Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Samuel Johnson’s first major published work was the poem titled London which was published in May 1738. Johnson published the poem anonymously and the writer of the poem remained unknown for at least 15 years. However, the poem attained a huge fame and fan following. Alexander Pope liked the poem too much and tried everything to know about the actual writer of the poem but failed to know about him. Samuel Johnson imitated the Roman poet Juvenal’s third satire for this poem partly because he liked Juvenal and partly because he was following the trend of imitating Augustan poets during that period. Samuel Johnson criticizes the corruption, crimes, and poverty of the city of London in this poem. He uses the main character Thales to do so as Thales leaves for Wales to escape the problems of London. The poem had political connotations, criticizing the Whigs government headed by Sir Robert Walpole.
Structure of London:
It is an imitation of the Third satire of the Roman poet Juvenal in which Juvenal’s hero Umricius leaves Rome because of corruption and hypocrisy. Samuel Johnson’s hero is Thales who leaves London for Wales because of corruption, crime, and poverty. Johnson’s friend Richard Savage also left England and settled in Wales but Johnson made it clear that it was just a coincidence and the hero of the poem London imitates Juvenal’s Umricius. Furthermore, Johnson’s hero is named after the great Greek mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher from Miletus, Thales. It is a rather long poem with 263 lines. The first 34 lines are spoken by the narrator who remains anonymous while the other 229 lines are solely spoken by Thales, the hero of Samuel Johnson’s poem.
Analysis of London:
Samuel Johnson himself was working as a grub writer during his time in London and he had the experience of corruption in that emerging market firsthand. He reached London in 1737 and started working for The Gentlean’s Magazine. Parliamentary reporting was banned during the period as Sir Robert Walpole who had dominated British politics since taking over as the de facto Prime Minister successfully suppressed dissent through a mixture of brutality, bribery, and control of the print media. However, Samuel Johnson regularly contributed parliamentary reports such as "Debates of the Senate of Magna Lilliputia" for The Gentleman’s Magazine. John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera became a huge hit which was a strong criticism of Walpole’s government. To control and avoid such criticism, the government passed the Stage Licensing Act of 1737 called for theater managers to submit all plays for government approval in advance of the performance. This also affected Johnson whose play Irene failed to get patrons and wasn’t staged till 1749. London manages to critique the Walpole regime indirectly and through coded references, but contemporary readers, particularly those in sympathy with the opposition, were readily able to see how the poem mocked Walpole’s reign as corrupt.
Summary of London:
The poem begins with a Latin epitaph directly taken from Juvenal’s Third Satire which can be loosely translated as “Who can endure this monstrous city, who is so iron-willed can bear it.”
Lines 1-4
The poem begins as the narrator expresses his frustration and sorrow at the state of London that has been deteriorated by the current government (headed by Sir Robert Walpole). However, the narrator praises his friend Thales as he is leaving London. At first, the narrator is confused about whether he should be sorry or should he be happy? Ultimately, he appreciates his friend Thale’s foresightedness in leaving London which, indeed, is a land of corruption. However, he is sad as he will lose a close friend.
Lines 5-8
The narrator informs that Thales is moving to a faraway place free from corruption. The air is purer in that countryside. Thales is moving to Wales, or Cambria, which is the ancient name of Wales. The narrator is happy that his friend Thales will be able to pay his homage to St. David at Cambria and then he will be able to live a peaceful happy life. In Juvenal’s Third Satire, Umricius leaves Rome to settle in Cumae in Southern Italy, the homeland of the Cumaean prophetess.
Lines 9-18
In these lines, the narrator depicts the corruption and poverty in London. He says that nobody will prefer to stay in London unless he has been bribed to do so. People will prefer to go to Ireland (Hibernia is the ancient name), or they will go to Scotland instead of living in London. The streets of London are full of malice, hypocrisy, and conspiracies. People in London never die untimely unless they are starving and it is too often. The narrator says that London is marred by ruffians or burglars who steal the properties of others, otherwise, people lose their belonging to fires and arson. The streets of London aren’t safe and ruffians often rob passersby. In addition, the lawyers of London are no less than ruffians and they continue to prey upon their clients. The houses of London are so congested and dilapidated that it appears they may fall at any time. The narrator wonders who would prefer to live in such a city?
Lines 19-34
In these lines, the narrator and Thales are waiting for a rowing boat on the bank of the river that will take Thales to the sea vessel. The wherry will pass through Greenwich state where Queen Elizabeth I took birth. The narrator praises Elizabeth I as a glorious and just ruler.
Lines 35-98
The speaker changes from line 35 onwards. Thales is the narrator of all these lines. He remembers his time in London and says that nobody wants to ever return to those shady cursed walls behind which people shamelessly commit vices and only think of personal gain. He says that those people in London who have devoted their lives to science, art, and knowledge, are wasting their time because there is no one in London to appreciate them. He prays to the almighty to let him find a better, happier place than London. Thales remembers that in the past when Germanic tribes attacked Britons, they took refuge in Wales. Thales says that he may remain poor in Wales too but he will be at peace. Thales criticizes those people who get a pension from the government in London and in return, they are expected to say nothing against the tyranny and corruption. He then says that the people taking the government’s pension are those who can take people’s rights away. The government is no longer the people’s government because it is pleading with pirates who will make the country hollow one day.
He then targets the Licensing Act of 1737 and says that the people in power can do anything because none can stop them from doing what they think is right. No one can restrain them in any manner. He further criticizes colonialism and says that the rulers of London take all the plundered money from colonies while the colonies suffer poverty and so do the common people of London. Thales declares that he cannot tolerate such corruption and hence he is unable to live in London. He tells his friend, the previous narrator, that though these politicians rose to power with their lies and sweet talks, he is rustic, truthful, and innocent, and hence, he cannot deceive someone or do something wrong.
Thales then names the first Duke of Marlborough and says that the people who take pensions from the government are inclined towards him who is known for his avarice. Similarly, the second Duke of Buckingham continues to squander people’s money. Thales say that such politicians are the real villains and enemy of London.
Lines 99-165
Thales praises the past of London when King Edward III was the ruler who was a successful commander. He says that London used to be the land of heroes and saints but now the people of London have become thoughtless. The people of England are no longer artful, valuable, fluent, and flexible. The bad rulers have made their country weaker in comparison to the foreign powers. He criticizes contemporary art forms and praises the rule of Henry IV when divine harmony existed in the country. Thales then satirizes the contemporary artists who only imitate the works of others and borrow their ideas to present them as their own. He says that only those artists thrive who follow the government are as corrupt as the government itself. He says that in London, only spineless slaves can live who feel no guilt in their slavery and they celebrate vices. Thales says that several crimes are daily committed in London but the most shameful crime is that of poverty. The biggest vice and crime is to be poor.
Lines 166-223
In these lines, Thales says that London is a place where the innocent is harrassed and ridiculed to such an extent that he feels distressed. Innocent and pure people are wounded to such an extent that they cannot heal ever. Despite their purity and innocence, the corrupt but rich people scorn them and say that they are so poor that it is seldom that there is a place reserved for them in heaven.
Thales then urges common innocent people to get together and rise against oppression and tyranny but then, he notices that poverty will not let them rise. He says that the government has groomed flatterers by giving them pensions. These flatterers praise all the vices and corrupt moves of the government. Thales then addresses the corrupt rulers and tells them that they rose to power from the same ground and after collecting so much wealth, they must look down on the poor people and help them. They should give food to the one who is starving instead of leading him to death.
Then Thales says to his friend that neither the flatterers will listen to his advice, nor the rulers will change their corrupt, cruel ways. He says that one day, the common public will come to know how much wealth these flatterers have amassed but then he says that it will change nothing but will further put salt to the wounds of the poor public.
He says that the corrupt flatterers pretend to be proud and honorable but they are not. Because if they are honorable, they should pay their gratitude to the public by refunding the property they have seized by corrupt means. But they wouldn’t do so. Thales again criticizes the Licensing Act of 1737 and says that the rulers and flatterers control all and they are looking forward to increasing their control. They are not ready to listen to any criticism.
Lines 224-263
After mentioning the ills of rulers and flatterers, Thales says that he just wishes to keep away from the follies of these people. He says that some people of respect in London often taunt him but those who pretend to be heroes of London are actual backstabbers. They act like gang leaders and lords of the streets. They rob common people and kill others for their money. He says that one should just close their doors as soon as he sees such people. Thales says that the rulers and people in power are cruel with no sense of guilt. They can kill anyone at any time and then they will attend the funeral of the same person as if they did nothing wrong. Thales says that these politicians think of nothing but how to increase their votes. They do nothing for the improvement of the country and enjoy all their time at the home of their mistresses. Thales then remembers and praises the reign of King Alfred the Great when the crime was so low that only a single jail was enough for all the criminals and that too often remained empty. King Alfred used to do fair justice. In his time there were no hypocrites, and he didn’t pay anyone to make them obey him. The special juries were not there in Alfred’s time. But now, the government has appointed special juries. The wealthier people and flatterers are the jurists and the government uses them to get their work done in the courts. Thales claims that the legal system of London is totally corrupt.
In the last stanza, Thales says to his friend that he is now going to the rustic Kent because he is tired of the corruption and tricks of the city and he knows that being innocent, he cannot survive the city life. In the last line, the poet Thales says that this is a satire that helped him in animating or bringing to life, whatever he wished to say about London.
So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of English literature. Please stay connected to the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!
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