London : Poem Anthology

“I wander..”

“I wander thro’ each charter’d street.”

First person narrative showing the poet is expressing his views.

A wander is a journey with little purpose suggesting those suffering feel they behave little purpose in life.

The whole city is impacted by ownership and greed can be seen upon each street.

“Mark in every…”

“Mark in every face I meet. Marks of weakness, marks of woe.”

Everyone is suffering to some degree.

Repetition of “mark” suggests everyone he passes shows signs of suffering under the power of the oppressed.

The miserable nature of life at this time and the effect it is having upon the people.

“Weakness” shows how the people are overworked and enslaved to the capitalistic greed of the people and institutions causing the suffering.

“The mind..”

“The mind-forg’d manacles I hear.”

They are trapped within their mindset.

A metaphor for the enslaved and stuck people that are restricted by those in power.

Their freedoms are limited to the point they are trapped by the greed.

Every thought is controlled.

“I hear” their senses are overwhelmed - oppression can be seen and heard everywhere.

“Every black’ning…”

“Every black’ning church appalls.”

Metaphor for how the churches are morally corrupt and have strayed from serving the people and God.

Also a portrayal of the excessive pollution and horrendous living conditions for the oppressed within the city.

The sins of those in power: gluttony.

“Appall” God would be shocked at mankind for how they treat one another as the writer is.

“youthful Harlot’s…”

“Youthful Harlot’s curse blasts the new born.”

Referring to prostitution and the exploitation of young women by rich and wealthy old men.

Juxtaposition between the innocent youth and the sinful nature of prostitution.

Curse also related to how it feels like a curse to be born under the oppression.

Prostitution and exploitation is like a curse spreading through the city.

Links back to God and beliefs on punishment.

“Plagues the..”

“Plagues the marriage hearse.”

Damage and destruction is impacting everyone in the city.

It is a domino effect of sin - the oppressors causing prostitution and the prostitutes cause divorce.

The oppression is like a disease spreading through the city.

Links to God and how plague was believed to be a punishment for sins - a cycle of corruption.

Oxymoron = happy imagery of marriage and imagery of death, the sin of adultery will kill the marriage as the oppression is killing the young and the city.

What is the poem structure?

The poem is structured in:

4 verses

4 rhyming couplets

4 lines

A visual representation of the lack of freedoms placed upon the people.