How William Blake Uses Poetry as an Instrument for Social Comment :: Laughing Song London William Blake Essays

How William Blake Uses Poetry as an Instrument for Social CommentLiving in a world without modern technology and media. William Blake (1757 - 1827) used his poetry as a powerful instrument for social comment. This is particularly evident in Laughing Song and London taken from The Portable Blake. The two poems present conflicting views of creation and mankind. In his innocent years, Blake saw the world as a joyous meadow, natural and free. moreover as he grew with experience his naive ideology was tainted with images of fight and devastation. Blakes purpose in piece of music these poems is to position his readers to see the world as it lies before them, unmasked and raw. He is inviting society to take a stand against the abjection of our land and our people, a timeless invitation. To do so Blake exploits the traditional poetical conventions of persona, constitute, language, tone and atmosphere.The persona of both(prenominal) Laughing Song and London is Blake himself. However he is writing in two opposing states of mind. Laughing Song comes from the Songs of Innocence, a collection of celebratory poems, fling a view of the world with the voice of joy though perhaps through rose-coloured glasses. Blake is precisely enjoying nature, and through this is therefore praising God. In London however, the glasses are aloof and Blakes images of a once merry scene are lost, replaced by charterd streets. Coming from the Songs of Experience, Blake is presenting his perceptions of a changed world, moulded and conquer by human hands.To structurally support meaning, Blake has exploited the form of both poems. Laughing Song consists of three, simple, four-lined stanzas. Perhaps representing succinct periods in Blakes childhood. Beneath the apparently simple form however, lies an intricate web of complex meanings. Although ordered, Blakes use of rhyming couplets and longer lines tension the delight in nature and the harmony between nature and man. In London, all harmony is lost, and therefore so is the coupled rhyme pattern. tag on lines rhyming in five quatrains replace it, emphasising the disjointed city, lacking in society love and unity.Language, and in particular, imagery plays a vital enjoyment in Blakes poetry to convey meaning. Perhaps this is because Blake was also a skilful artist and was therefore able to make images come alive on the page. In Laughing Song, Blake uses light and joyous terms to describe the world some him. The green woods provoke images of lush nature, spring and happy times.