´óÏó´«Ã½

Nigel Planer and Liz Lochhead comment on William Blake’s poem ‘London’.

Blake wrote ‘London’ against the backdrop of a turbulent time in the capital’s history. He saw the landscape of the Industrial Revolution eating into the green countryside. Workers had to leave their traditional lives working on the land to find jobs operating the machines in the new factories and mills. London’s population exploded, bringing with it serious social problems. But Blake’s poem remains as relevant and powerful today as it was then.