Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, LONDON, FR. SONGS OF EXPERIENCE, by WILLIAM BLAKE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

LONDON, FR. SONGS OF EXPERIENCE, by             Poem Explanation     Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: I wander thro' each charter'd street
Last Line: And blights with plagues the marriage-hearse.
Variant Title(s): London
Subject(s): Bible; Corruption In Politics; London; Mythology; Poverty; Voices


I wandered through each chartered street,
Near where the chartered Thames does flow,
A mark in every face I meet,
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.

In every cry of every man,
In every infant's cry of fear,
In every voice, in every ban,
The mind-forged manacles I hear:

How the chimney-sweeper's cry
Every blackening church appalls;
And the hapless soldier's sigh
Runs in blood down palace-walls.

But most, through midnight streets I hear
How the youthful harlot's curse
Blasts the new-born infant's tear,
And blights with plagues the marriage-hearse.






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