William
Blake, as a visionary, shows a great deal of imagination in perceiving what
society has in store for its citizens in the future. Like a seer he forewarns
the people through his poem ‘London’ about the horror of social injustice,
corruption and other social evils that pass through the generations. Through
this poem he communicates deep sense of human concern, and his eternal search
for positive values and equal justice for all.
At
the turn of the nineteenth century, the city of London was known as the hub of
the industrial world, a place where industrialization was being felt in all
walks of life. But, along the modernization came human exploitation and a steep
fall in moral values. The expression ‘chartered street’ in the first line of
the poem reminds us The Magna Carta of 1215 (The Chartered Rights) which
promises equal rights, equal opportunities for all citizens of England. Despite
these Chartered Rights of English people, the Rich class of Englishmen could
exploit their fellow citizens. The economic slavery in commercial bound London
is obviously seen everywhere.
The
poem ‘London’ expresses the endless human misery in the industrialized London
city. There is bondage and weakness. The poet regrets the sad plight of the
human beings in the new industrial world. The industrial revolution did not
bring in any progress and development in terms of happiness and joy. The
consequent urbanization made people selfish, unhappy and miserable. The joy and
contentment and the finer community feelings were shattered to dust. Man began
to exploit man. The power, position and greed for wealth were made people cruel
and unsympathetic towards their fellow citizens. The child labour becomes a
regular practice. The orphan children were forced to do risky jobs like
sweeping of chimneys. These chimney sweepers are worst affected section of the
society. Their suffering was endless and there is no one to sympathize with
them. They were made to work for longer hours of hazardous work of cleaning the
chimneys.
Every
face in the city of London is marked by lack of hope and by misery. Instead of
joy, security and hope the common people live in the state of fear and
disillusionment. The industrial town London becomes highly commercial and
everything had its price, planned according to industrial needs. The tragedy of
London was that its people remained separate individuals instead of united. The
Church took no cognizance of the chimney sweepers, the miserable plight of the
soldiers or the worst sufferings of the prostitutes.
The
poem brings home to us the evil effect of urbanization on the lives of the people.
The pursuit of the man for wealth and material comforts has only landed him
into world happiness. Instead of making man happy and joyous, the industrial
society had made him unhappy and miserable. The industrial revolution and the
consequent urbanization have made people very selfish and have destroyed the
community feelings.
Finally
the industrial society gave rise to the social problems such crimes and
prostitution. The curse of prostitution led to the degeneration of humanity and
disorganization of the society. The innocent children born out of wedlock
suffered. The evil of prostitution destroyed the ethical basis and the sanctity
of the institution of marriage. It is blister on the human face and reminds us
marriage hearse.
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