Christ University English

"London" by William Blake : Translation, Summary, and Analysis Title: "London" Author: William Blake Written: 1794 CE Themes:        -hypocrisy, infidelity      -commentary of prostitution      -commentary on the shunning of women Poem in a nutshell: "I walked the streets of London one night and saw misery all around" SUMMARY Stanza One: In the first stanza, the speaker is walking through the streets of London, and, everywhere he turns, he sees the downtrodden faces of the poor. They look weak, tired, unhappy, and defeated. Stanza Two: In the second stanza, as the speaker continues his travels, he hears the people's voice everywhere. He hears the same pain and suffering in the cry of an infant to that of a grown man. To him, the people and their minds are not free. They are restrained or "manacled" by their various situations--mostly economical. (*Notice the acrostic HEAR in stanza II...

GUNGA DIN Summary The poem is told by a British soldier; he is expressing admiration for a native water-bearer who loses his life not long after he saves the soldier's. The soldier tells his audience that they might talk about beer and gin while they are stationed out here, and partake in small fights, but they can only lick the boots of "'im that's got it". In India's sunny land where he served England, the finest of the "blackfaced" crew was Gunga Din , a regimental bhisti (water-carrier). Everyone always ordered him to get them water and called him names, such as "You squidgy-nosed old idol, Gunga Din!" His uniform was nothing much to speak of, and his only field equipment was a goatskin water-bag and a rag. When the soldiers would lie about in the heat, sweating, they would call out "O brother" to Din, and call him a heathen, asking him where he had been and threatening to hit him unless he filled up their water bo...

Death, be not proud Lines 1-2 Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so; • He’s "proud," arrogant, and thinks he can boss people around. • When he walks down the street, people avert their eyes and leap into alleyways to escape him. • Everybody treats him like a king – of the Underworld. They think that he has the power ("might") to do terrible ("dreadful") things. • But, the speaker isn’t afraid. • He walks right up to Death and gives him a piece of his mind, • It’s downright gutsy for the speaker to be telling this guy – who frightens everyone – what to do. • The speaker orders Death not to be proud, and then says that people are mistaken in treating Death as some fearsome being. Lines 3-4 For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me. • Death thinks that he has the power to kill people, but he actually ...

Summary:   Holy Sonnet 10 (in a series of nineteen) gets its traditional title from the first four words of the poem, in which the poet issues a challenge to death that it should not boast of its conquests of people nor take pride in their fear of it. The poet depicts death as a force that is supposed to be “mighty and dreadful” because it kills everybody, but he denies its invincibility, pitying “poor” death and declaring that it will not kill him. Assuming the voice of a preacher—John Donne was an Anglican minister—the poet attempts to convince his audience, by the power of his rhetorical attack and his faith in the afterlife, not to be afraid of death, saying that people actually do not die forever. In a series of paradoxes, the poet attacks the conventional characterisation of death as man’s invincible conqueror. Rather than being a fearful experience, death brings greater release and pleasure than rest and sleep, which people use to restore their energy. Death no...