"I wander through each chartered street, Near where the chartered Thames does flow, A mark in every face I meet, Marks of weakness, marks of woe." London is a short poem by William Blake that was originally published in 1794 within Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1794). Blake previously wrote Songs of Innocence in 1789 as a contrary to the Songs of Experience, and later published them both together in juxtaposition. These verses are one of the few in Songs of Experience that does not have a corresponding poem in Songs of Innocence. William Blake (1757-1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognized during his lifetime, Blake's work is today considered seminal and significant in the history of both poetry and the visual arts.