every cry of man" (5) and the "Chimney-sweeper's cry / Every blackening Church appalls, / and the hapless Soldier's sigh" (9-12). Continuing on, he hears how the "youthful Harlot's curse / Blasts the new-born Infant's tear, / and blights with plagues the Marriage hearse" (14-6). These scenes are gripping and the saddest aspect of them is that it does not take much to imagine them. In the last scene, the poet attempts to show us the fear he experienced when he heard the baby cry. Martin Price states the "visible stain has become a virulent infection, and its power is caught in the terrible poetic condensation that sees the marriage coach as already a hearse" (Price). The existence of the youthful harlot . . . is more than a source of physical infection; it is a symptom of the moral disease . . . Each cry or sigh or curse arises from a single individual's grief" (Price). Each baby represents another human life that was headed toward suffering and oppression. Stephen Lambert notes that the "Church is simultaneously a blackener and self-blackening" (Lambert). The Sweeper is covered in soot, which is what Lambert refers to as Blake's "sense of karmic justice that the Church's impiety and scorn are reverted" (Lambert). The Soldier's sigh stains the walls of the institution with blood just as the Sweeper's cry lands on his oppressor, "blackening it in kind" (Lambert). These images are connected with their pain and seemingly unanswerable situation.
The poem is as mental as it is physical. Harold Pagliaro maintains the poem represents "powerful overflow of inner state into outer world" (Pagliaro), as it explores the "destructive work done… READ MORE
Quoted Instructions for "William Blake's London" Assignment:
Research Essay - Analyze William Blake*****s *****London***** by using research on the social, religious, political, and/or economic conditions of London at the time the poem was composed. You also should refer to literary critiques of the poem and/or of Blake*****s poetry in general. [this poem is accessible via http://www.poetry-online.org/blake_london_sad.htm or, in the event of a dead link, by Google].
Essay Form Requirements:
1. Length: The essay must be between 1000-1200 words in length.
2. The essay must be typed and the lines double-spaced.
3. Use a 12 point font. No fancy fonts.
4. Number your pages (except for front).
5. You do not need a separate cover sheet with your essays.
6. Use MLA format to document the work and the page numbers of quotations.
7. Be sure to complete a Works Cited page that includes six (6) research sources. In addition to these six critical sources, you will need to cite the poem(s) you are analyzing in your essay. Therefore, you will need at least seven (7) entries in your Works Cited. You MUST have at least one book source (that is not our text).
8. In the essay, you must quote from at least three (3) research sources. You will also quote extensively from the poem(s) you are analyzing.
9. You will need at least one block quotation (from either a poem or a critical source) in your essay. Please see the writing section under the *****Content***** tab for information about using block quotation.
10. Complete and submit your essay by the deadline; NO late work will be accepted.
Content and Organization Checklist:
ï¯ An introductory paragraph that identifies the title and author of the work you will examine, provides a brief summary of the work, and clearly establishes the context of your discussion
ï¯ A very specific Thesis Statement at the end of your introductory paragraph. Underline your thesis statement.
ï¯ Individual body paragraphs that contain one central focus each (Note: You MUST have more than one body paragraph)
Clear, analytical topic sentences in your body paragraphs
ï¯ Quotations from the work you analyze (Rule of thumb: Include at least one quotation per body paragraph, but preferably more.)
ï¯ Clear and thorough an*****s of all of your quotations. Never begin or end a paragraph with a quotation. You should always introduce your quote and, after the quote, explain its significance or how it proves your point.
ï¯ Clear and thorough explanations of both the significance of your points and their relationship to your thesis
ï¯ A thorough concluding paragraph that does not simply restate your thesis but expands upon it
ï¯ Appropriate quotation style and parenthetical documentation (See your writing handbook for details or the *****MLA Section***** under the *****Content***** tab.
ï¯ No 1st or 2nd person pronouns (I, me, we, us, you, etc); use ONLY 3rd person (he, she, they, the reader, etc).
This is DUE by - DECEMBER 3rd, 2010
How to Reference "William Blake's London" Research Paper in a Bibliography
“William Blake's London.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2010, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/suffering-william-blake-london/2384. Accessed 26 Jun 2024.
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