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William Blake, "London"

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Related Poems

Blake returned to the subject of the chimney sweeper twice, in Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. Consider what the chimney sweeper seems to mean to him, taking into account the interplay between illustration and text in each poem. You might look at the Blake Digital Text Project for other poems to compare and study.

Encountering criticism

Read one or more of the excerpts from critical articles by John Brenkman, Heather Glen, and E. P. Thompson. Compare their ideas with your own. Are there disagreements over the meanings of particular lines? How would you resolve these disagreements and why?

Art and literature

Blake's poetry is intertwined with his art. Look carefully at the illumination of "London" and consider how the image is related to the images and ideas of the words. Consider the relationship of art and literature in other poems presented in The William Blake Archive or in the Blake Digital Text Project. Look at these prints of Hogarth, who also recorded harsh realities of London life at the time.

Icon Directory
In The Portable Intro to Literature
In The Seagull Reader
In Portable & The Seagull Reader