London

William Blake’s poem “London” appeared in his 1794 collection Songs of Experience. Among the other poems in the collection, “London” is one of the few that has no corresponding poem in the preceding collection Songs of Innocence. As a resident of London, Blake experienced the city differently than a visitor, and “London” reflects Blake’s thoughts about the city. During Blake’s time, England, and especially London, had become an oppressive environment filled with child labor, horrendous industrial conditions, poverty, and forced sex work. Like the other poems in Blake’s collection, “London” reflects on modernity’s effects on people and nature. Politically, over fears about the French Revolution, England had also become very strict and restricted individual freedoms. “London” begins with the speaker walking through the city, and it concludes with their criticizing what London has become—industrially, economically, and socially.

Other poems written by this author include The Tyger, Auguries of Innocence, and A Poison Tree.

Poet Biography

An English poet, painter, and printmaker, William Blake was largely unrecognized throughout his lifetime. He was born on 28 November 1757 in Soho, London. He was the third of seven children, and two of his siblings died during their infancy.