The Theme of the Suffering Innocent in Blake's London William Blake's poem "London" paints a frightening and dark picture of 18th-century London, a picture of war, poverty and pain. Written in the historical context of the English crusade against France in 1793, William Blake cries out with vivid analogies and images against the repressive and hypocritical English society. It accuses the government, the clergy and the crown of failing in their mandate to serve the people. Blake confronts the reader in an apocalyptic framework with the devastating consequences of the disease of a society's creative capacities. By choosing the first person form in the first and fourth stanzas, the poet reflects his personal experiences with the city of London. It adheres to a strict form of four stanzas each with four lines and an ABAB rhyme. The tone of the poem changes from a contemplative lyrical quality in the first stanza to a dramatic, high-pitched ending in the last stanza. The tone in the first stanza is set by regular accents, iambic meter, and long vowel sounds in the words “wander,” “chartered,” “flow,” and “woe,” producing a grave, somber mood. The verb "wanders" connotes contemplative walking without a specific destination through streets described as "granted". But the word "road" is ambiguous. While it may be people's home, a neighborhood and a place of emotional refuge, the streets and the River Thames are "hired"; they are defined as commercial entities where business and cash dominate. The scene is set in which the poet sees the unhappy citizens of London. Their faces reflect the physical and spiritual suffering of the common man through "signs of weakness, signs of misfortune". The repetition of the... center of the paper... ld of art and literature. Since the “marriage,” the parent generation, has already died or is dying, so every new creation is now also afflicted with disease and doomed to death. This therefore means the end of hope for a renewal of society, but since the verse begins with the word "how", this is also a voice of accusation and a call for change. The theme of the innocent suffering, dying and becoming ill casts a dark light on London as seen through the eyes of William Blake. He shows us his experiences, fears and hopes with passionate images and metaphors creating a sensitivity against the hypocrisy of oppression. His words come to life and call for changes in society, government and the church. But they also remind us that the ongoing renewal of society begins with new ideas, imagination, and new works in every area of ​​human experience.