Capital of England, London conjures up an image of an active city with unrivalled activity, but in Blake’s poem "London" we get a different view. Written in 18th century London through an omnipotent voice the poem gives the reader a different perception of London. Born in London himself the speaker could easily be Blake. The speaker is familiar with the surroundings of London, maybe so familiar that the impression given to us of this …showed first 75 words of 1057 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1057 total…predominately oppressive, will the person think in a negative narrow way? Are manacles forged for the mind? Secondly, is the speaker manacled by his own outlook? The speaker has a very dark interpretation of London. He doesn’t have any belief in the society that he lives in. Has his own mind restrained him only to think this way? Overall, the poem gives us a bleak view of urbanisation and 18th century society in London.