Blakes London versus Pazs The Streets Essay - 1265 Words

Streets William Blakes London and Octavio Pazs The Street both use streets as symbols. Blake analyzes the traits of the different social groups on an everyday encounter while out on the streets, whereas Pazs poem encompasses the feelings of a man on a particular journey down a street. This is just one of many similarities in the two poems. Both poems exude an intimate feeling of discontent, yet both are for very different reasons. Blakes poem deals with the external conflict of a politically unstable London, while Pazs poem deals more with the internal conflict the narrator experiences as a result of low self worth. One may not catch some of the obvious similarities and differences in these two poems if not looking†¦show more content†¦In The Street, the tone created is one of abandonment and loneliness. The narrator seems paranoid and a little angry. He feels like he is being followed. Could this mean he is running away from some sort of guilt? Its almost as if he wants to be noticed, yet he continues walking down the street thinking he is no one being pursued by nobody. Pazs character feels as if he is being pursued by a nameless pursuant. Both Blake and Paz create well-defined tones for their poems. This allows the reader to have a more clear understanding of the poem. If a reader can create a mental picture of the events taking place in a poem, it helps the reader grasp what the poet is trying to get across. Imagery and alliteration are two ways many poets go about painting this picture. Blake uses alliteration in his poem when he says such things as mind-forged manacles and Blasts the new-born infants tear (497). This alliteration creates imagery, while the repetition of sounds makes speaking the poem more eloquent. Paz, unlike Blake, seems to find using imagery throughout his poem more important. Blindness in The Street is crucial. We know the character isnt really blind, because he looks behind him, but the blindness is metaphorical. The narrator uses blindness to describe his confusion. He walks alone, feeling plagued by a nameless, faceless pursuant, while in actuality, he is pursuing nothing and being pursued by no