Theme in One Sentence

The central theme of London by William Blake is a disdain for the city of London, especially its government.

Originally I thought that Blake was only criticizing the government of London. He refers to aspects of London that are controlled by government. One example of this is line one when he mentions a chartered street. He also speaks negatively about the Church. The Church of England is controlled by the government so he is again showing negative political thoughts. While he does focus on the government, he does in fact go much deeper. In the last stanza, he begins to criticize commoners. He refers the young. He speaks negatively of them in order to illustrate what little hope London has for the future.