, (3) is used as a recognized standard of equality that typifies the society. This syntax immediately informs the readers that a distinctive attribute characterizes the entire society, and explains that the speaker formed a visible impression of the people. The uses of the term marks in the last line of this quatrain suggest a range of emotions felt by the population. Marks of weakness, marks of woe (4) gives us the impression that the people lack power and strength, and are likewise full of misery and misfortune. The somber character of the people thus lends to the wretched conditions of structures within the city as well. By the end of the poem, we see that the parallel structuring of the poem with the use of such repeating words is consistent with the poems unfolding plot, as the experience repeats itself much like the selected words do. The compact structure of London suits the meanings and effects of the poem through the authors creative use of rhyme, sound, rhythm, and meter. Each line ends with an exact end-rhyme that represents the experiences and feelings of the society. Blake focuses our attention on these words by placing them at the end of the lines, by shaping them into symbolic exact-rhyming words, and by accenting them. Blakes choice of these particular words [such as: cry - sigh; and curse - hearse (9 - 16)], and the blending of their connotations, gives the setting and scene of London a dark and desolate mood that forms a major atmospheric effect to support the conditions of both the city and the poem.The poet also enriches the meanings of the poem with his use of sound quality. The arrangement of the syllables according to whether they are stressed or unstressed represent the tightly organized and controlled nature of the metropolis. The assonance helps to provide rhythmic structure and supports the relations between the words and their harsh effects. For example, the words cry and sigh in the third stanza ...
