William Blake s London Ambiguity, Allusion, And Diction

Loathing in London: Ambiguity, Allusion, and Diction in William Blake’s â€Å"London† Overall the poem entitled, â€Å"London† written by William Blake is extremely malicious and devious. This poem has nothing about â€Å"London’s† rich history or beauty. Primarily this poem is about filth. This poem includes talk about child prostitution, child labor, . â€Å"London† is a culmination of everything and anything that Blake feels is wrong with the city of â€Å"London†. Never does Blake mention the simplicity or elegance of the river of Thames in the evening. Primarily Blake sends out a public service announcement to the people of â€Å"London† about the demeaning conditions of his city. William Blake uses the literary devices such as ambiguity, allusion, and diction to express the horrors of â€Å"London†. Ambiguity is used in â€Å"London† in line 16 of the poem where it states, â€Å"And blights with plagues the marriage hearse†(16) when thinking of the word hearse people think of the vehicle for conveying the coffin at a funeral. However, in this case the word is used to describe their decaying and dying marriage that will eventually, be sent to the grave. The marriage is being sent to the grave because the husband was given an STD by the wife. The word hearse in this poem is very unclear and uncertain. Nonetheless, ambiguity is being used to describe the horrors of â€Å"London†. Following ambiguity, the next theoretical term that is describing the horrors of â€Å"London† is the term Allusion that stands forShow MoreRelatedWho Goes with Fergus11452 Words   |  46 Pagespolitics - to deeper and weirder mysteries - the wood, the sea, the wandering stars. In all, the poem has a beauty, especially when spoken aloud, that evades simple readings and analyses. It captures the political, social, emotional and national ambiguity at the heart of Yeats collection, as well as his reverence for the imagination. A Dialogue of Self and Soul In the first stanza the Soul calls the reader to the tower of learning where â€Å"the star,† the most distant part of our universe, â€Å"marks the