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Yes Weep By William Blake Analysis

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In the first line the reader is introduced, not with a human being, a boy crying in the snow, but with an object, a dehumanized thing. It reflects the society’s attitude of the late 18th century on undervaluing children, taking them as possessions and disrespecting them. Like in the poem in the Songs of Innocence, the reader is again affected with this “weep! weep!” which at first sounds like crying, but as Blake continues using this image, it might represent the mispronounced onomatopoeic words of brushes and brooms, sweep, sweep. The reader can immediately deduce that the speaker is talking about poor child chimney sweep, all dirty and weeping alone in cold. He is not with his parents in the church praying because his parents have left …show more content…

The last two verses could be considered ironic again, because of the anti-radical mood in the late 18th century and the “Church and King” movement against everyone who was campaigning for changes of laws and regulations in any field. William Blake was one of the promoters of children’s rights and work regulations, he was trying to make changes by publishing his writings and visual art. He was probably provoked by various decrees like the Royal Proclamation Against Seditious Writings which encouraged him to write even more. As a result of this revolt, he may have subtly included God, Priest and King to mock this regime against public disposition of personal opinions which were not in accordance with …show more content…

The first one represents the speaker as a young, immature, innocent boy, not understanding his own existence, and being completely unaware of the sewerenes of his situation. The speaker and Tom Dacre are not happy with their position but their ignorance and lack of experience does not allow them to think beyond anything they were told to. They are taught to be God-fearing and obedient workers because at the end they will get eternal, endless glory and consolation in God’s ultimate kingdom. Taking into account William Blake’s religious views and his attitude towards orthodox clerical beliefs, he is most probably trying to be sarcastic, and emphasize the Church’s deceitfulness in ignoring the boys’ suffering. At the end of the poem, Blake puts the accent on the religious belief that everyone is, or must be, satisfied with what he or she gets, stressing the fact that the chimney sweepers devotedly like to clean the chimneys because that is their role in society and they will be rewarded in afterlife if they stay

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