Blake's Songs Of Innocence example essay topic

Franklin Garcia Professor Castillo English 1302.013 November 4, 2002 Blake's cry for a voice William Blake had a vision. It was a thought that changed the way poetry and writing would be viewed from here to eternity. Blake's point of views and associations with the characters represents a change in the way the reader dictates who the victim is really and who is not. In Blake's "The Chimney Sweeper" from the Songs of Innocence and Experience, both aspects of heaven and hell can be examined just the same as a good versus evil aspect of the two different styles of the poem.

One poem, two totally different views on manners, morals, customs, and what is right and wrong. To understand what William Blake was thinking and trying to say the reader must first know about how Blake's mind worked. Forgotten by his contemporaries but venerated by modern society, British poet, prophet, publisher, and artist William Blake was the earliest of a long line of reformist romantic poets. Regarded widely as a mad man, Blake was above all else a rebel whose anti-authoritarian spirit, and belief in freedom and individuality formed the basis of his revolutionary poetry. With his own unique style and form, Blake's poetry outlived its critics, and William Blake is now widely identified as one of the greatest lyric poets of all time.

From humble beginnings as the son of a hosier, Blake was essentially self taught, drawing inspiration and influence from German mystic Jakob Bohemia and the pivotal works of Emanuel Swedenborg. After his preliminary education, he briefly attended the Royal Academy before being requested to leave after challenging the school's president. Later on Blake managed to establish friendships with renowned academicians such as John Flaxman and Henry Fuse li, whose works may or may not have influenced his later poetry. Blake is usually referred to as a pre-romantic as result of the manner in which he would reject the traditional neoclassical style and modes of thought. A significant part of Blake's writing is the presentation of his own dominant ideologies and beliefs.

He once stated: "I must create my own system or be enslaved by another man's". this truly defines the rebellious spirit of Blake. Similar to the notions examined at great length within the Songs of Innocence, Blake is strongly in favor of intuition, spontaneity, energy and imagination; characteristics he later equates to being man's path to divinity. Meanwhile he was strongly opposed to the melancholic notions that are found riddled throughout his later work. Highly critical poems on rationality, normality and societal parameters are not uncommon and a trademark of Blake's later, far more bitter poetry. As a social commentator, a number of issues relevant at the time were the inspiration behind gloomy works such as "The Chimney Sweeper" regarding industrialization and, from the Songs of Experience. Blake was society's unwillingness to accept and recognize new ideas and opportunities for change.

Stating at one point that these reservations were "an enemy to social progression". To be condemned in a society that is much Blake's as well as anyone else's is a torment that would be felt on all of his art". The Chimney Sweeper" from William Blake's Songs of Innocence comprises " songs of happy cheer" about field and flower, hill and stream, and the innocence of child and lamb, as seen through the eyes of a child (World Book vol. 2 pg 314). In one excerpt, "The Chimney Sweeper", Blake, through religious symbolism, gives the image of an innocence child living a life of hardship and grief that gains comfort from the knowledge that God will deliver him to a better life in heaven. The image of this child "who cried when his head, that curled like a lamb's back, was shaved" gives the impression of the sacrificial lamb, sacrificed into a life of hardship, poverty, and early death. The child dreams of an "Angel who had a bright key and he opened the coffins and set them all free", an angel who carried the word of God and of eternal life.

The "river" that they wash in is symbolic of the baptism that cleanses away their sins, and "shine in the Sun" represents shining in God's light. "The Angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy", live by the word of God, "he'd have God for his father and never want joy", he will be at peace. When the child awakens from his dream, although "the morning was cold", he is "happy and warm" carrying the love of God within him; comforted by the knowledge that God will protect him from harm as long as he believes. Blake's poetry emphasizes the "spiritual rather than physical reality" of life (New Standard Encyclopedia B-281). Although the poems in Songs Of Innocence "are charmingly lyrical, written with almost childlike simplicity", they carry a powerful, spiritual message of God (B-281).

In this particular poem the speaker is "a little black thing among the snow". One reason this poem is not an "all may read" poem is because if the reader is not familiar with Blake's work he or she may not understand why this boy is being called "a little black thing"; this is not to construe the thought of a racial slur or anything of the nature. The little boy is black because he is covered in soot from the chimney, but how are we to know unless we are familiar with "Innocence". For those who still are familiar with his work it is difficult to understand his perspective because he goes from fiction to realistic and then back to fiction without missing a beat. Later in this poem of "Experience" the little boy talks about smiling "among the winter's snow" giving the impression of some white, snow-capped environment when at that particular time there was very little snow in London the whole winter. So Blake expects the reader to be able to envision this oasis of "social forces that have reduced him (the boy) to misery".

Which brings us to the setting Blake has described in this poem. Setting includes several aspects of a work of fiction including the sensuous world of the work, the time in which the action of the work takes place, and the social environment of the character. This would be the manners, customs, and moral values that create an image of the character for the reader. The image seen from reading "The Chimney Sweeper" in Songs of Experience is that of a small lost and abandoned African-American child lying in the snow crying because his parents went to the church to pray for what they want which is not him. This image does not exactly hit the nail on the head, but this poem is in "Songs of Experience" so Blake expects the reader to be experienced enough to have read "Innocence" and understand that when he says "little black thing". And when he talks about "thy father and mother" he is not referring to happily married Dick and Jane, he is talking about how society, "religion, and government share a responsibility in the persecution of children".

But the ironic thing about this is that a reader who does not understand Blake's intentions can still enjoy this poem. Irony could be defined as a diverse and often complex intellectual phenomenon difficult to be justified in a sentence or two. The intention of irony is to make a precise contrast between appearance and reality. There are many types of irony that Blake uses in his writing including verbal irony.

Verbal irony could be most easily understood in the sense that when somebody says the opposite of what they actually want the reader to believe. For example, in "The Chimney Sweeper" the little boy cries, "because I am happy, and dance and sing". It is somewhat obvious that Blake's speaker is being sarcastic because by reading the rest of the poem it is easy to acquire the sense that joy and happiness does not give us a strong vibe. But the vibe to be felt in every poem is the central idea.

The central idea, otherwise known as the theme, deals with four general areas of human experience: the nature of humanity, the nature of society, the nature of human-kind's relationship toward the world, and the nature of our ethical responsibilities. When Blake wrote "The Chimney Sweeper" he was writing it from a socialistic standpoint in that everybody had a particular role in the community. Depending on what family one was born decided what he or she would do for the rest of their lives, no matter what aspirations or dreams they might have. This is the category the speaker of the poem falls into. He is a "Chimney Sweeper", he was born into that job without a choice, and he says, "They think they have done me no injury". Who are 'they'?

'They' are the same people who influenced Blake's writing. 'They' are the same people who dictate the society with same logical structure with which Blake writes this poem. Unlike "The Garden of Love", "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell", "London", and few other poems that Blake wrote most have explicit counterparts in the other volume that are contrary. In "The Songs of Innocence" there is yet another poem called "The Chimney Sweeper" which is a complete anonym to the first poem. It is completely elementary oriented and described as a child's point of view.

Though the two poems are so different they are both constructed under the same socialistic viewpoints, only one is presentable to immature readers because it has more characterization. Characterization is the author's presentation and development of characters. To understand the characterization in "The Songs of Experience" one has to be able to understand "The Chimney Sweeper" in "The Songs of Innocence". The only characterization is that of the little boy and his disapproval on life and his unhappiness. Though the poem is short it would still do the speaker an un-justice to say his character is simple, especially when it is extremely prevalent that Blake's tone toward his speaker is supportive. Tone is an aspect of point of view that is known as the narrator's predominant attitude toward the subject, whether that subject is a particular setting, event, or even an idea.

It is imperative to notice William Blake's choice of words when he describes the little boy to understand his tone. He gives the reader somewhat of the impression that maybe he himself was somewhat of a deprived child. Blake does not stand point blank, but it is clear what he implies from the emphasized manifestations that he creates when he talks about the little boy " Crying " 'weep,' weep", in notes of woe!" . (W.B. BILL 829) Blake was raised with a great biblical upbringing, he once declared that, all he knew was in the bible, and that "The Old and New Testaments were the Great Code of Art". All of the events that William Blake endured in his life had a great influence on his masterful writing and allowed him to perfect the elements of point of view, characterization, setting, tone, irony, and theme. To the reader, Blake could be seen as a person with multiple personalities due to his way in describing two different aspects of life. However, maybe he was right in speaking both right and wrong words?

Blake always saw things in to or more different sides of the story. The same could be seen in a mirror, from the front angle there is a reflection. On the opposite side there is a dirty surface which is dull and has little or no reflection. Together, both Blake and a mirror could see beauty from both sides. The sweepers cleaned chimneys, suffered under harsh conditions, and didn't get very much money. Yet, at the end of each day they would still be happy with each others company.

A companionship that could be felt through the cold, rain, and soot that would wash off on there faces. Work Cited Blake, William. New Standard Encyclopedia. 1995 ed. Vol 3. Pg B-281.

Blake, William. The World Book Encyclopedia. 1965 ed. Vol 2. Pg 314.

Meyer, Michael, ed. The Bedford Introduction To Literature. Sixth edition. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin's 2002.