surffering in WP and LONDON

thesis

Both poets present suffering as widespread and disturbing, but while Blake shows it as constant and inescapable within society, Duffy highlights how suffering is observed yet ultimately ignored by others.

p1

widespread nature of suffering, Both poets present suffering as everywhere.

• London: “charter’d Thames”
  → even nature is controlled → suffering is everywhere
  → suggests no escape from oppression

• War Photographer:
  “spools of suffering set out in ordered rows”
  → metaphor shows large-scale suffering being processed
  → “ordered” contrasts with chaotic reality

Context:

• William Blake wrote during the Industrial Revolution, when cities were overcrowded and poverty was widespread

• Carol Ann Duffy reflects a modern world where war is documented and consumed through media

Blake = suffering is built into society

Duffy = suffering is captured but distanced

p2

psychological impact of war, Both show suffering affecting the mind.

• London: “mind-forg’d manacles”
  → metaphor → people are mentally trapped
  → suffering is internal as well as physical

• War Photographer:
  “a half-formed ghost… he remembers the cries of the man’s wife, how he sought approval”
  → ghost imagery → haunting memory and trauma

Context:

• Blake suggests people are conditioned by powerful institutions (Church, monarchy)

• Duffy reflects modern awareness of trauma and PTSD, especially in those exposed to war

Link:

• Both show suffering as psychological, not just physical

• Blake = collective entrapment

• Duffy = individual emotional trauma

p3

society’s response to suffering, Blake criticises those in power, Duffy criticises the public.

• London: “marks of weakness, marks of woe”
  → repetition shows constant suffering
  → implies society ignores or accepts it

• War Photographer:
  “the reader’s eyeballs prick with tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers”
  → juxtaposition → brief sympathy but quick return to comfort

Context:

• Blake criticises institutional neglect during the Industrial Revolution

• Duffy criticises Western society’s indifference to global suffering

Link:

• Blake = suffering is ignored by those in power

• Duffy = suffering is ignored by the public