The first "Chimney Sweeper" poem in Blake's "Songs of Innocence" begins by telling of a young child whose mother had died when he was very young and his father had sold him to work as a chimney sweep. The child was so young that he "could scarcely cry weep weep weep weep." (81) In this quotation, Blake uses somewhat of a play on words in reference to the child's duties: "sweep sweep sweep sweep." Here the child is a symbol of purity and naivety. Blake then writes to describe a young chimney sweep, Tom Dacre, and his dream. Tom was another young child described to have white hair "that curl'd like a lambs back" (81). Both the reference to Tom's white hair and the similarity it had to a lamb were symbols displayed again to represent themes of innocence and purity. Blake often uses the reoccurring theme of black and white or light and dark to reference innocence and experience or purity and sin. Blake's propaganda-like opinions are shown as he discloses the social injustice of innocent children who are forced into a child-labor situations that expose them to the black soot of experience and sin. Within the next stanzas, the tone and flow of the poem becomes more happy and light. Tom Dacre's dream of former young chimney sweeps that had died and were "lock'd up in coffins of black" were taken by an Angel, "set free", and made "white" and child-like again. This Angel told Tom "is he'd be a good boy, he'd have God for his father and never want joy" (81). Here Blake tries to convey that if the children would perform the duties they had been given, they would go to heaven and "go down a green plain leaping laughing they [would] run and wash in a river and shine in the Sun" (81). Also, with God as their father, they would be able to have the relationship like the one with their earthly fathers that was denied to them. Upon having this dream, Tom went about his work "happy and warm" because he knew "if all do their duty they need not fear harm" (81). Tom's reaction to this dream also showed his naivety because he was so easily influenced by this angel's statement in his dream that it allowed to to continue happily in his unjust, cold, and evil situation.
In "Songs of Experience," the tone is much more ominous and dreary, conveying themes of hopelessness and darkness. Again, the reader witnesses Blake's love of contrast in his first line of the poem "a little black thing among the snow" (89). This quotation highlights the feelings of pain and sin represented by the color black as it contrasts against the white snow. In this poem, the child is still crying for his parents who have "gone up to the church to pray" (89). Blake puts a lot of effort in describing this child's anguished state so that he can engage the reader to feel sorrow and begin to take offense on the child's behalf against whatever is holding the little boy's parents from him: the church. In the second stanza, Blake sets up two contrasting moods. It begins with the happy child, who "smil'd among the winter snow" and then the parents "clothed [the child] in the clothes of death, and taught [the child] to sing the notes of woe" (89). Here the "winter snow" continues to represent purity, while the metaphorical "clothes of death" that the parents have clothed their child in, seem to represent the child's forced exposure to sin. In the third and final stanza Blake places the blame on the church, the state, and the parents: "God & his Priest & King" for the injustice they have imposed on the children (89). He believes the parents to be ignorant of the harm they have caused just because the child is "happy & danc[es] and sing[s]" (89). The parents have fled to the church rather than performing the responsibilities of a child and the government and the church have created a society where such an injustice is acceptable.
While Blake's first poem is generally happy and hopeful, the second is sad and hopeless. Blake administers his political and social views by blatantly blaming the state and church for injustice, while using obvious contrasts of colors and themes to intensify his claims.
Alex,
ReplyDeleteGood focus on these two paired poems, and many astute observations on the specific passages you quote and discuss. I would caution you about making the jump from what the poem says to what the poet believes, though, especially with Blake but to some extent with the rest of the authors we will read. Blake is certainly prone to irony and other ways of meaning something different than what he says. If you do speculate on what the author thought, be sure to let your reader know it is speculation, not certain fact.
ALex, likewise I noticed how William Blake used the colors black and white to reference innocence, purity and sins. I think William Blake mission as a poet was to comfort and empower society and the disadvantange. Blake is a very religious and passionate poet and he is moreso passionate about social justice/injustice.
ReplyDeleteJennifer Merriweather
Alex,
ReplyDeleteIn your analysis of the Innocent version of The Chimney Sweeper, I noticed how you explained that the young boy was innocent and that he was unaware of what his parents had sold him into. But remember from the podcasts that Blake doesn't intend for the innocent version to only be innocent and the experience to be only about experience, but that they ironically are intertwined. For example, the last line in the poem proves that the young boy is fully aware of the injustice that has been bestowed upon him. Good job pointing out the sad, yet experience of the young boy in the second version. How ironic is it that he should be the one that is naive, but it is in fact his experienced parents who are ignorant to his awareness??
The differences between Songs of Experience and Songs of Innocence that Blake uses definitely help to juxtapose certain perspectives. How cool is it that Blake wrote a poem with the same name in each collection; both collections carrying very different ideas and views. Like you mention, the Songs of Experience definitely have a darker and more harsh tone. The two words alone give so much background to the collections themselves. The images and ideas that they bring already give the poems in them a certain tint.
ReplyDeleteGood interpretation and contrast on the two versions of chimney sweeper. I really liked how you noticed that propaganda was present in Blake’s poems. He definitely wanted to reform the state and clear them of their corruption and impurities. “Chimney sweeper” was great propaganda on his part in that the injustice of children far more amplifies the situation than if it was against adults. His message would reach England far and wide as his language describes the irony and sinful nature of their rulers. And it’s just like Blake to always present two sides of the story while leaving judgment up to the audience. Although it may seem that he is persuading the reader to go against England, he was just merely illustrating the facts and events of the time that any normal rational of morals would lead one to the same conclusion, and that the current situation is ill and change is needed.
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