The chimney sweeper from songs of experience 赏析

Analysis of The Chimney Sweeper by William Blake2010-11-28 11:57William Blake was a transitional figure in British literature. He was the one of the first writers of the "Romantic Period." Before this period, most writers, such as Alexander Pope, wrote more for form instead of for content. Blake, on the other hand, turned back to Elizabethan and early seventeenth-century poets, and other eighteenth- century poets outside the tradition of Pope.

Blake was not always a poet. In fact, his only formal training was in art. At the age of ten, he entered a drawing school. He later studied at the Royal Academy of Arts. Blake became an apprentice under James Basire, a well-known engraver, at the age of fourteen and remained his apprentice for seven years. Blake found that he had quite a bit of free time. During this time, he read and soon began to try writing poetry.

William Blake wrote "The Chimney Sweeper" of "Songs of Innocence" in 1789. In the next to last line of the first stanza, the cry "'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!" is the child's attempt at saying "Sweep! Sweep!," which was the chimney sweeper's street cry. This poem shows that the children have a very positive outlook on life. They make the best of their lives and do not fear death.

This is quite the opposite in it's companion poem in "Songs of Experience" which was written in 1794. In this poem, the child blames his parents for putting him in the position he was in. He is miserable in his situation and he also blames "God & his Priest & King". This point of view is different from that of its companion poem because the chimney sweeper has been influenced by society and has an "experienced" point of view.

When my mother died I was very young ,

And my father sold me while yet my tongue

Could scarcely cry “’weep!’weep!’weep!’weep!”

So your chimney I sweep ,and in shoot I sleep.

There ’s little Tom Dacre , who cried when his dead ,

That curled like a lamb’s back , was shaved , so I said

“Hash , Tom ! never mind it , for when your head’ bare

You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair.”

And so he was quiet , and that very night

As Tom was a-sleeping , he had a such sight !

That thousands of sweepers, Dick , Joe , Ned , and Jack ,

Were all of them locked up in the coffins of black .

... …

… …

And so Tom awoke , and we rose in the dark ,

And got with our bags and our brushes to work .

Though the morning was cold , Tom was happy and warm ;

So if all do their duty they need not fear harm .

Unlike the one in Songs of Innocence, "The Chimney Sweeper", in Songs of Experience is very dark and pessimistic. This poem also seems to be very judgmental and gives motives for everything, but unlike Song of Innocence, the sweeper in this poem does not free himself from his misery.

In the first two lines, Blake gives us an image of an anguished child in a state of agony or even in a state of corruption. The color black seems to be very important because it is used to represent sin against innocence, the color of the white snow. Blake also shows the same child weeping, when he really means to say sweeping, because that is what has that child in such grief. This stanza ends by someone asking him about his parents, which later end up being responsible for this child’s state.

In the second stanza, the child is pictured in a very more happier and playful mood. This soon changes when he decides to tell the stranger more about his parents. They are showed to be punishing their child for being so happy by "clothing in clothes of death and teaching him to sing notes of woe." It is very obvious the sweeper’s feels hate towards his parents for putting him in such sadness, but instead he chooses to hide it by making himself look happy and satisfied.

It is clear in the last Stanza that Blake’s criticizing the Church , especially, and the state for letting a lot of these things happen. During this time many children were dying from being, either, worked to death or from malnutrition. Neither the state or the church did anything to stop this and is obviously why Blake feels so much anger towards them. The sweeper’s parents are really no help towards their own child. This makes the reader wonder, if they are worshipping god, the source of good doings, why do they chose to ignore their own child. They would rather turn their heads the other way and instead findlove at church.

I think this is a very striking poem. It clearly shows Blake’s anger towards society at this time. I also think that he used many of his poems to make people aware of the suffering of people at this time. I also think That he wrote two separate books to give a fuller effect. Songs of Innocence, I think was how people thought that everything was okay. Songs of Experience, in my opinion was to open every ones eyes.