Blake's Carpe Diem?

Blake's Carpe Diem?

In the poem "London" by William Blake the speaker describes a very unappealing and bleak picture of London in the first three stanzas. He uses words such as woe, fear, weakness, and speaks of the appalling black on the church walls, and the blood of soldiers. He then goes on in the final stanza to explain how a Harlot is jealous of the lives of others, particularly a newborn and a newly married couple. It is this last stanza and the attitude of the Harlot that gives this poem it's small but present carpe diem theme.

The Harlot is jealous because she has not used her time as best she could. In other words, she has not seized her day, or time. She has wasted her time, and her life in doing a job that is considered immoral, dirty, and for this she is seen as less than a person. The speaker's description of the nastiness of London coincides with society's normal view of a prostitute. Both are less than desirable.

It is this contrast of new and the old and nasty that enhances the carpe diem theme. The key word is new. A newborn baby and a newly married couple are what upset the Harlot. This is because these people are in beginnings. The baby is beginning its life and has a clean slate to work with, just as the young couple is beginning their life together. It's all about new beginnings. They will have the opportunity to seize their days and use their time productively, which is the opposite of what the Harlot is doing.