Analysis of London and A Poison Tree by William Blake
London by William Blake
Summary
The speaker wanders through London’s streets, observing despair in the faces and fear and repression in the voices of the people he encounters. The chimney-sweeper’s cry criticizes the Church, and a soldier’s blood stains the monarch’s residence. Even nighttime offers no solace, as the curses of prostitutes corrupt newborns and taint marriage.
Metrics
“London” follows an ABAB rhyme scheme in its four stanzas, mainly adhering to iambic tetrameter.
Themes
The poem suggests Blake viewed rapid urbanization as dangerous, robbing children of their childhood and restricting freedoms, ultimately hindering thought.
Mood
Pessimistic
Figurative Language
Repetition emphasizes the horrors described. “Charter’d” refers to restrictive ownership rights, while “marks” signifies both physical and recorded evidence of suffering. The repetition of “every” in stanza 2 highlights the pervasiveness of mental confinement (“mind-forg’d manacles”). Negative words like “weakness,” “woe,” “cry,” “fear,” “appals,” “blood,” “blights,” “plagues,” and “hearse” create a bleak atmosphere. The contrasting “marriage hearse” juxtaposes the joy of marriage with the grim reality of death.
A Poison Tree by William Blake
Summary
This poem explores dealing with anger. The speaker’s anger towards a friend dissipates after communication. However, anger towards an enemy is suppressed, nurtured by “fears” and “deceitful wiles,” and grows into a poisonous tree bearing a tempting apple. The enemy consumes the fruit, leading to their demise, which the speaker observes with satisfaction.
Metrics
“The Poison Tree” consists of four rhyming couplets per stanza, creating a hurried tone reflecting the poem’s secretive actions.
Themes
- Openly expressing anger is healthier than suppressing it.
- Consequences of negativity: the enemy suffers from their own actions.
- Importance of forgiveness and compassion.
- Suppressed anger can be deadly.
Mood
Initially melancholic and fearful (“And I waterd it in fears, Night & morning with my tears”), the mood shifts abruptly to anger and satisfaction towards the end.
Figurative Language
The growing tree symbolizes nurtured hate and vanity. The apple represents the poisonous “fruits of labor” and a biblical allusion to sin. The garden, a place of potential life, becomes a stage for a sinful act, mirroring the biblical Garden of Eden.