William Blakes The Chimney Sweep and Songs of Innocence...

William Blakes The Chimney Sweep and Songs of Innocence and Experience In this essay I will attempt to analyse, compare and contrast the poems The Chimney Sweep from both Songs of Experience and Songs of Innocence which were both written by William Blake in 1790-92 and 1789 respectively. These two poems were amalgamated in 1794 to create a new collection called Songs of Innocence and Experience. I will be looking at what Blake says and hints at concerning the two contrary states of the human soul in the two poems as well as looking at the message Blake is trying to convey to the reader. As the poems are written regarding the same subject, that is a chimney sweep, I will be looking at how they differ in their†¦show more content†¦This was because of the huge power the rich and wealthy possessed; they could pay people less and lay workers off without the fear of them taking mass industrial action because people were so desperate for the money and would not have even have thought have taking such action. Over the years life got harder for the working class year by year and was basically a constant battle to stay alive, which many were losing. Due to the fact that people were so poor, the burden of contributing to the family income was placed on children even earlier and this quite often meant working as a chimney sweep from the age of four, a topic explored in Blakes t wo poems. Life expectancy was short and if you were unfortunate enough to be a chimney sweep you were seen to be doing well if you got past the age of ten. Money generally means power and at that time in the world it was especially true and actually to a greater degree and so the more money you had the more power and authority you had and if you were rich enough you could not only have an influence on the area of the country you lived in but also be influential in the running of the country. Consequently due to the totally disproportionate spread of power within the country, people who were very poor had absolutely no say in theShow MoreRelated In William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, many872 Words   |  4 PagesIn William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, many of the poems correlate in numerous aspects. For example, The Chimney Sweeper is a key poem in both collections that portrays the soul of a child The Chimney Sweeper in Innocence vs. The Chimney Sweeper in Experience In William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, many of the poems correlate in numerous aspects. For example, The Chimney Sweeper is a key poem in both collections that portrays the soul ofRead MoreBrainless Children Or Heartless Adults?1391 Words   |  6 Pagesall forms of literature. In most cases, it seems to progress from a sort of naà ¯ve sanguinity to pretentious nihilism as the individual gains experience and â€Å"wisdom.† The question is then presented: are children truly senseless, or are we simply breeding generations of heartless adults? Together, William Blake’s â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper† poems, as well as William Wordsworth’s â€Å"We Are Seven†, isolate and exemplify this archetype to construct a reality more true than either poem alone, that a child’s mindRead MoreEssay about The Voice of the Chimney Sweepers1180 Words   |  5 PagesWilliam Blake (1757-1827) led a relatively happy life. At an early age, he claimed that he could see God, Angels, and other important Italian figures. Blake’s parents encouraged him to keep a record of a ll the masters he claimed to keep in contact with. Blake’s father, James Blake, gave him casts and engravings to keep this record. At the age of ten, Blake started at a drawing school named Henry Pars’ Drawing School. Three years later, he was apprenticed to a Master Engraver, James Basire. BlakeRead More Comparing William Blakes The Tyger and The Lamb Essay1246 Words   |  5 PagesComparing William Blakes â€Å"The Tyger† and â€Å"The Lamb† William Blake is referred to as many things, including poet, engraver, painter and mystic, but he is probably most famous for his poetry. Blake began writing the poems below in about 1790 whilst living in Lambeth, London. His poetry has a wide range of styles but his most famous poems are those from â€Å"Songs of Innocence† and Song of Experience†. The two sets of poems are designed to show different states or ways of seeing. They are BlakesRead MoreSocial Issue, Symbols, and Themes of Blake’s â€Å"the Chimney Sweeper† Poems2253 Words   |  10 PagesSocial Issue, Symbols, and Themes of Blake’s â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper† Poems During the seventeenth century, people in England substituted burning wood with coal to use their fireplaces to avoiding paying hearth taxes. The burning of coal left soot on the interior walls of the fireplaces that needed to be removed to keep the fireplaces clean. Homes would be polluted with fumes of the coal residue if the fireplaces weren’t cleaned regularly (â€Å"A History of Chimney Sweeping†). Since children were smallRead MoreSociological Criticism of William Blake’s Poetry Essay1506 Words   |  7 Pagescommunism and social inequality. William Blake, a Romantic poet, frequently wrote on the topic of class oppression and his opposition to the exploitation of the proletariat by the capitalists. Blake’s ideology and preference towards an equalitarian society quite closely mirror the theories of Karl Marx. Analyzing Blake’s poetry from a Marxist perspective paints a clearer picture of the motives behind Blake’s anger towards soci al inequality. Poems such as â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper† and â€Å"London† from hisRead MoreAN ANALYSIS OF WILLIAM BLAKES SONGS2960 Words   |  12 PagesAN ANALYSIS OF WILLIAM BLAKE’S SONGS OF INNOCENCE AND OF EXPERIENCE AS A RESPONSE TO THE COLLAPSE OF VALUES TIMOTHY VINESâˆâ€" Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience are a much studied part of the English canon, and for good reason. Blake’s work depicts a quandary that continues to haunt humanity today: the struggle of high-order humanity against the ‘real’ rationality and morals of institutionalised society. This essay seeks to explore both Blake’s literary reaction to the Enlightenment and theRead More The Poems of William Blake Essay2391 Words   |  10 PagesThe Poems of William Blake What have you understood, from reading the poems of William Blake? William Blake, a late 18th century English Romantic poet uses traditional forms for his poetry in that he blends the ballad, the nursery rhyme and the hymn. The meaning he constructs from these forms however is far from traditional. His style was to express very complex ideas in very simple language and compressing a lot of deep meaning into often very short poems. Blake was a rebel and was overRead MoreEssay on William Blake1879 Words   |  8 PagesWilliam Blake William Blake is one of England’s most famous literary figures. He is remembered and admired for his skill as a painter, engraver, and poet. He was born on Nov. 28, 1757 to a poor Hosier’s family living in or around London. Being of a poor family, Blake received little in the way of comfort or education while growing up. Amazingly, he did not attend school for very long and dropped out shortly after learning to read and write so that he could work in his father’s shop. The lifeRead More William Blakes Chimney Sweeper Essay1976 Words   |  8 PagesWilliam Blakes Chimney Sweeper In this essay I am going to explore Blakes Chimney Sweeper poems from the Songs of Innocence and the Songs of Experience. During this essay I will cover Blakes life and times and the way chimney sweepers get treated around that time and what Blake attempts to do about it. Blake was born on November 28 in the year 1757. His parents where strict but understanding. Blakes parents realized early in his life that Blake was gifted. He