Upon the first read of William Blake’s “London”, I felt slightly confused at the poems higher message. Blake talks of the decay that is overflowing in the streets of London, with its poison reaching even the most wealthy of citizens (referring to both the church and the palace in the third stanza). This poem does not seem to have a tone shift from discussing sadness to discussing hope for a brighter future; it does not clearly end with a sentence that allows readers to look at this poem with a lighter heart. There are 16 lines in this poem — and all 16 talk of pain and suffering. This was what perplexed me. As readers of poetry we are used to searching for that sought-out “higher meaning” that will make us think deeply about the innate ways of life. So, is it possible that this poem’s higher meaning is that pain is always present? That the city of London (or any city that resembles Blakes description of London) is permanently doomed? It could even be that White wants to explain to his readers that living in an Urban climate is so hellish that even things usually connected to happiness (like marriage) are accompanied with death (a hearse, which is discussed as a “Marriage hearse” in the final line). Or, it’s possible that some poems do not need to have a resolution. Maybe Blake had feelings of hate about London, so he decided to write them down. Nothing more.