William Blakes London-Opression

             The purpose of William Blake's London is to reveal the oppression of the lower class citizens of London, by the aristocracy during the late 18th century. Blake uses various poetic devices in order to enhance the portrayal of the poems purpose to the reader. These devices include metaphor, symbolism, oxymoron, and repetition, all of which facilitate in the articulation of the poems purpose to the reader.
             Blake utilises metaphor in the poem London to assist in the conveyance of the poem's purpose to the reader. Metaphor is a key technique used in the poem as it assists in intensifying emotions in the reader, and allows the reader to more readily engage with the content of the poem. "Mind forged manacles" is an excerpt from the poem with powerful implications as it shows the mental oppression of the lower class citizens of London at the time. Manacles are invariably associated with things of a physical nature, yet in this metaphor Blake describes them as non-physical manacles of the mind, a very significant aspect of the poem as the mind is the freest part of an individual. This powerful metaphor insinuates that if the mind cannot be free then what else can? Which ultimately portrays the manifestation of oppression in all areas of London's lower class citizens. "Runs in blood down palace walls" is another metaphor from the poem which conveys the oppression of the lower class by the aristocracy to the reader. This metaphor is made in reference to the war with France, which alludes to the fact that the soldiers, primarily made up of lower class males, were forced to give their lives for the state or the royal family. The blood on the palace walls is a metaphorical representation of the oppression of the lower class, as it signifies the blood shed of the soldiers in the name of the wealthy. This therefore portrays the subjugation of the lower class of London, thus conveying the poem's purpose to the ...

More Essays:

APA     MLA     Chicago
William Blakes London-Opression. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 13:36, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/84807.html