William Blake s The Chimney - 1713 Words

The Pre-Romantic poet William Blake grew up in a world that was undergoing dramatic changes. With the Industrial Revolution in the eighteenth century, child labor became a common practice throughout Britain. The children were oppressed and had a diminutive existence and were forced to work long hours in the factories, mills, coal mines and chimneys, in dangerous and inhumane conditions. The chimneys were often only seven inches wide and only a child was small enough to fit inside and brush clean it. Master sweeps would buy young children usually six to ten years old from their poverty stricken parents or take in young homeless children from the streets and turn them into indentured servants. Blake deplored the society that could treat†¦show more content†¦The state of Innocence—to be understood as childhood, idealism, hope and that of Experience—to be understood as adulthood, disillusionment, social criticism, and despair. The structure of The Chimney Sweeper in the Songs of Innocence is six quatrains of the rhyme scheme AABB – CCDD – EEFF – GGHH – IIJJ-KKLL, it is a dramatic monologue, in which the child narrates his story through the use of the personal pronoun â€Å"I† which adds a personal and genuine touch to the poem because children are incapable of lying about their feelings. Blake successfully emphasizes the innocence of a child who does not comprehend the injustice that he is experiencing. The Chimney Sweeper in the Songs of Experience is a poem of three quatrains with the rhyme scheme AABB CACA DEDE. There are two speakers in the poem, an adult speaker in the first stanza asks the boy â€Å"Where are thy father and mother?† to which the boy replies and takes over as the speaker of the poem. Blake sets up a pattern of rhyming couplets in the first stanza and then abandons the rhyme scheme altogether in the next two stanzas in order to show that the sp eaker in the last two stanzas is a child and using a simple rhyme scheme makes sense when a child is speaking. The sound of the poem has a sweet and innocent effect, like the narrator himself. The Chimney Sweeper in The Songs of Innocence begins with a depressing and sympathetic tone as the child reveals that he is in a miserableShow MoreRelatedWilliam Blake s Inscription On The Young Chimney Sweepers1382 Words   |  6 PagesWilliam Blake s Inscription on the Young Chimney Sweepers By: Kyle Fitch Prof. Joseph McNally Engl. 3312 B April 20, 2015 A key point in the history of mankind was the Industrial Revolution. It was also a difficult time in history in terms of suffering, especially for the lower class that had to work twice as hard as the upper class for minimum wage. A young poet by the name of William Blake became livid and motivated in the late eighteenth century by the coldhearted usage of young boysRead MoreEssay on the Chimney Sweeper958 Words   |  4 Pagesanalysis of â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper.† Social Injustice was rampant among chimney sweeps in 18th and 19th Century England... In the poem â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper† from â€Å"Songs of Innocence† This paper will evaluate and show the story and writing style dealing with social injustice. 1. Introduction a. The Chimney Sweeper 2. The Location and Era a. 18th and 19th Century England 3. Point of View a. Tom Dacre 4. Writing Style A. Lack of Rhyme 5. Conclusion William Blake’s â€Å"TheRead MoreThe Lamb and The Tyger by William Blake Essay863 Words   |  4 PagesLamb and The Tyger by William Blake his idea that there are two different types of people in this world yet we need both for balance. His next poem The Chimney Sweeper has many hidden meaning within his poem about his views on society. Then he goes on in his poem titled Infant Sorrow to reveal his thoughts on non-conformists. William Blake makes a different criticism of society in his four poems The Lamb, The Tyger, The Chimney Sweeper and Infant Sorrow. To begin, William Blake uses his poems TheRead MoreIn Many Ways, Poetry Has The Ability To Shape The Minds1226 Words   |  5 Pageswas William Blake. His poetry has inspired much change in both the past and the present. An analysis of â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper,† one of Blake’s most popular works, can help many to understand the significance of his work in a time period when social riot was visible in the public’s eyes. By exploring the writing style, structure and imagery in this poem, as well as identifying the importance of symbolism, a conclusion can be made concerning the purpose of this poem. Learning more about William BlakeRead MoreWilliam Blake s Innocence And Experience Analysis Essay1529 Words   |  7 PagesIsha Fidai Amber Drown English 2323 14 September 2016 William Blake s Innocence and Experience Analysis The Romantic Era was a movement in literature that began in the late seventeenth century throughout the eighteenth century that was mainly influenced by the natural world and idealism. Romanticism was predominantly focused on emotion and freedom emphasizing individualism. Formed as an uprising against neoclassicism, romanticism was more abstract, focusing on feelings and imaginations, insteadRead More William Blakes The Chimney Sweeper Essay672 Words   |  3 PagesWilliam Blakes The Chimney Sweeper William Blakes The Chimney Sweeper, written in 1789, tells the story of what happened to many young boys during this time period. Often, boys as young as four and five were sold for the soul purpose of cleaning chimneys because of their small size. These children were exploited and lived a meager existence that was socially acceptable at the time. Blake voices the evils of this acceptance through point of view, symbolism, and his startling irony.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  BlakeRead MoreThe Chimney Sweepers By William Blake862 Words   |  4 Pages The Chimney Sweepers William Blake has written two poems with the same title of Chimney Sweeper, however each poem was written to portray a different perspective of similar situations. The poem Chimney Sweep (Songs of Experience) is written in a bleaker scope compared to Chimney Sweep (Songs of Innocence) which happens to be much more optimistic.Willaim Blake had written these stories as foils of one another and which has helped readers compare and contrast the messages that the poems are tryingRead MoreThe Chimney Sweeper : A Little Black Thing Among The Snow1659 Words   |  7 Pagesthere poems, they believed children where exceptional due to the poets beliefs that they were innocent and uncorrupted, but also had an affinity with nature. A poet which did so was William Blake, whose poem ‘The chimney sweeper: A little black thing among the snow’ I will be comparing and contrasting to ‘The chimneys sweepers complaint’ by Mary Alock in how the presentation of childhood innoce nce is presented in both poems. There are many comparisons to make about these two poems. Firstly they areRead MoreWilliam Blake s London : The Appalling Conditions Of London And Its People1224 Words   |  5 PagesBritish poet William Blake describes the appalling conditions of London and its people. Innocence has also been a major theme that is throughout many of Blake’s poem, including â€Å"London.† William Blake uses metaphors and imagery to show the themes of disappointment and ruined innocence throughout his poem â€Å"London.† In the first stanza of â€Å"London,† Blake describes himself walking through specific streets of London, yet he is only describing the terrible and melancholy things he sees. Blake specificallyRead MoreWilliam Blake Had A Strict Standard On How His Poems Should1431 Words   |  6 Pages William Blake had a strict standard on how his poems should appear. In his poems, he was not very concerned with grammar or spelling, even though he was writing in a time much after the official English language had been created. Much of his spellings are very old-fashioned to us and at times can sound very awkward. Even his readers in his time found that the wording and spelling of phrases and words was quaint. William Blake also used forms of punctuation that were not considered to be standard