London

The poem consists of four quatrains (stanzas of four lines each) and relies on a straightforward rhyme scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GDGD. For example, “flow” (Line 2) rhymes with “woe” (Line 4); “cry” (Line 9) rhymes with “sigh” (Line 11); “curse” (Line 14) with “hearse” (Line 16). The simple pattern—the predictability of which gains significant emphasis through a consistent iambic meter (iambic tetrameter)—creates a sense of cycles, repetition, and relentlessness. This quality, in turn, accords with the poem’s theme of being trapped within unending institutionalized oppression. Nevertheless, the rhyming also creates a melodious quality, and it may even recall a childlike style; this sort of sing-song rhyme scheme typified much 18th-century children’s verse (this underscores the poem’s theme of childhood innocence, if obliquely). In fact, the poems from Songs of Innocence and Experience do superficially resemble children’s verse, though the subject matter is sophisticated and, often, heavy.

The poem incorporates assonance and consonance, both of which involve the repetition of sound. Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line (or in proximity).