oem, Blake predicts no hope for even the most innocent creatures in society, the children and infants. They are doomed before they are born, and once born, are forced to live in a derelict world with nothing to offer. Perhaps the most haunting line of the entire poem is the last: "And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse" (line 16). It is rather chilling the way Blake equates marriage with death. Perhaps not only a social death (women became the property of their husbands) but also a death by disease. Men had very little regard for their familys health, and consorting with prostitutes was a prime was of introducing disease into the family. Swifts poem deals with the issue of the blatant disregard and carelessness as well. An oblivious servant girl sprinkles dirt on whomever is standing never as she mops, and instead of correcting her behavior, she perpetuates it, more and more aggressively. As Swift says some careless quean flirts on you from her mop, but no so clean: you fly, invoke the gods; then turning, stop to rail; she singing, still whirls on her mop (lines 19-23). Although a careless wench and a diseased husband are very different, they illustrate the points of both Swift and Blake by showing how much society is degraded. People care nothing for eachother, and live only for their own selfish pleasures.Blake is presenting his perceptions of a changed world, molded and suppressed by human hands. Dark abysmal depictions of the city shape Blakes London, as well as Swifts. The bleakness of the city is more apparent in Blakes, however, whereas Swift seems to make light of the city while incorporating graphic and vulgar depictions of life in the city. Swifts poem is quite detailed in its descriptions. It is perhaps more amusing than Blakes, using light sarcasm and awkward situations to illustrate a point. This, however, does not detract from the more sinister theme of the dismal and melancholy nature of the city. In ...
