Songs of Innocence and Experience
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Songs of Innocence and Experience
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Songs of Innocence and Experience
Blake reviews the tension between repressive political and social structures and human
passions. In the
Songs of Innocence
and
Songs of Experience,
Blake uses colored engraving and
poetic devices to demonstrate "the two contrary states of the human soul." He condemns social
failures in protecting vulnerable groups such as children and the poor. Although the two volumes
have a simple lyrical structure and sound like children's songs, they contrast an experienced and
innocent perspective of life. Each poem contains illustrations, and Blake frequently pens two
corresponding poems and gives similar titles. The poems The Chimney Sweeper and London
express Blake's vision of contrasting a child's innocence and an adult's experiences and convey
his spiritual and political experiences.
Blake uses the two versions of "The Chimney Sweeper" to demonstrate the contrast
between the innocence of life and the corresponding effects of human corruption. In the
Songs of
Innocence,
Blake begins "The Chimney Sweeper" in a narrative structure and concludes with a
typical moral. The poem corresponds to "The Little Black Boy;" the two were inspired by anger.
"The Chimney Sweeper" was inspired by the shameful manipulation of young boys to sweep
chimneys; the soot of human corruption blackens the white boy. Tom Dacre dreams of their
salvation through an angel who sets them free to enjoy the innocence of their youth. However, as
the poem concludes, Dacre wakes up in the dark and cold but now understands that if he keeps
working hard, God will reward him. Therefore, keeps warm and "need not fear harm."
The lines "Tho' the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm/So if all do their duty,
they need not fear harm" express moral primness representing neither satisfaction nor optimism.
Instead, they represent partial hope and yearning for a society where people act as Blake would
desire. Blake perceives this innocence where Dacre puts his faith in God, depicting his youthful
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innocence. From a non-religious perspective, Dacre is ignorant of the reality of the society he
lives in. Conversely, in the
Songs of Experience,
the poem "The Chimney Sweeper "portrays a
contrasting picture of life, corrupted by human failures. In the "Song of Innocence," the boy was
miserable and hopeless until the end before an angel set him free. However, in the latter version,
the boy is not sad but narrates how his parents exploited him, assuming they did not offend him
because his spirit was not restrained. The church never condemned society's cruelty, such as
child exploitation; thus, the boy's parents find solace in the church.
The two versions of The Chimney Sweeper demonstrate Blake's theme of contrasting the
human soul's states. In the Songs of Innocence, Dacre receives a message of hope about going to
heaven and attaining eternal happiness if he works hard to his limits. Blake emphasizes the moral
concept that one should work hard and faithfully regardless of their situation, and God will
reward them. Dacre's ignorant faith demonstrates his innocence. In contrast, in the Songs for
Experience, the chimney sweeper's parents abandon him at the church's mercy. Unlike Dacre,
this boy understands the church and his parents' evils; they are determined to corrupt his innocent
soul. In the
Songs of Experience
, Blake paints the chimney sweeper as a "little black thing." The
boy's parents condemned him to this work before he could even pronounce "sweep, sweep,"
further highlighting parental neglect in Blake's time. When questioned about his parents'
whereabouts, the little boy replies they "both gone up to the church to pray, "contrasting their
hypocritical religious life and parental role.
The church appears to support their actions; that is why they do not see any fault in
selling their son to be a chimney sweeper. As the poem ends, the boy condemns the king and the
church for overlooking their plight. Blake uses color imagery to compare the snow representing
the child's purity and the "little black thing." He describes the boy's outfits as "clothes of death"
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because they are black, representing doom, and also because the child will succumb to the soot.
Blake further uses irony when the boy states that his parents abandoned him condemning him to
an early death because he was happy. This device emphasizes the evil of violating a child's
purity. The last verse contrasts the parents and the church's hypocrisy; the former "praise God"
for making everything fine while the latter condones evils like child exploitation. Like the
Songs
of Innocence,
Blake's fury against society manifests in this concluding verse.
Conclusion
Songs of Innocence
and
Songs of Experience
convey Blake's concepts of innocence and
experience, representing the human soul's contrary states. The former addresses childhood as
symbolizing uncorrupted innocence, while the latter expresses how human corruption tarnishes
the child's innocence through experiences. A childlike directness characterizes the two volumes
alongside a regulated joy in the natural world and human life.
Songs of Innocence
emphasizes the
idea that the world was created to benefit people and also expresses human beings' ignorance of
the natural world. A child accepts the experience as he grows and loses or forgets his childhood
innocence. Blake uses simple imagery, rhyme schemes, and rhythms to present troubling
messages or reflect his spiritual and political ideologies through satire. Blake expresses the
themes of child exploitation, poverty, failure of church and state, and the concept of treating
children as individuals with their wishes and desires throughout
Songs of Innocence
and
Songs of
Experience
. Most of the poems have corresponding counterparts in the two volumes.