An Illustration by Gustave Doré

This illustration by Gustave Doré depicts a group of people, mainly children, huddled together on the side of a street in the night time. The mood of this illustration is overwhelmingly dreary. Overall it is a very dark image—the brightest point being the street lamp in the upper left-hand corner. The faces of the people are not only dark but are rather miserable as well. They are huddled together, sharing blankets, as if the only source of warmth they have is each other. The objects laying in front of the two main adults in the image look as though they could be all the belongings of this family, from vases to a violin. Such a dark, depressing image is clearly meant to evoke similar emotions in its viewer, as one cannot help but feel sorry for the people in the illustration. The image definitely appears to be a commentary on the living conditions that affected particularly women and children in London in the mid to late 19^thcentury. It is heartbreaking to see people living in conditions such as this—in the cold on the side of the street—but it is especially so to see children, or what could possibly be a family, suffering in this manner.

This illustration is reminiscent of William Blake’s poem “London” which details the tragedy that is the society of common men, women, and children in London. Within the first stanza, Blake says he marks “in every face I meet/ marks of weakness, marks of woe.” In this image, every individual has a face marked by woe. Both this illustration and Blake’s poem mark a dreadful time in London’s history and depict the miserable conditions of the every-day people.