London

The poem’s opening establishes the poem’s premise: The speaker will accompany the reader on a journey through London. Readers see and hear the city from the speaker’s perception. In the first line, the speaker states, “I wander thro’ each charter’d street” (Line 1). The word “wander” (Line 1) implies some frivolity or joy, as though the speaker is having an adventure. However, the sense of freedom implied by “wander” (Line 1) fades with the word “charter’d” (Line 1). “[C]harter’d” (Line 1) implies the implementation of restrictions that inhibit not only the speaker but also the city. The speaker continues, “Near where the charter’d Thames does flow” (Line 2). The speaker repeats the word “charter’d” (Line 2), and the repetition reinforces and firmly establishes a sense of inescapable restriction. Misery begins to permeate the poem as the speaker notes that they observe “in every face I meet / Marks of weakness, marks of woe” (Lines 3-4); in other words, everyone whom the speaker sees appears distraught or hopeless. These lines hint at the city’s oppressiveness, specifically because of the repetition of words like “mark” (Line 3) and “marks” (Line 4). The first stanza ends with the words “weakness” (Line 4) and “woe” (Line 4), which work together to show the consequences of the oppression of the public.