Workin' for the Man Every Night and Day - Poetry Blog 5. (London)

Finally, I shall analyze the poem London by William Blake. This was probably the one I found most difficult. 

For the most part, I understand the general meaning. "I wander through each chartered street... the mind-forged manacles I hear." He's talking about how oppressive the British government is to the people. It makes sense - at that time, Great Britain was a large, dominant country. Crying is also a big part of this poem - it's used three times ("In every cry of every man, in every Infant's cry of fear... Blasts the new-born Infant's tear"), but I'm not sure what the significance is. Anyway, the poem uses oppression in a couple of different ways, like their jobs and marriage. Maybe it's saying that not only were the people enslaved by their government, but by all aspects of their lives. The tone matches the theme - it's dark and lacks hope. Overall, this poem brings about many questions, but is centered around oppression. 

Soma - "A gramme in time saves nine!" (Chapter 5, Part 1/ Pages 72-78)

"They were inside, here and now - safely inside with the fine weather, the perennially blue sky."

~ Brave New World, page 77

Okay, this whole soma thing is really frustrating me. First I had to reread the chapter; I couldn't even tell what was happening. I get that it is a drug used to lift one's spirits (and is probably abused as an anti-depressant), but I was really unsure of the extent to which it did this. People casually take it on a day-to-day basis in small doses, but they also go on soma-holidays with it? Does that mean it's a hallucinogen and they are imagining their whole holiday, or are they just so drugged that everything seems perfect as they continue their lives? But even more importantly, the government is encouraging the people to take it all. At first I thought that would be destructive to  the government (the drugs might affect their work performance), but then I realized that it might be the only way to get through the day. The government has not only conditioned them to think that they are always happy, but now they also supply drugs for them to always have an escape if they are feeling bad, thus having total and complete control over them.