London - William Blake - Brief Introduction

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Willaim Blake was a 19th-century writer and artist, was regarded as the seminal figure of the Romantic age. Born in 1757 in London, began writing at an early age. Blake respected Bible but disliked organized religion such as the church of England. He often wrote about rebelling against the misuse of power and class. Blake died in 1827, London.

Apart from his various works, Blake's most celebrated works are 'Songs of Innocence (1789)' and 'Songs of Experience (1794)'. After the publication of the latter, both are regarded as the companion piece of another. 'Songs of Innocence' focused on the simple moral lessons for children to learn emphasizing nature. Whereas on the other hand 'Songs of experience (1794)' focused on the much harder, harsher view of the corrupted world by humans, and in terms of the power and conflict cluster 'London' which is characterized under 'Songs of Experience' can be seen as a critique of human power, exposing the distance between those in power and those who are suffering. The suffering mentioned in this poem is inescapable because it is caused by those in control.

Historical Context in the poem:

Industrialization plays a prominent role in this poem. When Blake was born the population of London was around 76,000 but only a hundred years later it was over three million. this major rise in population was due to the Industrial Revolution of which Blake was really against it. Industrial Revolution began around 1760, which was a drastic change from country life to city life. It also brought a big change in agriculture. As a consequence, London became a smoke ridden city as nature was being ruined. This is an important contextual factor explored in Blake's poem.   



Look out for the next post for stanza wise explanation of the poem.

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