Both London and Tissue explore divisions. In the opening stanza, Blake describes the River Thames as ‘chartered’, which indicates that even the river, which is something natural and should be owned by everyone, is owned by the wealthiest people in London. Blake’s repetition of the word ‘chartered’ emphasises the anger he feels about the charter system, which resulted in large parts of the city, including the river, being owned and managed by the wealthy people, leaving nothing for the poor. Blake uses his poem to challenge inequality in London at the time. In Tissue, Dharker explores divisions through the use of ‘maps’. Dharker suggests that ‘maps’ are an example of the way that paper has been used to control people. Maps symbolise the power that people and countries have because not only do they allow people to choose who owns what land, but also who can move freely from one place to another. Dharker also uses maps as an example of the way that paper can divide people because maps often cause conflict when people fight over land or fight between countries.
Both poems explore misuse of power. In London, Blake criticises the church’s misuse of power by describing it as ‘blackening’. Blake’s use of the word ‘blackening’ associates churches with funerals because black is the colour many people wear when they attend funerals in churches. Perhaps Blake does this in order to criticise the church for not doing enough to help poor people, and poor children especially, who worked in terrible conditions in factories and up chimneys. Many of these people died as a result of the terrible and unsafe working conditions. The colour black could symbolise the church’s responsibility for their deaths. Although he was a religious man, Blake was angry with the church for not doing more to stop poor people from being exploited in this way. In Tissue, Dharker criticises the power money has over our lives by writing ‘credit card might fly our lives like paper kites’. Dharker’s imagery helps us to imagine that we are the kite, being tied down by money, which controls our lives. Dharker uses her poem to suggest that the world would be better if we were not controlled by money in this way.
Both poems explore a cry for change. In London, Blake demonstrates that the poor people suffer from the cruelty of their leaders by writing that they are in ‘mind-forged manacles’. This imagery helps the reader to imagine that the poor people are in chains and are trapped. The chains in this image symbolise how trapped the poor people feel as a result of having no money or opportunities. Blake uses his poem to criticise people in power for allowing this cruelty to continue. He wanted society to become fairer. In Tissue, Dharker explores a cry for change by writing ‘let the daylight break through the capitals and monoliths’. Dharker’s uses ‘capitals’ to represent capital cities, which is where most of the country’s money is. Dharker uses ‘monoliths’ to represent the statues that have been put up to remember powerful people. Dharker chooses for ‘daylight’ to shine through in this image in order to symbolise the change that she wanted to see in society, with money and power being shared more equally between people.
Both London and Tissue explore divisions. In ‘London’, Blake’s speaker walks through the streets of the capital city and notes that the streets and the Thames are ‘chartered’. In other words, it is evident to the speaker that the wealthiest people in London own the majority of the city’s streets and buildings as part of the ‘charter’ system, leaving little freedom for the poorest in society. Blake’s repetition of the word ‘chartered’, and his choice to describe the River Thames as ‘chartered’ - something that should be natural and not owned - emphasises the limitations imposed upon the poorest in society and the divisions between rich and poor. As a Romantic poet, Blake felt compelled to use his poetry to challenge inequality in society in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Dharker similarly explores divisions in ‘Tissue’. She does so through imagery of ‘maps’, which symbolise the power granted to countries and their leaders, who have throughout history created artificial borders that divide people. Maps can also cause conflict over land and limit free movement between countries. Divisions are evident within both poems, demonstrating that certain inequalities have remained unchanged in spite of the fact that the poets were writing in different time periods.
Both poems explore misuse of power. In London, Blake criticises the church’s misuse of power by describing it as ‘blackening’. Blake’s use of this metaphor creates imagery of funerals at which the colour black is often worn, implying that the churches are responsible for the deaths of the poorest people in society. Although Blake was a religious man, he was deeply critical of the institution of the church for not doing more to prevent exploitation of poverty-stricken factory workers and child chimney sweepers during the Industrial Revolution. Blake’s description of the church symbolises the shame and responsibility the church should feel. Similarly, in Tissue, Dharker criticises misuse of power by institutions. Dharker criticises the misuse of money by writing ‘credit card might fly our lives like paper kites’. Dharker’s imagery implies that, like the kite, people are held down and restricted by money - particularly the poorest in society. The implication of this image is that our society would be much freer if we were not controlled by money, and if the institutions in charge of money ensured greater equality meaning that, like the kite in the image, we could break free from the string.
Both poems explore a cry for change. In London, Blake plainly criticises the mistreatment of the poor and demands for them to be liberated from their inequality. Blake describes the poor people as being trapped within ‘mind-forged manacles’. His use of imagery implies that poverty-stricken people in London are unable to break free from the structures that control them. This is mirrored in the structure of the poem, which consists of regular quatrains and a pounding ABAB rhyme scheme. Blake’s choice of a tight, unrelenting structure could reflect the restrictions imposed upon the poorest in society as a result of inequality. In contrast, Dharker offers a more hopeful message in ‘Tissue’. Towards the end of the poem, Dharker creates imagery of freedom breaking through powerful structures by writing ‘let the daylight break through capitals and monoliths’. The ‘capitals’ and ‘monoliths’ within this image symbolise the structures of power that exist in our societies. The ‘daylight’ shining through represents freedom and kindness, which Dharker hopes will become more powerful and overcome the institutions that set out to divide us. It seems that Dharker wrote her poem to offer a beacon of hope for a fairer, kinder, more equal society. This is also reflected in the free verse structure, which perhaps mirrors the freedom she hopes can be achieved if we are kinder to one another.