poetry

section 1: poetry

oppression, contradiction, totalitarianism, visceral, tyranny

oppression

The anti-institutional stance in London highlights how the general public is crushed by dominant authorities. Structurally, the poem features a regimented pattern of quatrains, an alternating rhyme scheme, and a consistent beat, mirroring a guide exploring the streets. 

contradiction

This rigid design sharply contradicts the freedom implied by the word "wanders," proving institutional power dominates so completely that nobody can find freedom. 

totalitarianism

This emphasizes the totalitarian nature of the state, which Blake strongly attacked. As a result, power is framed as a permanent weight on society, with Blake accentuating the supreme control of the ruling class.Blake presents the power to be brutally enforced. 

visceral

The visceral imagery of  the blood of the Soldiers "running in blood down Palace walls" presenting the exploitation of the soldiers when defending the monarchy as presented in the metonymy of "Palace Walls" to represent the state. 

tyranny

Blake explores the theme of power by examining the characteristics of a tyrannical reign, fiercely arguing against its execution. He carefully frames his narrative around the devastating impacts of this institutional manipulation.

eva smith christ like figure part 1

absence, forgiveness, constraint, agony, cleansing, purity

absence

Eva Smith is the most important character in Inspector Calls, despite never appearing on stage, and her absence allows her to be constructed through the depiction of others.

forgiveness

Eva Smith is not a realistic character, the line ‘she didn’t blame me at all’ is pivotal to understanding the absence of deflection in her nature, as she is consistently confronted with misfortune

constraint

She never seems to blame others but rather accepts their actions and forgives them

agony

Eva Smith is constrained by the nature of her position in society - which is consumed by agony. Priestly initialises Eva Smith’s pain, as he introduces her as a young woman who drank disinfectant, only to die ‘after several hours of agony’

cleansing

Not only eliciting sympathy for the pain caused by the Birlings, but reveals a symbolic desire to cleanse herself of the sin and corruption imposed on her by upper classmen who exploited her.

purity

This suggests that even in her final act she is concerned with purity and moral goodness rather than selfish, desperate acts.

eva smith christ like figure part 2

sacrifice, injustice, fate

sacrifice

Eva Smith is a Christ-like figure. Both individuals at their most vital moments detach themselves from sin. Jesus detaches himself from sin during the crucifixion, not becoming sinful himself but by acting as a sinless substitute who bears the penalty of sin -death - without every being corrupted by it,

injustice

He maintains his detachment through his role as a ‘spotless lamb’, allowing him to navigate without facilitating sin. The same way Eva Smith adheres to people around her, even if it means compromising herself.

fate

 Like Jesus, who was morally pure yet condemned, the working class often suffer not from individual fault but from structural injustice and violence inflicted upon them. Similarly to how Eva ‘dies in misery and agony’, Jesus is also bound to agony as well. His fate was ordained by God to serve a higher purpose, taking on the sins of all humanity

unborn child

DSIIWSED

DSIIWSED

disruption, synthesis, insulation, irony, weaponisation, stagnation, egalitarianism, didacticism

disruption

As a member of the proletariat, Eva Smith is structurally constrained by her sociopolitical position.

synthesis

Priestley uses her suicide as a radical structural device, portraying her as actively disrupting this cycle of systemic agony through the allegorical vacuum of her unborn child's destruction

insulation

This fetus represents a synthesis of two polarized classes, rendering the child a literal manifestation of a changing social order.

irony (1)

Priestley uses dramatic irony to expose how their moral rot causes them to unknowingly cannibalise their own future.

weaponisation

When Sybil Birling refuses financial aid, weaponising the noun ‘impudence’ she is not just rejecting a vulnerable woman; she is severing the child's legitimate claim to protection.

stagnation

By eradicating their own bloodline, the Birlings ensure their family remains static.

egaliatarianism

Doomed to die out as an obsolete relic of the pre-war era rather than evolving into the egalitarian, socialistic future Priestley advocates for.

didacticism

Ultimately, this destruction serves as the absolute physical manifestation of the Inspector’s didactic warning that ‘we are all responsible for each other’.