Kelley Pujol Writes: A Summer Day in London

A Comparison of William Blake’s 1794 poem London and the city as it exists today

The 2004 Mike Nichols film Closer contains a scene in which the character Larry, played by Clive Owen, expresses his dislike for the city of London. He exclaims that the city has become a type of theme park and compares it to Disneyland. The image this comparison produces could not be further from the image created by Blake’s poem London.
Blake states in the first stanza of the poem that he must “mark in every face I meet / Marks of weakness, marks of woe” (Blake I. 3-4). If one wanders the streets of London’s official “Square Mile” today, one might encounter a few faces looking woeful – perhaps due to a downturn in the stock market – but it is unlikely that much weakness would present itself. London’s streets are crowded with the modern day, ethnically diverse equivalents of men in black suits and bowler hats. Hurrying along her streets are men and women in expensive, tailored suits wearing messenger bags and running shoes. Most are talking on their cell phones in various languages and smoking cigarettes. Occasionally, one will be drinking a cup of coffee from Starbucks.
That is not to say there are no poor people in London. One might witness a homeless man in one of the city’s parks or while walking to the British Museum in the morning. The amazing sight comes later in the evening, outside Covent Gardens, when one will see a large white van arrive and all the homeless gather round to obtain clean socks, sweat suits, and perhaps a sandwich. Gone too are “the Chimney-sweeper’s cry / Every black’ning Church appalls” (Blake III. 1-2). Due to the campaign to gain the 2012 Olympics, London’s very sidewalks are cleaned regularly by a man on a Zamboni – something that just about has to be seen to be believed.
Blake would also have to recant his statement that “But most thro’ midnight streets I hear / How the youthful Harlot’s curse” (Blake IV. 1-2). After nine o’clock at night, unless one is in the theatre district, London is eerily quiet. Of course, when one is paying approximately $3000.00 a square foot for property, noisy neighbors are hardly an option (Wilson, 2007).