Compare and contrast ‘London’ by William Blake and “Composed upon Westminster Bridge September 3rd 1802” by William Wordsworth
Romanticism started at the end of 18 century. Blake and Wordsworth were Romantic poets; both poets were sympathetic to revolutionary movements and they introduced new ideas in literature. They also stressed importance of the imagination and love of nature.
William Blake lived in London, his writing attacked abuse of power of government, church and industry. This poem is written in quatrains. The overall mood of this poem is dull and dark. The writer describes London, as it is – a realistic view. He concentrates on the suffering of the poor.
In first stanza, he shows corruption of business. “I wander through each chartered street / Near where the chartered Thames does flow.” The word ‘chartered’ represents everything is owned and even the Thames, which is natural a source of power. It is being controlled and restrained by industry. Many people are suffering during the Industrial Revolution, they were treated less than human they are just ‘faces’. In London factories there were poor working conditions people were badly paid and worked long hours.
The second stanza is surreal vision of the terrible situation of the lower classes. “In every cry of every man / In every infant’s cry of fear” It demonstrates everybody is affected both adults and children. People have no freedom. “In every voice, in every ban / The mind-forged manacles I hear.” The metaphor “The mind-forged manacles” suggests that rigidity, restrictions, dominate people’s lives. London at this time gives people no freedom also their minds are of full of frustration.
The third stanza shows the misery of both adults and children. The whole text attacks how the people in the power exploit poor people to preserve their way of life. He attacks child labour, the church’s callousness ignoring the wretched conditions of the low classes. The image of church should bring light, hope and love but instead it brings darkness, despair and death. The word “blackening” may refer to the Industrial Revolution but it’s more likely to suggest lack of moral authority. One way to escape from poverty is to become a soldier but the result of this choice is death. The working classes had no hope. The “hapless soldier’s sigh” means that the war has destroyed everything, it has taken everything from him. At the time there was no real contact between rich and poor. The monarchs sat behind “palace walls” while soldiers fought in the battle for them. It implies the people need to start a revolution.
Also the last stanza destroys the small chance of happiness for everyone. Women evaded from the poverty by becoming prostitutes and spread diseases. Even the “newborn infant’s” infected with syphilis. The relationship here is not loving it’s all about money instead. The whole of London is decaying and dying, “blight(ed) with plagues”. The oxymoron “marriage hearse” implies sickness and death.
Both William Blake and William Wordsworth’s poems are personal views of London.
‘London’ is a depressing poem and ‘Westminster Bridge’ is a bright and light poem. Blake has written the poem concentrating on other people but Wordsworth concentrates on his personal emotional response.
Wordsworth lived in countryside; he wrote the poem after travelling through London on his way to France. Westminster Bridge is a Petrarchan sonnet; it can be divided into the octave and the sestet. The octave describes the landscape and the sestet represents the poet’s personal feelings. Tone is celebratory and city is idealised, it feels like a love poem to the city. In the beginning he uses hyperbole “Earth has not anything to show more fair”. The fourth line introduces the subject. He personifies the city as a woman wearing “The beauty of the morning”. He describes the skyline – a panorama of landscape. He celebrates the symbols of power “Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples” while Blake attacks them. Also unlike Blake, he sees the city as a part of the nature; “Open unto the fields, and to the sky” while in Blake’s ‘London’ people are separated from the nature – in Wordsworth’s poem the Thames is personified and free but in Blake’s poem it’s “chartered”. Wordsworth uses images of light, openness and space “All bright and glittering” but Blake uses images of darkness and death.
The sestet also uses hyperbole; he says nothing has been more perfect from the beginning of all time “Never did sun more beautifully steep / In this first splendour, valley, rock, or hill”. His emotions are so strong that he can’t express himself. “Dear god” represents the climax of the poem he tries to express his feelings. He then says, “the very houses seem asleep” which means that the peaceful moment will be gone in a while. It’s calm, free and relaxed which is opposite of expectation of a city.
I prefer ‘London’ to ‘Westminster Bridge’ because ‘Westminster Bridge’ is not a realistic poem. It over praises London itself, but ‘London’ describes London as it is. Wordsworth doesn’t mention the Industrial Revolution – he talks about smokeless air but Blake talks about “blackening church” also Wordsworth concentrates on buildings how the city looks like at dawn but Blake talks about the effect of environment on people and set this poem at midnight. ‘London’ is truer and more relevant to real life and actually I don’t like the brightness in the other poem, it’s too sentimental.
24th April 2006
Sung woo Cho
WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF OTHELLO'S RACE
Othello was first performed in 1604. At the time black population and the prejudice against them was growing. Most of people were slaves or servants and only a few of them were in a high rank. Queen Elizabeth at one point issued the instruction that black people should be expelled from the towns. G. Salgado says that ‘To the Elizabethan, the Moor or Negro was black, ugly, cruel, evil, pagan, sexually rampant and barely human’ all these prejudices are demonstrated in the first scene.
At the beginning of the play Shakespeare establishes the racism exists in Venice. Iago and Roderigo are abusing Othello using the common prejudices against blacks accusing of him of kidnapping and raping Desdemona they call Othello ‘thick-lips’, ‘old black ram’ and ‘Barbary horse’. Even Brabantio thinks the marriage is so unnatural and must be caused by witchcraft “Is there not charms / By which the property of youth and maidhood / May be abused ” Iago accuses Othello of sleeping with his wife and promoting Casio above him but mostly his hatred drives him. Roderigo says “Thou told’st me Thou didst hold him in thy hate” which is sixth line of the play which introduces that racism is going to be demonstrated during the play.
Even in Venice, the people in power show their racism against black indirectly. As Duke meets Othello he immediately discusses his business even he doesn’t welcome him as he welcomes Brabantio which means Duke only needs Othello to fight for him – He treats him with not enough respect. “Valiant Othello, we must straight employ you / Against the general enemy Ottoman”. However he says to Brabantio
“Welcome, gentle signior” which represent the hidden prejudice of Venice. He later on says, “mangled matter” when referring to Othello’s marriage. He is also patronising when trying to reconcile Brobantio and Othello. “If virtue no delighted beauty lack / Your son-in-law is far more fair than black” without understanding he has associated black with vice. Even Desdemona refers to Othello as ‘the Moor’ and she suggests he is ugly even though she married him. “I saw Othello’s visage in his mind”
When Othello appears on the stage audience surprised that he is different from the stereotype. He is self controlled, dignified, has royal blood and he controls the violent mob also he is highly educated – the language he uses illustrate this. “Keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them”. When he defends himself in front of the senate he starts with a rhetorical device, which show how he is highly educated. “ Rude am I speech” he does not respond to Brabantio’s insults he uses word “thou” which is used to be used for social inferiors and the end of the scene he refers Othello’s back ground by the phrase “Bondslaves and pagans”
The change of Othello from very dignified general to something close to the stereotype is very rapid. This is because Shakespeare establishes weaknesses in Othello. The marriage takes place because Othello and Desdemona idealise each other. Desdemona lives in a situation where she has no experience of the world. Thus Othello’s tales of adventure attracts her. Othello attracted to Desdemona’s kindness, something that he could not have before. Each of them falls in love with what the other represents.
Othello softened since he met Desdemona when he arrives in Cyprus he greets her with “O my fair warrior” he then suggests that relationship is ideal and complete “If it were now to die ‘Twere now to be the most happy” he is so ecstatic he doesn’t care even if he dies now. He loves Desdemona as the same way of Turks. Elizabethan travellers came back to England with tales of powerful Turkish men over-fond of their wives. Shakespeare just makes use of the Islamophobia of English. At Shakespeare’s time England was at war with Turks and they lost Cyprus to Turks in 1572 at battle of Lepanto.
Othello is isolated from the civilization of Venice therefore he is in a weak position. He has all the responsibility for governing Cyprus. Also Iago isolates Othello even more by removing his friends- Casio is dismissed and Montano is wounded. Iago then becomes his trusted friend. He is now in a good position to start to destroy Othello. He uses Othello’s weaknesses against him. Which are his colour, his ignorance at Venice and his age. “I am black and have not those soft parts of conversation / That chambers have, or for I am declined / Into the vale of years”. He even suggests that Desdemona didn’t act naturally when she married Othello “Not to affect many proposed matches / Of her own clime, complexion, and degree / Whereto we see In all things nature tends…one may smell in such a will most rank…thoughts unnatural.” Othello can’t really believe that Desdemona married him. Iago uses this insecurity to control him.
Act3 show the collapse of Othello. He is beginning to become a stereotype. His language changes to be like Iago and he talks about animals, sex and blackness all the time He thinks about Desdemona and Casio as "prime as goats as hot as monkeys, As salt as wolves in pride". He talks about Desdemona as possession regretting "That we can call these delicate creatures ours, And not their appetites!". He then becomes violent "I tear her all to pieces! / Arise, black vengeance, from the hollow hell!'. When he mentions "bloody thoughts" he is thinking about murdering Desdemona.
When he kills himself this shows that he is trying to erase his blackness inside of him. Because he sees his blackness as an evil and also he thinks he is the Christian who kills the Turk. "Set you down this.../a malignant and a turbaned Turk Beat a Venetian and traduced the state I took by th'throat the circumcised dog and smote him-thus" Elizabethan audiences might agree with Othello and see his blackness as a weakness. However it's not only black people who Shakespeare criticises. He also attacks Muslims and Spanish. England was war with Spain in his lifetime. Iago is Spanish name and since Iago is a villain this symbolises Elizabethan fear of all foreigners. Therefore Shakespeare shows some racism this in the play. He didn't mention it directly that white people are superior but in and indirect way he showed this.
24th April 2006
Sung woo Cho
