Blake's poem "London" and its social critique

Blake's "London"

My Questions:

What are the "bans" the poet is speaking of in line 9 and what do they have to do with suffering?

What can be done about man's suffering?

Why does Blake call it a marriage hearse instead of a marriage coach?

William Blake's poem, "London" is a reflection of Human Suffering

William Blake's poem, "London" illustrates a certain misery among its inhabitants. The poet tells us as he wandered through the streets, he sees "marks of weakness, marks of woe" (4) in every face he meets. In addition he hears "every cry of man" (5) and in every infant's cry and in every voice he hears:

How the Chimney-sweeper's cry

Every blackening Church appalls,

And the hapless Soldier's sigh

Runs in blood down Palace walls. (9-12)

This is a bleak and miserable portrait of the city. It is interesting to note that he not only sees the misery, but he hears it as well. In addition, there seems to be nothing that escapes this misery. From the infants to the soldiers to the church to the palace, all is effected by woe. From this stanza, it seems as if the poet is saying that the church ignores the cries from the streets.

It is also important to note that this woe comes from "the mind-forged manacles" (8). This not only means that society is suffering, but that the suffering is created by society itself. This is a very convicting statement.

As the poet continues his stroll and approaches the midnight hour, he can hear "How the youthful Harlot's curse/Blasts the new-born Infant's tear,/And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse" (14-6). This image represents that the woe and fear is not only in the present, but that the future is also doomed to such a bleak future. In addition, the poet is observing that there is neither a time nor place from which our misery can be escaped. In essence, suffering and misery exist everywhere and no one is exempt from its perils. This is a sad reflection of the poet's time.

From the first lines of the poem, Blake is introducing us to a particular irony that exists in the "charter'd" streets of London that are supposedly "free."