London by William Blake
Ever wondered what life was really like for ordinary people during the Industrial Revolution? Blake's "London" gives you a brutal, honest look at a city where corruption and poverty have taken over everything.
The poem follows Blake as he wanders through "chartered streets" - the word "chartered" means controlled or regulated, showing how even the streets and River Thames are owned by corrupt authorities. Everything that should be free, including nature itself, has been claimed by those in power.
Blake uses rhyming couplets and a fixed structure that mirrors the oppression he's describing. Just like the people are trapped by their circumstances, the poem is trapped in its rigid form. The repetition of "every" throughout the poem emphasises how universal this suffering has become.
The "mind-forged manacles" is one of the poem's most important metaphors. These aren't physical chains - they're psychological prisons that people have created in their own minds, making them believe they can't escape their terrible conditions.
Key insight: Blake focuses on what he hears rather than sees, using auditory imagery to show how suffering echoes throughout the entire city.