Compare three pre-20th Century poems about London Essay

I am going to compare three very different poems about London. The first poem is ‘London’ by William Blake, written around 1800. ‘Upon Westminster bridge’ is the second poem , by William Wordsworth, again written around 1800. The third poem by Mary Ann Evans in the mid-19th century is called ‘In a London drawing room.’ William Blake was a man of strong opinions, he was a strange person who painted horrific art and walked around naked in his garden. He was a strict Christian and wrote hymns. People disliked him for his strange ideas and strong criticism of what he felt was wrong. William Wordsworth lived in the Lake District, and wrote poems about where he live; the countryside. Whilst visiting London he wrote a poem about what he could see from Westminster bridge. Mary Ann Evans lived in London she was a tomboy by the name of George Elliot. Her father was a vicar. She moved to London to live a more interesting life. Working for a printing company she realised how mistreated women were. The story behind ‘Upon Westminster bridge’ is:- London looks very beautiful. You’d be sad not to be impressed. It’s about what Wordsworth sees from Westminster bridge. His theme is simple; He likes what he sees. London has a very different theme: William Blake lives in London and can’t stand it. The story is very simple the poet wanders through London’s streets thinking about what he sees. In a London drawing room also has a simple story; Mary Ann Evans is in a drawing room looking out into the street. Her theme is much more complex She talks about how London through this window is dull, grey and boring. When she says this she actually means that’s how she feels inside and expresses it through her poetry. ‘Upon Westminster bridge’ is a sonnet because it has fourteen lines praising London’s beauty, it has only one verse. It has a regular iambic rhythm all the way through: Giving the poem a joyful sound. There is no regular rhyming pattern but some lines rhyme. London uses quatrains which means it has four equal lines into four verses. London has a regular and joyful rhythm, which is ironic because of its sad message. The rhyming follows an ACBD pattern (‘A’ rhymes with line ‘C’-‘B’ rhymes with line ‘D.) ‘In a London drawing room’ has no verses, twenty lines which have each ten syllables in them. There is no regular rhythm, because of the regular enjambment. â€Å"Cutting the sky with one long line of wall Like soled Fog: Far as the eye can stretch.† The enjambment causes lines to run into each other. There is no rhyme a tall in the poem. There is a lot of figurative language in ‘Upon Westminster bridge.’ â€Å"wear The beauty of the morning; silent bare,† This a personification because the city wears the beauty of the morning like a dress. â€Å"The river glideth at his own sweet will:† In line twelve names the river a ‘he’. This poem has a lot of imagery, one of them mentions valley, rock and hill, putting the picture of the valleys, hills and rocks on the horizon. In a London drawing room too uses figurative language, â€Å"The world seems one huge prison-house and court,† this is a similar because the world seems to be like a prison-house. A metaphor would be, â€Å"Cutting the sky with one long line of wall,† this is calling the row of houses a wall cutting the sky. The figurative language in London are, â€Å"The mind-forg’d manacles I hear.† Means the people in London believe they are in manacles. The metaphor at the end of the third verse is about the old war soldiers begging outside wealthy houses, â€Å"And the hapless soldier’s sigh Runs in blood down palace walls.† In ‘Upon Westminster bridge’ most of the ‘play on words’ are to keep the rhyme and rhythm in a pattern. London plays on words quiet a lot compared with Upon Westminster bridge. At the end of the first verse there is an element of alliteration, â€Å"Marks of weakness. Marks of woe,† woe is a much more powerful word to use than sad plus it alliterates with weakness. The second verse uses ‘in every†¦.’ Four times to get the point that this is serious across more strongly. † The mind-forg’d manacles I hear,† is an alliteration of the letter ‘M’. On the last line, the last two words are marriage and hearse (car that carries a coffin) this is called juxtaposition; because marriage is associated with beginning and hearse is associated with the end they are opposites. This is an interesting way to end the poem. The only real play on words in ‘in a London drawing room’ was the last line because the three last words are the only positive words (colour, warmth and joy) in the whole poem but just before it says ‘with lowest rate of’. So they might be positive but she’s saying there is no colour, warmth or joy. I feel London is the most effective poem. This is because I like the irony in the rhythm and rhyme which sounds happy but its meaning is sad. I also like the Juxtaposition in the last line ‘Marriage hearse’. He uses clever words and sentences to put down London. I don’t like ‘In a London drawing room’ because it drags on so as to lose its meaning. ‘Upon Westminster bridge’ I quite like because its cheerful but I still prefer the way ‘London’ is written because it uses good words and clever poetry.