Blake's use of personal pronoun throughout the poem makes it seems, of course, more personal, as if Blake is witnessing. This enables Blake to convey a true and more vivid reflection of the events and setting, encouraging the readers to feel, to get more involved into the poem.
Effect of repetition
The diction 'every' is repeated many times in this poem, especially in the second stanza where it is repeated five times. The use of this repetition highlights the fact that all living creatures in London are suppressed and exploited by those in power, and after all depicts the universality of conflict the society as a whole suffers.
Auditory imageries and its effects
Blake employs a concentrated amount of auditory imageries in this poem, especially in the second stanza, such as "cry of every man" (line 5), "infant's cry" (6), "every voice, in every ban" (7), "chimney-sweeper's cry" (9), "hapless soldier's sigh" (11) and "youthful harlot's curse" (14). The poet's use of dictions with very negative connotations, such as 'cry' and 'voice(s) in ban(s)' signifies the overwhelmed sorrow and also creates a chaotic scene. As everyone, from a chimney-sweeper to soldier to a prostitute, from an infant to a man to a prisoner, makes unpleasant noises, such as cries, curses and sighs, a snapshot of mixed sounds generates a somewhat anarchic setting, this contributes to our understanding of how much people suffers due to the growth of capitalism, the cause behind the huge rift between rich and poor in London at the time.
Imageries and its implications
The poet's use of imageries in this poem is brutal. This is shown through "marks of weakness, marks of woe" - the obvious use of metaphor here highlights misery to an extreme level. Weakness and woe are intangible and thus not visible to human eyes; yet Blake writes "mark in every face I meet" which signifies how much people are suffering, to such a level that eventually it becomes visible and leaves a sign on their faces. Another imagery of "the mind-forged manacles" (line 8) conveys brainpower being chained; this advocates the idea that if one accepts dominant ideologies, one will become a prisoner of his/her own mind.
Oxymoron
Blake's use of oxymoron on line 10, "black'ning church appalls" shows irony as churches are supposed to be calming, not "appalling". This emphasises the fact that everything is affected by the growth of capitalism and also its power, as it could turn a peaceful, religious,
holy place into a horrifying one. His use of this device is repeated on the last line of the poem, "the marriage hearse" (16). A 'hearse' is a vehicle for taking the coffin to a funeral, which symbolises grief and death, whilst a 'marriage' is supposed to be loving and happy. This oxymoron underlines the idea of every happy union will end up with death.
Assonance
Blake's use of assonance in the last stanza, in lines 15 and 16: "blasts the new-born infant's tear, and blights with plague the marriage hearse" puts pauses on the 'buh' and 'puh' sounds, which draws the reader's attention, especially to the last sentences of the poem, in order to stress the harshness and brutality of the actual events.
No comments:
Post a Comment