Blake’s work was mentioned as ‘diseased and wild’ by John Ruskin, even though Ruskin noted that Blake’s mind as ‘great and wise’. However, it was only in the Twentieth century that Blake was acknowledged as a notable poet and artist. Blake’s poems are simple and lyrical in form, but there are complex works too, which needs the reader to work hard to understand what Blake means. This complexity is due to the presence of mythological in addition to the philosophical sources present in his work. Blake himself has stated that he had to "create a System, or be enslaved by another Man 's.” this reasons the presence of vague thoughts and allusions in his work.
William Blake uses the children in both Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience to represent the effects of the by-products left by a society dominated by the concept of providing for an upper class through the notions associated with proto-capitalism. This essay will highlight the various ways in how Blake presents both the physical and psychological effects caused by these by-products (poverty and suffering) to these children and how they as a whole, represent this side of society that is affected therefore as a result conveying the ways in which Blake represents poverty and suffering in both of his books. It is clear that Blake wished for his readers to sense in Songs of Innocence that the children are mostly unaware as to why they suffer or to what is the source of
The Chimney Sweeper by William Blake is about a young boy who is sold to be a chimney sweeper by his father, after his mother passed away. At the time, there were no child labor laws. In Infant Sorrow by William Blake, is about a child that is born into poverty and the infant feels that he is a burden to his parents; started being a burden to his parents from birth on. Not a happy birth for the infant, which lands this poem in Songs of Experience. An archetype is an action, idea, or character that represents something more than itself, often has a universal meaning
Many of William Blake’s most popular works, including Song of Innocence and of Experience and The Book of Urizen, have had a significant influence on 1930s writer Dylan Thomas. The thesis that fulfilled Hugh Grant’s Masters of Arts in English titled “The Influence of William Blake on the Poetry and Prose of Dylan Thomas” explains that Thomas came from a lower class family, was self-educated, and his work was not very popular when he was alive, similarly to Blake (13). The thesis discusses Thomas’s reading habits and makes the observation that on Christmas one of the pieces of literature he received was Blake’s complete works; this may have laid a foundation for Thomas’s interest in Blake, forming many of his beliefs and attitudes (Grant 1,
William Blake is a romantic poet who uses children in his poems to symbolize innocence as they are not tainted by society. He expresses the hardships of child labor and suffering that it comes with due to the industrial revolution in the eighteenth century. William Blake expresses these struggles through the writings of his poems "Songs of Innocence" and "Songs of Experience". Some literary critics believe that suffering can come in various ways during each century. Others believe that suffering is only caused by one outcome.
William Blake and William Wordsworth both present views of the obtaining, losing and regaining of innocence within their work. From Blake’s perspective, ‘Chimney Sweeper’ reflects the belief that it is possible to regain innocence once it has been lost, hence appearing in Songs on Innocence by taking away a child’s innocence through trials on this earth, returning it to him in death. Whereas, Songs of Experience the sweeper is aware of the idea that the church and king manipulate people causing him to criticise religion, just like Blake criticises religion for being the root of the problem. On the other hand, Wordsworth reveals his reflections of innocence through ‘Anecdotes for Fathers’. ‘Chimney Sweeper’, is a poem that first appeared in
The dangers and widespread injustice of the chimney sweeping profession caught William Blake’s attention, causing him to compose two similar works titled, ‘The Chimney Sweep.’ The first belonged to the book ‘Songs of Innocence’ published 1789 and the second, to ‘Songs of Innocence and Experience’ published in 1793. Both poems show the joys of childhood innocence as the main subject. It highlights how childhood innocence was destroyed, taken away or ruined by adults. Blake saw innocence as a joke. It does not exist because it is tainted by the world of experience - chimney sweeping, death, poverty, etc.
William Blake and William Wordsworth encounter concepts of innocence throughout their poetic experiences., but from different points of view. From Wordsworth’s “Tintern Abbey” to Blake’s “Songs of Innocence”, they portray different realisations with the concept of innocence. “Tintern Abbey” produced a literary revolution as great poets such as Plath, Boland and Yeats were influenced to write because of “Tintern Abbey”. Wordsworth kick started the beginning of what we know as modern poetry. Wordsworth discusses the alienation of the struggles associated with childhood, however Blake uses pastoralism to reverse the oppression which he believes the Bible portrays.
The dangers and widespread injustice of the chimney sweeping profession caught William Blake’s attention, causing him to compose two similar works titled, ‘The Chimney Sweep.’ The first belonged to the book ‘Songs of Innocence’ published in the year 1789 and the second, to ‘Songs of Innocence and Experience’ published just four years after; 1793. Both poems show the joys of childhood innocence as the main subject. It highlights how childhood innocence was destroyed, taken away or ruined by adults. Blake saw innocence as a joke. To him it did not exist because it was tainted by the world of experience - chimney sweeping, death, poverty, etc.
William Blake was one of many poets during that time. He was hopeful for the outcome of the French revolution. Similar to Blake the poet William Wordsworth also believed that the political and social structure of society has to change. In addition to the French Revolution, there was the Industrial Revolution, which also caused many changes