Romantic #6: London by William Blake & 18th Century Progressives
The Troubadour Podcast
English - June 11, 2018 04:00 - 29 minutes - 13.5 MBBooks Arts Health & Fitness poetry literature literature and life historical stories wisdom of the ages Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Previous Episode: Romantic #5: The Tyger by William Blake & The Problem of EVIL
Next Episode: Jordan Peterson's 8th Rule and Pixar Animations
Today I'll be reading the poem "London" by William Blake. A poem that showcases a deeply progressive sentiment that many of the romantic artists of the 18th and 19th century held
London
BY WILLIAM BLAKE
I wander thro' each charter'd street,
Near where the charter'd Thames does flow.
And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.
In every cry of every Man,
In every Infants cry of fear,
In every voice: in every ban,
The mind-forg'd manacles I hear
How the Chimney-sweepers cry
Every blackning Church appalls,
And the hapless Soldiers sigh
Runs in blood down Palace walls
But most thro' midnight streets I hear
How the youthful Harlots curse
Blasts the new-born Infants tear
And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse