New
New
Year 10
AQA

Analysing the poem 'London'

I can analyse the presentation of power and conflict in Blake’s ‘London’.

New
New
Year 10
AQA

Analysing the poem 'London'

I can analyse the presentation of power and conflict in Blake’s ‘London’.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Rigid structure of four quatrains written in octosyllabic lines mirrors the idea that people have no freedom in the city
  2. Blake conveys his social commentary through the dramatic monologue of a first person narrator
  3. Blake uses lots of repetition in the poem to show how deeply rooted the social issues that he describes are
  4. Blake uses juxtaposition to illustrate how easily innocence is lost in the city
  5. Blake uses metaphors to highlight the effect of the inaction of leaders and powerful institutions on the vulnerable

Common misconception

The structure of the poem is entirely predictable.

Explain to pupils that Blake does break his rigid structure e.g. iambic tetrameter at times.

Keywords

  • Quatrain - a stanza of four lines

  • Iambic tetrameter - a line of poetry including four beats of one unstressed syllable followed by a second stressed syllable

  • Dramatic monologue - a poem written in the form of speech of an individual character

  • Juxtaposition - when two different things are placed together for contrasting effect

  • Disillusioned - disappointment and lost faith over something once regarded as good

Model how to identify syllables and rhyme scheme by sounding out the iambic tetrameter for pupils.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of upsetting content
  • Depiction or discussion of sexual content

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which word is repeated in 'London' that means owned and controlled?
manacles
ban
Correct answer: charter'd
forg'd
''blights''
Q2.
What does the word ''marks'' suggest in the first stanza of 'London'?
Correct answer: the permanence of the people's suffering
the soot etched into the people's faces from sweeping chimneys
the imprint in history that the people want to make by having a revolution
Q3.
Why is the context of the Industrial Revolution important to the poem 'London'?
Correct answer: The Industrial Revolution widened inequality in society which Blake criticises
The Industrial Revolution slowly began to improve London which Blake admires
Blake suggests the pollution from the Industrial Revolution is the worst ill
Q4.
Why is the context of the French Revolution important in the poem 'London'?
Blake disapproved of the violent ways in which monarchs were killed
Blake believed people should have more power than establishments
Correct answer: Blake advocates the idea that oppressed could reclaim power from the privileged
Q5.
How does Blake suggest that marriage is futile in 'London'?
Correct answer: Many men sought prostitutes showing that human desire prevails over conventions
The ''new-born Infant's tear'' causes stress in marriages
Correct answer: Seeking prostitutes meant that infidelity and diseases often ruined marriages
Q6.
How does Blake suggest the corruption of religious establishments through his poem 'London'?
Correct answer: He suggests they are complicit in child labour
He suggests they are to blame for the deaths of soldiers
He suggests they control the river Thames

6 Questions

Q1.
What form does the poem 'London' take?
sonnet
ballad
Correct answer: dramatic monologue
Q2.
Which word describes the rhyme scheme and the stanzas in the poem 'London'?
unpredictable
Correct answer: rigid
ocotsyllabic
Q3.
What does the rigid structure of 'London' symbolise?
Correct answer: how deeply rooted the oppression in London is
how sad the people are
how monotonous the factory work is
Q4.
Why might Blake have broken the iambic tetrameter throughout 'London'?
Correct answer: to show his hope for disruption of status quo, dissent and revolution
to make the poem more exciting to read
to show how the people were broken mentally and physically
Q5.
How does Blake allude to the idea that the people of London may be oppressed but they have the power to emancipate themselves?
''new-born Infant's tear'' shows everyone can experience a rebirth
Correct answer: ''mind-forg'd manacles'' shows people can decide to free themselves
''runs in blood down palace walls'' shows how people can overthrow monarchy
Q6.
How does Blake show his disillusionment in 'London'?
Correct answer: he emphasises inescapable oppression, even nature is controlled
he laments how marriages are being ruined
he mourns the deaths of the chimney sweepers
Correct answer: he laments how powerful institutions fail their humane duties