The so-called “city lament” was a staple of ancient verse. Often unnamed narrators dwelt on the vanquished glory and uncertain future of a fallen metropole. The Prophet Jeremiah’s scolding of the Israelites following the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem is the most famous surviving example.
If revived today, a reflection on London’s waning fortunes would be an obvious start for the genre. The sale of a site of national – even royal – importance in our capital’s centre to the Chinese regime for a vast, secretive project would surely merit at least a few sour verses in any such elegy.
