Open the app
  1. Home
  2. Lessons
  3. KS3 English
  4. Comparing poems: two views of London

Comparing poems: two views of London

🎬 The doodle video for this lesson is coming soon. Subscribe on YouTube to see it first.

Comparing poems is a key skill at GCSE. Here, two Romantic poets look at the same city, London, and see it in completely different ways.

Blake's London

William Blake describes walking through London's streets and seeing suffering in every face.

Wordsworth's London

William Wordsworth describes London seen from Westminster Bridge early in the morning, before the city wakes.

How to compare

Choose a focus, such as how each poet presents the city.
Similarity: both poems describe London and both use a first-person view.
Difference: Blake sees misery ('Marks of weakness, marks of woe'), whereas Wordsworth sees beauty ('Earth has not anything to show more fair').
Use comparative words: both, similarly, whereas, however, in contrast.
Worked example

Write one comparative sentence about the mood of the two poems.

  1. Blake's mood: sad and angry ('woe').
  2. Wordsworth's mood: calm and amazed ('majesty').
  3. Link them with 'whereas'.

Answer: Blake presents London as a place of suffering, with 'marks of woe' on every face, whereas Wordsworth presents it as calm and beautiful, with nothing on Earth 'more fair'.

Key idea

Blake's 'London' shows a city of suffering; Wordsworth's sonnet shows a city of peaceful beauty. Compare with a clear focus, evidence from both poems and linking words like 'whereas' and 'similarly'.

The interactive lesson includes the diagrams for this topic.

Check you have got it

Answer 6 quick questions with instant marking. If you get one wrong, GCSE-ready shows you why and gives you another go. It is free, and you do not need an account.

Practise this lesson free (6 questions)All KS3 English lessons