Essay and feedback

It is undeniable from Blake’s poems that the elite are complicit in and enforcers of the oppression of the poor. This is evident in “London” as Blake mirrors rhetoric suffering of the poor with dark and violent imagery surrounding the church and the elite. Furthermore, in “little boy lost” the church is only seen with the poor in order to punish them or use them as a symbol of sin.
Blake’s depiction of the ruling class as oppressors of the poor is clear in the suffering of the working class. In “London” the poor are isolated in their suffering through divisions upheld by the elite. Every street is “chartered” and so is the “river Thames” showing how social hierarchy has been made inescapable. The repetition of “chartered” reinforces this view by emphasising its omnipresence. The oxymoron of “chartered Thames” shows how the elite have preserved something natural and free to privilege only the rich.

Moreover, Blake condemns the Church and wealthy as the primary enforcers of the lower class’ oppression. The church is described as “black’ning”, Blake uses this metaphor to portray the church’s moral decay as it doesn’t intervene to stop “the chimney-sweeper’s cry”. Here Blake recognises that chimney-sweepers consisted of young children among the lower class who the church have failed to help. Similarly, the rich are exposed as benefactors of the poor through the visual description of “blood (running) down palace walls”. Blake contrasts the suffering of the “hapless soldiers” with the riches of the elite, implying that the the soldiers’, typically of the working class, red blood has stained the gold of the palace walls. Through this visual representation, Blake once again showcases the elite’s maintaining of their wealth through the oppression of those deemed dispensable.

Additionally, in “A little boy lost” the child and his family have no agency to defend themselves against the church which oppressed them. When the child asks a simple question, a priest seizes and punishes him while “all admirers his priestly care”. Blake’s use of irony here reveals how the elite, instad of being brought to justice, are praised for their violence. This showcases how any query of their authority by members of the lower class is met with corrupt confrontation as seen in Blake’s exaggerated metaphorical language “bound him in an iron chain”. Therefore, their power is maintained through fear and manipulation, disguising their brutality as righteousness.

Furthermore, when the abused attempt to seek aid they are voiceless. Blake conveys this image of helplessness through the repetition of “the weeping parents wept in vain”, emphasising their lack of power. Through this, Blake not only reinforces the injustice, but also exposes the inability to see retribution against the ruling class. This shows that the ruling class have total authority over the poor, and that their suffering is constant and absolute.

In conclusion, it is without doubt that the ruling class are always chief among the oppressors of the poor. The clear demonstration of the ruling class’ violence and selfishness confirms their complicitness in the inequality. Therefore by only portraying the Church’s and elite’s oppression of the poor, Blake shows that the ruling class are the primary and only enforcers of the lower classes.