Thetwo poems "The Chimney Sweeper" and "London" by William Blake, and the twopoems "Tich Miller" and "Timothy Winters" are all on a theme of childhood,however, they are set in different eras and so childhood should be verydifferent. Discuss this, c...
The two poems "The Chimney Sweeper" and "London" by William Blake, and the two poems "Tich Miller" and "Timothy Winters" are all on a theme of childhood, however, they are set in different eras and so childhood should be very different. Discuss this, comparing and contrasting the poems As a child, William Blake was a loner. He never socialised with other children and sat by himself reading the Bible. His family were very religious, but did not agree with organised religion. This meant that they never went to church and did all their worshipping at home. Blake was always an outsider and he refused to join in with his brothers and sisters. He had visions of angels and God when he was young and he often thought that this was normal for children of his age. This is shown in "The Chimney Sweeper" when he says, "As Tom was a-sleeping, he had such a sight! Blake used to walk long distances across the countryside. He saw London grow and develop over the years, and he hated it. Soon the places he used to walk were taken over by "charter'd streets". He thought the Industrial Revolution ruined people's lives. He saw, once happy and smiling faces, turn grey and sad. At the time, children hardly went to school but were sold or put to work at a very young age. He sees childhood as innocent and thinks that being put to work takes that away from you, making you experienced. In his two
What is Blake saying about The Two Contrary States of Human Nature? What imagery does he use for this purpose and how effective is it?
What is Blake saying about The Two Contrary States of Human Nature? What imagery does he use for this purpose and how effective is it? The following essay will analyse, compare and contrast two poems by William Blake, 'The Divine Image' and 'The Human Abstract.' References will be made to other poems by William Blake, coming too a conclusion about The Two Contrary States of Human Nature. 'The Divine Image' is a poem about innocence, following a traditional ballad structure, telling a story concerned with the personification of the abstract qualities of Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love. The four quatrains and the alternating three/four beats have the effect of a melodic nursery rhyme. The four entities are instantly personified and listed by Blake as the Four Virtues of Delight. 'To Mercy Pity Peace and Love, All pray in their distress: And to these virtues of delight, Return their thankfulness.' Within the first stanza Blake makes these abstractions the object of human prayer and piety. Traditionally many people pry to them in times of distress, when your prayers are answered you should return your gratitude to them: 'Return their thankfulness.' In the second stanza Blake associates, Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love with God. 'For Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love, is God our father dear.' Not only does Blake equate these virtues with God, he also uses them to symbolise man. 'Is man his
William Blake 1757-1827
William Blake 757-1827 William Blake, a visionary English poet and painter who was a precursor of English Romanticism, combined the vocations of engraver, painter, and poet. He was born on Nov. 28, 1757, the son of a London hosier. Blake spent all of his relatively quiet life in London except for a stay at Felpham, on the southern coast of England, from 1800 to 1803. Largely self-taught, Blake was, however, widely read, and his poetry shows the influence of the German mystic Jakob Boehme, for example, and of Swedenborgianism. As a child, Blake wanted to become a painter. He was sent to drawing school at age 10 and at the age of 14 was apprenticed to James Basire, an engraver. From sketching frequently at Westminster Abbey, he developed an interest in the Gothic style, which he combined with a taste for the art of Raphael, Michelangelo, and Durer. He exhibited his first artwork in 1780, married Catherine Boucher in 1782, and published his first poems, Poetical Sketches, in 1783. He quickly withdrew them from circulation, however, apparently offended by the condescending preface written by a patron. Amid its traditional, derivative elements are hints of his later innovative style and themes. As with all his poetry, this volume reached few contemporary readers. Blake produced and published his other works himself, except those which remained in manuscript at his death, by
Compare and contrast the presentation of London in composed upon Westminster Bridge by William Wordsworth and London by Willia
Compare and contrast the presentation of London in composed upon Westminster Bridge by William Wordsworth and London by William Blake. In both poems London by William Blake and composed upon Westminster Bridge by William Wordsworth they were written over the Romantic Movement. In this period there were climatic changes and the conflict abroad but more unfortunately rapid changes due to the industrial revolution this greatly changed the way of life for the worse. One very abrupt and to the point the other a hidden message through praise and sarcasm. William Blake's poem, 'London', was written in 1791. His poem describes the horrid and dirty scenes that are to be seen in London. The poem is more of a study of people who suffer to create London's success; people like the 'hapless soldier', 'harlot' and the 'new born infant'. Blake is implying that the city is ashamed of these people, as he describes the government and church as being 'blackening'. The poem is set in the cramped back alleys of London, which are associated with restriction and oppression. It is in the middle of the day, when the factories are alive, and the people are living their pointless lives, therefore Blake will be seeing London at the height of activity. Wordsworth is written in 1802 and describes more of the architecture and the buildings that he can see from the distance it can look rich and
Hypocritical Charity.
Hypocritical Charity Kaeley Wiseman Eng 125 April 1, 2004 William Blake, one of the first and greatest of the Romantic poets, has always been known as a humanist. His Songs of Innocence and Experience, often seen as his greatest achievement, illustrate his compassion and interest in human nature. The Songs of Innocence demonstrate how people are often blind to their own reality, while Songs of Experience explain how society really was. He used ugly, angry, even savage images to demonstrate that reality. The two "Holy Thursday" poems, based on marches the poorest children made to St. Paul's to thank their patrons, are excellent examples of these varying views of reality. His 1794 poem from Experience uses this Holy Thursday procession to attack society's hypocritical attitude towards poverty and its youngest victims. Initially reading the poem, I responded to the quiet and questioning nature of it. It has an almost lullaby-like quality to it due to the abab rhyme scheme in the first quatrain and children and babes as the main subjects. Blake has chosen a quiet and somber mood, even though the subject itself could have demanded a stronger, louder voice. The tone of the poem is constantly shifting, swaying between feelings of warm and cold, which create an unsettling feeling in the reader. These high contrasts, such as comparing crying to '[songs] of joy' and
William Blake's
Heather Glazier Dr. Anne McWhir English 440.01 09 Dec. 2004 William Blake's "London" & William Wordsworth's "London, 1802" The figure of the poet as it pertains to William Blake and William Wordsworth is different according to the perception of most analysis. Blake addresses a universal audience in a prophetic voice, taking the role of the poet upon himself often using a mystical tone. In contrast Wordsworth uses language specific to all and directs his writing to ordinary people writing as an ordinary person reacting to his own personal experiences. It is notable that these two poets who write from such different perspectives both ably and similarly portray the dark side of human existence ensuing from the drastic changes attending the transformation of an agrarian economy to an industrial one and the French Revolution in "London" and "London, 1802". Both Blake's "London" and Wordsworth's "London, 1802" paint a picture of a society that is in decline and in need of desperate need of rescue if a cherished quality of life for all is to be accessible again. Blake's "London" is a biting commentary on the state of the city as a result of the effects of the Industrial Revolution and while Wordsworth's "London, 1802" is more contemplative in form it too criticizes the current state of London and England following industrialization and the French Revolution. My English 354
In his poetry, Blake writes about his thoughts concerning the society around him. Comment on Blake’s attitudes in several poems of your choice and explain how effective the poems are in presenting his views.
In his poetry, Blake writes about his thoughts concerning the society around him. Comment on Blake's attitudes in several poems of your choice and explain how effective the poems are in presenting his views. William Blake, who lived in the latter half of the eighteenth century and the early part of the nineteenth, was partly responsible for bringing about the Romantic movement in poetry. He was also an accomplished painter and engraver, able to achieve "remarkable results with the simplest of means". Blake was a social critic of his own time and considered himself a prophet of times to come; however, his work was not fully appreciated in the mainstream until a century and a half after his death. William Blake lived during a time of intense social change: the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the Industrial Revolution all occurred during his lifetime. These changes gave Blake a chance to see one of the most dramatic stages in the transformation of the Western world where philosophers and political thinkers championed the right to opinion. Some of these changes had Blake's approval; others did not. The poems Holy Thursday, The Schoolboy and London all offer evidence of Blake's keen social viewpoints. 'Holy Thursday', found in Blake's Songs of Experience, exhibits the poet's views on 19th century establishment. A loose alternate line rhyming structure is
How has the development of transport in the 19th century contributed to the growth of Hayes?
Coursework How has the development of transport in the 19th century contributed to the growth of Hayes? In the middle of the 18th century Great Britain saw the biggest social upheaval. It was the begging of the industrial revolution. Hayes being a rural area quickly developed and so did the rest of Britain. An agricultural community developed to an industrial one in a short matter of time. Before the agricultural revolution, which meant fields were put to proper use. The fields were divided so crop rotation could be carried out. This resulted in the great increase in productivity, which meant the business owners needed to transport their goods to many towns and cities such as Wolverhampton, London and Birmingham. This advancement led the waterways to flourish and meant that the companies and small factories could expand and increase their productivity. This usage of canals to transport cargo was called the 'Canal age' Which had started when the Duke of Bridgewater's canal had opened in the year 1761. With all of these developments Hayes mainly remained agricultural. The only industry in Hayes was the Brickwork industry. The building the canal led to the explosion of the brickwork industry. This was due to the Grand Junction canal act 1795. This section that I had mentioned above had opened 1798 and was completed in 1805. Soon a few years later after it was completed,
Nurse's Song by William Blake
Compare and contrast the two versions of "Nurse's Song", showing how Blake illustrates the concepts of Innocence and Experience The Blakean concept of "Innocence" is focused on purity, vulnerability, trust and harmony - often illuminated through the use of children. For "Experience" the crux is on remorse, regrets and the general loss of innocence. In the two versions of "Nurse's Song" children are used to bring out both the innocent and experienced side of the nurse. In the "Innocence" version of the poem, a repeated word pattern is used. It is reminiscent of children's chants and nursery rhymes because of the buoyant, song-like rhythm. "Come, come leave off play", "No, no let us play", "Well, well go and play". This emphasises the childlike, infantile tone of the poem bringing out the innocent, simplistic nature. It also shines a juvenile light on the nurse, which to a reader in an experienced state of mind, gives off a forced, unrealistic innocence. The use of sound in the "Innocence" version of "Nurse's Song" is very apparent. It relates to the sounds made by the children, heard by the nurse; "laughing is heard on the hill," this paints a pleasant picture, an unmistakeably happy image for the reader. It puts the rest of the poem into an idyllic, dreamlike context, giving a slightly surreal edge to the verses that follow. The final line "And all the hills ecchoed", could
Compare the three romantic perspectives of London, and show how each poet's attitude towards his subject is reflected in his poetic style.
Edward Eaton Compare the three romantic perspectives of London, and show how each poet's attitude towards his subject is reflected in his poetic style. Blake, Wordsworth and Byron are all romantic poets, and characteristic of the movement, their poetic style reflects their reaction to not only the physical world, but the political world as well. During the romantic era, 18th to 19th centuries, there was much political upheaval and conflict, including the French Revolution and Industrial Revolution, which ultimately led to a conflict between industry and nature. It is this subjectivity for the subject that adds depth to the romantic style, and as the three London poems show, wide variation. William Blake gives a very negative description of London with it's "charter'd streets", "youthful Harlots", "weakness" and "woe". The dark imagery he uses such as the "Marriage hearse" all contribute to a general picture of death, depravity and corruption. Blake also makes his views clear by using strong political undertones, and his disgust at what London has become. In his view, nature has been ousted from the city and replaced by the authorities, who have "charter'd" the Thames; and this image that a strong, unstoppable river can be taken over by men shows the power of the authorities. Blake also implies that despite the power these people have, they are unwilling to do anything to