How does William Blake’s poem “London” describe suffering in the city?

In the poem "London," which appears in his collection Songs of Experience, William Blake portrays the city as a place defined by pervasive suffering and systemic oppression.1

The speaker, depicted in the accompanying design as an "age-bent," blind, and bearded figure, observes the following manifestations of misery:

• Universal Woe: The speaker perceives "marks of woe" on every face he encounters, suggesting that suffering is not isolated but widespread among the city's inhabitants.1
• Psychological Enslavement: He describes hearing "mind-forg’d manacles" in every voice, a powerful metaphor for the self-imposed or socially conditioned limitations that trap individuals in their own despair.1

Through these images, Blake critiques the state of society, highlighting how the human spirit is constrained by the harsh realities of urban life.1