While reading Blake's poetry, what caught my eye the most was how he expressed his thoughts on innocence. His poetry was enjoyable but sometimes not quite so easy to read. In his poem The Lamb, from his Songs of Innocence, he shows an admiration for God and his creations. The lamb in this poem signifies innocence and purity. I felt as though he may have been writing about Jesus especially on stanza 15,
"He is called by thy name
For he calls himself a Lamb:
He is meek & mild,
He became a little child" (79)
In the bible, and usually when addressing God by any of his name, such as Lord, Yahweh, or Jesus, we see His name capitalized, for he capitalizes Lamb whenever he uses it. God made this Lamb perfect as He did His only son.
The tone in this poem is also quite gentle and pleasant.
In his poem the Chimney Sweeper, he describes a child that had just been sold away to become a chimney sweeper. According to the footnotes this was quite common during these times. As i read this poem, there was such a sadness and darkness that these children live in. While awake, they live in a reality in which is dark and filled with soot. The soot covers up these children's innocence and blocks out a sense of hope for these children. When Tom falls asleep, it is the one time in the poem when Blake brings in light. In stanza 15,
"and by came an Angel who had a bright key
And he open'd the coffins and set them all free.
Then down a green plain leaping laughing they run
And wash in a river and shine in the Sun." (81)
Blake uses an angel and nature to display happiness and innocence that can only be acquired while Tom sleeps. The thought of heaven and nature usually bring a sense of security, but Tom loses this when he wakes back up to his dark reality.
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3 comments:
On your first quote, you forgot to close it. At first, it confused me.
Your discussion of the concept of innocence was good. I like the imagery of the soot covering the childrens' innocence.
Thao,
I am glad to see you have finally begun posting your literary analysis on your blog. I am concerned, however, that you have waited until the day before the deadline to post any--thus you will not be able to benefit from any comments or criticism if there are any problems in your research.
It is a good idea to focus on particular poems, as you do here, rather than generalizing on many poems. I also like the way you quote specific passages from the poems. I would like to see you discuss the passages in more detail, though.
Did you note also in the footnote that there was a law banning such selling of the children, however it was not closely followed. I loved this poem and decided to write about it in my research. Blake's point in writing this poem was to try and influence the people and make them sway away from such behavior.
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