William Blake Innocence

Words: 1578
Pages: 7
Open Document
Loss of Innocence William Blake’s “The Chimney Sweeper” from the songs of innocence, is about a boy who was sold at a very young age into the life of a chimney sweeper. Blake tries to educate his readers about the social injustices imposed on young children by revealing the horrifying and hazardous conditions they work under. Even though Blake believes that innocence is pleasing, it cannot outlast the real world due to the harsh circumstances the children face. By using the voice of a child, Blake attempts to prove that the cruel and dangerous practice of abusing children have negative consequences and robs them of their childhood and innocence. The poem “The Chimney Sweeper” was written in 1789 during the period known as the Industrial …show more content…
The job as a chimney sweeper was the filthiest and hazardous occupation since it required small boys to climb up the tiny chimneys to clean out the deposits of soot. The speaker of the poem “The Chimney Sweeper” is a young boy who was sold by his father into the chimney-sweeping business after his mother passed away. In England, during the 1700’s and 1800’s, it was common for Master sweeps to purchase young children from orphanages and impoverished families and convert them into servants. Moreover, the children were lured into the hazardous occupation with the promises of better future and wealth. As the speaker mentions that he could “scarcely cry weep weep weep weep” illustrates just how young the boys were when forced into child labor (3). The average age of chimney sweepers were between the ages five to seven and some were even as young as four ("The Role of …show more content…
After witnessing the injustices against the poor and young children in London, Blake voiced his anger through the greatly evocative and meaningful poetry. Blake was extremely frustrated with Church and God because he believed that although the servants of God were aware of miseries of poor and vulnerable children, they did not do anything about it. Instead, the poor were told that suffering is part of Gods plan and they must accept it. Blake mainly focused on child labor, which he viewed as evil byproduct of the Industrial Revolution. He stresses that simplicity and innocence is lost when a child matures too fast and faces lifetime difficulties too soon. Through his poems, Blake tries to expose the injustices performed against children and expected that society would take action to put an end to child labor. After the death of William Blake, many Acts were passed by the UK Parliament to improve treatment of working children. Finally in 1875, The Chimney Sweepers Act 1875 was passed which eventually stopped the exploitation of small children for chimney sweeping jobs. The Act set the lower age limit for chimney sweeps at twenty one, and required the listing of all chimney sweeps with the local police
Show More

Related Documents: William Blake Innocence

Archetypes Used In William Blake's Poems

in Blake’s Poems) William Blake was an extraordinary writer who was highly popular in English literature. He wanted to strive in his work to break free from patterns and thought that defined common experience. Blake wanted to make his views clearly different from the ordinary. His musical visions were always based on perception of symbols. William used these symbols to help his audience connect with his thoughts. With that being said, while he composed his poetry, Blake used archetypes for further…

Words 720 - Pages 3

Essay about Chimney Sweepers

Chimney Sweepers With both The Chimney Sweeper: Songs of Innocence and The Chimney Sweeper: Songs of Experience, William Blake describes the poor conditions of children who worked as chimney sweepers. Although both of these poem are similar because they both express imagery about the concern of the bad conditions for child chimney sweepers, these poems also differ in tone and some details concerning the mistreatment of children. William Blake makes both of these poems very similar by showing the same…

Words 659 - Pages 3

william blake Essay

William Blake’s perspective using spiritual views in his poetry Society’s emphasis on religion has created many different views for people to think about. Some would agree that spirituality goes hand in hand with religion while others would disagree, arguing that the two are separate. William Blake was an unknown engraver who used his poetry to reflect his spiritual views on God and nature. William Blake is one of my favored poets because of his strong spirituality towards God, his perspective…

Words 1136 - Pages 5

Analysis Of Sunflower Sutra By Allen Ginsberg

knowledge while in the poem "Ah! Sunflower" by William Blake he uses the sunflower to emphasize innocence. Allen Ginsberg was inspired by William Blake who wrote "Ah! Sunflower" to write "Sunflower Sutra". Ginsbergh and Blake both wrote about a sunflower to show a new day and a new life. Allen Ginsberg and William Blake both compare the image of a sunflower, both poets symbolize something important to them using the image of the sunflower. Ginsberg and Blake both also use the image of the sunflower as…

Words 292 - Pages 2

William Blake Beliefs

inspirational source for many authors, as William Blake. William Blake made use of common language, and expressed his religious visions in his works. The Songs of Innocence and Experience are an example of his tremenduous work. In this work, the author demonstrated his beliefs that children in their purity and ignorance represent a happier existence for people. Blake was able to demonstrate these beliefs by contrasting the poem, “The Chimney Sweep”, in “The Songs of Innocence”, and “The Songs of Experience”…

Words 151 - Pages 1

The Sick Rose Essay

short poem written by William Blake and which was first published in 1794 and was included in his collection “Songs of Experience”. William Blake’s works focused on the internal life of his imagination. Blake’s literature shows the struggle of oppressive forces such as law and religion. Blake claimed to be a medium and prophet; he claimed to have the ability to interact with god and also deceased relatives. Blake’s collection “Songs of Experience” focuses on the loss of innocence and some sort of reality…

Words 439 - Pages 2

ENG102 William Blake Paper

Katharine Stinson Pr. Roberts English 102 27 March 2015 Innocence and Experience Romanticism is a cultural movement that began in the eighteenth century in Europe. This movement was a reaction to the Industrial Revolution, which occurred during the same era. William Blake, the author of Songs of Innocence and of Experience, wrote a collection of poems demonstrating certain contrasts of life. Many of his poems have aspects of innocence, one of which is “The Lamb.” On the contrary, “The Tyger,” focuses…

Words 1586 - Pages 7

Blake: Chimney Sweeper Essay

William Blake’s “The Chimney Sweeper” (Songs of Innocence) and William Wordworth’s “We Are Seven” examine naivety and innocence in a much different manner. The two poems deal with children and their respective methods of coping with tragedy in their lives. In both poems, the children deal with adversity by relying on denial, but the two poets use different tones to impart to the reader their specific views on innocence and denial. Blake treats innocence with disdain and mocks the conventional…

Words 1465 - Pages 6

How Does The Sing-Song Quality Of The Last Three Lines Support The Pacing Of This Letter?

story? 3. How does the sing-song quality of the last three lines support the pacing of the story? William Blake, “The Lamb,” “The Chimney Sweeper (Innocence),” “Holy Thursday (Innocence)” Each of these poems explores the theme of innocence by discussing children at work. Identify each poem’s meter, and then discuss how this type of meter and rhyme is supportive of the poem’s theme. William Blake, “The Tyger,” “The Chimney Sweeper (Experience),” and “Holy Thursday (Experience)” Each of these poems…

Words 513 - Pages 3

Essay Blake Pastoral Innocence

In what ways does Blake explore the idea of pastoral innocence? William Blake’s representation of pastoral innocence in his ‘Songs of Innocence’ intertwine the voice of children and nature. He described the “little ones leaped and shouted and laughed”, showing children as the essence of innocence, and the fact that “all the hills echoed” in ‘Nurse’s Song’, shows how the pastoral life, symbolic of a simplistic and unsophisticated life of the rustics in Blake’s songs, links nature to a child’s happiness…

Words 1490 - Pages 6