* Oppression and Social Inequality: Blake portrays London as a city where the poor and marginalized are burdened by hardship, suffering, and the weight of social injustice. The "Chimney-sweepers cry" and the "black'ning Church" represent the suppression of innocence and hope.
* Loss of Innocence and Humanity: The poem depicts a London where joy and happiness are stifled, replaced by despair, misery, and a sense of moral decay. The "youthful Harlot's curse" and the "Marriage hearse" symbolize the corruption and loss of innocence in the city.
* The Curse of Industrialization: Blake criticizes the negative effects of industrialization, particularly the exploitation of labor and the pollution that infects both the environment and the human spirit. The "Marks of weakness, marks of woe" and the "mind-forg'd manacles" represent the mental and physical burdens imposed by industrial society.
* The Power of Imagination and Hope: Despite the bleakness of the poem, a glimmer of hope shines through. The speaker's yearning for a better world suggests that even in the face of societal ills, the human spirit can still strive for change.
In essence, "London" is a powerful indictment of the social and moral ills plaguing 18th-century London, but it also suggests that the human capacity for hope and imagination can offer a path toward redemption.