Who is the speaker/poet of London?

• A. William Blake
• B. William Wordsworth
• C. Samuel Taylor Coleridge
• D. George Gordon Byron

Answer: (A)

Recognizing who voices the poem helps you match it to the author. London is written by William Blake, a Romantic poet known for sharp social critique. The speaker in the poem is Blake’s narrator describing the oppressive atmosphere of the city—wandering through charter’d streets and noticing the suffering around him—which reflects Blake’s voice in Songs of Experience. That collection presents a morally charged, prophetic view of social injustice, matching the tone and focus of London. The other poets listed are associated with different themes—Wordsworth with nature and inner feeling, Coleridge with imagination and the mystical, Byron with bold, heroic, or satirical sensibilities—so they don’t fit this poem.