Compare and contrast The Echoing Green with The Schoolboy by William Blake
Compare and contrast "The Echoing Green" with "The Schoolboy" by William Blake Both "The Echoing Green" and "The Schoolboy" are classed under the section, "Songs of Innocence", which at first suggests that they will be of a similar nature. However this presumption is dispelled early on, as one examines the issues behind the often comparable wording. Many elements in "The Schoolboy" do echo those in "The Echoing Green" and visa versa, but the atmospheres of each poem that are presented are so different that it becomes difficult to see how two such contrasting pieces of work can unite in the same genre. "The Echoing Green" is one of Blake's most idyllic poems, as it is set in a pastoral and carefree atmosphere, which centres around the activities on a village green. Much of the imagery used is nature-associated, such as "the skylark and thrush", and the presence of the oak tree under which the elderly people in the village sit to "laugh at our play". The entire poem takes place in a single day, which gives rise to many different interpretations and suggests an idea of continuity within the community. The first two stanzas concentrate mainly on the bliss of the spring day, and the enjoyment that both the young and the old in the neighbourhood get from the 'echoing green'. The bells are "cheerful" and "merry", and the skies are "happy", which all demonstrate the atmosphere that
William Blake - Innocence of Childhood
Oliver Newland Task: How does William Blake portray Childhood in Songs of Innocence and Experience? 0c1 William Blake was born in 1757 in London. He wrote two series of poems, expressing several views of childhood. Children were treated extremely differently during the Victorian Era. The most supported point if view was that children should work and generally take care of themselves. There was not much love or warmth spared for children. Blake portrays two perspectives of childhood in his Songs of Innocence and Experience. Songs of Innocence is focussed on the naivety of youth. This can be seen in Holy Thursday (Songs of Innocence) where Blake writes "...their innocent faces clean..." This suggests that the children in the cathedral have maintained their natural innocence which is associated with childhood. This is implemented by Blake's use of the word "...clean..." which could be seen as a metaphor for spiritual purity. Songs of Innocence seems to portray the ideal childhood. Songs of Experience, on the other hand focuses on what could be seen as the reality of childhood and the corruption of innocence through socio - economic circumstances. It is almost a direct antithesis of Songs of Innocence. This can be seen in Holy Thursday (Songs of Experience) when Blake writes "... is that trembling cry a song? Can it be a song of joy? And so many children poor..." This phrase
‘Compare and Contrast the ways in which cities and city life are portrayed in Wordsworth’s ‘Upon Westminster Bridge’, Blake’s ‘London’ and T. S. Eliot’s ‘Preludes’, referring closely to the language and st
'Compare and Contrast the ways in which cities and city life are portrayed in Wordsworth's 'Upon Westminster Bridge', Blake's 'London' and T. S. Eliot's 'Preludes', referring closely to the language and style of the poems'. The three poems, Wordsworth's 'Upon Westminster Bridge', Blake's 'London' and T. S. Eliot's 'Preludes' contain many similarities but also many fundamental differences. These differences and similarities cover style, structure and language. In this piece of writing I am going to 'Compare and Contrast the ways in which cities and city life are portrayed in Wordsworth's 'Upon Westminster Bridge', Blake's 'London' and T. S. Eliot's 'Preludes', by referring closely to the language and style of the poems'. 'Upon Westminster Bridge' by William Wordsworth has a bold start and immediately creates a positive image of London with 'Earth has nothing to show more fair'. The octet of the sonnet is celebratory whereas the sextet is reflective. The sextet of 'Upon Westminster Bridge' values the city as it mentions that the city is 'smokeless', 'silent' & 'so touching'. It is a patriotic piece as it fails to include some of the negative aspects of the city. One such instance is when Wordsworth writes 'The river glideth' which makes the river sound majestic, as if it goes where it likes, is on air and beautiful whereas the Thames was actually filthy at the time at which
A Comparison of 'London' and 'Composed upon Westminster Bridge'
A Comparison of 'London' and 'Composed upon Westminster Bridge' The poems 'London' by William Blake and 'Composed upon Westminster Bridge' written by William Wordsworth both explore the city of London although the two poems portray the city differently. The poem 'London' describes the depth of London from the backstreet alleys to the palaces and churches. This poem I feel was written in order to highlight the hardships in London. The poem 'Composed upon Westminster Bridge' is a petrachan sonnet and as is with most sonnets is written in celebration. Wordsworth has written this poem in celebration of London. The title has a double meaning; 'composed' as in written by and composed as in 'calm' which is much like the poem of itself. Wordsworth was obviously in awe of London, because he is admiring everything around him. He has centred his poem on the success and beauty of the city, whereas William Blake's poem describes the horrid and dirty scenes that are to be seen in London. Blake's poem has a set rhyme scheme of a b a b and 16 lines with eight syllables in each. Blake's lexical choice is an overuse of contracted words such as 'thro'', 'charter'd', 'forg'd', black'ning' the writer does this as the omission of letters will enable to have the right amount of syllables needed. William Wordsworth's poem has one stanza, 14 lines and set out as a usual sonnet but it is a
How does Blake express his views and attitudes to the society of his time?
How does Blake express his views and attitudes to the society of his time? Throughout his poems, Blake expresses his strong disapproving views on the church, the monarchy and society as many of his poems suggest he was a nonconformist. He was an accomplished poet, painter, and engraver. He created his own symbolic poems and paintings to reflect his social concerns of that time. He was a true original in thought and expression and this caused concern in many of the public and higher classes in his time. Blake lived during a time of intense social change; these changes gave Blake a chance to see one of the most dramatic stages in the transformation of the Western world from a somewhat simple agricultural society to a busy and rich industrial society. The American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the Industrial Revolution all happened during his lifetime. One example of Blake's disapproval of changes that happened in his time comes in his poem "London". For instance, the narrator in "London" describes both the Thames and the city streets as "chartered," or controlled by people only interested in making money. He also refers to "mind-forged manacles" whereby he comments on how the authorities try to stop pioneers in such thoughts like Blake. He relates that every man's face contains "Marks of weakness, marks of woe"; and he discusses the "every cry of every Man" and "every
Hop Picking in Kent.
Hop Picking in Kent. From 1870 onwards many hop-pickers came to Kent for a great range of reasons. To begin, the hop fields needed a great many hop pickers because of the 'Golden Age' for hop growing in the 19th Century. In 1850, 50 000 acres of hops were cultivated. This is a twenty thousand acre increase from 1800. It again increased to its peak in 1878 to 71 789 acres; this is because the duty on hops was removed. This increase led to hop fields needing more pickers to come to Kent. Hops were grown in Kent for many reasons; the most important was that Kent had strong, well-drained and loamy soil, which was ideal for hops. The main reason hop pickers came to Kent was the attractions that were there; they wanted to escape from London. When hops were ripe in September they had to be collected within a couple of weeks. This meant that a huge number of hops had to be picked in a short space of time. This meant that hop farms had to employ a large labour force for September. The majority of the labour force came from the east end of London. These Londoners would make their way down to Kent for six weeks. The Londoners lived in poor conditions while they were in London. They were all crammed into small houses in narrow streets with no fresh air but plenty of factory smoke. Their conditions were poor and coming to Kent made them realise there were other things than the docks.
Compare and contrast William Wordsworth's 'Composed upon WestminsterBridge, September 3rd 1802' and William Blake's 'London'.
Compare and contrast William Wordsworth's 'Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3rd 1802' and William Blake's 'London'. 'Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3rd, 1802', was written by William Wordsworth, a poet famous for countryside appreciation, in 1802 (on the date given). Like many of his other poems, this is a topographical poem, capturing a landscape view of London, from a bridge. In this poem the poet is able to portray a tone of eulogy, giving praise and enthusing the glamour and splendour of London, at the one specific moment. The poet starts by saying, 'Earth has not anything to show more fair'. This is astonishing, considering that this particular poem is famous for praising nature and its calmness; a complete contrast to London and its normally hectic schedule. The poet then goes on to say 'Dull would he be of soul who could pass by A sight so touching in its majesty'. The poet gives the impression that for a person to not be touched by London's apparent splendour they would have to be insensitive, and have to have a deficient heart that was holding them back from appreciating this 'majesty'. 'The city is now doth, like a garment'. The significance of now shows that Wordsworth is writing from a particular point in time, rather than making a generalisation over London life. He is capturing the moment as he sees is and describes London as being
Compare and Contrast the Poems 'London'By William Blake And 'Composed UponWestminster Bridge' By William Wordsworth
Compare and Contrast the Poems 'London' By William Blake And 'Composed Upon Westminster Bridge' By William Wordsworth William Blake and William Wordsworth both wrote poems centred on London, both poets were middle class citizens. William Wordsworth was a romantic poet, who was raised in the countryside living a very rural life. Unlike William Blake who was a revolutionary poet born into a rebellious family in the city of London. William Blake refused to go to school and became aware of social injustice. William Wordsworth's dislike of urban life was a recurring theme in his poetry. 'London' is a poem written by William Blake, in the poem Blake describes how he views London, and the people living there, he presents himself as a participant in the life of a busy town. As he walks through London he describes what he sees. 'I wandered through the chartered street' it is not only the imagery that shows us Blake is walking through London it is the rhyme scheme he has used, 'a b a b' this scheme is regular as to imitate walking. Blake's poem 'London' is written with for line in a stanza meaning it is a quatrain. This fits with the 'a b a b' rhyme scheme, as it is simple. The tone of the poem is full of anger and hatred; Blake shows that behind poverty and despair he sees some thing else that is very important to him. London is 'chartered' the streets have become
Poems for comparison - London by William Blake (pre 1900) and Composed on Westminster Bridge by William Wordsworth.
Poems for Comparison!!! London by William Blake (pre 1900):- After reading Blake's poem, the poem reflects on me that Blake is in a very claustrophobic area which is dirty, dark, (in his mind) evil or corrupted. His poem as an A B stanza all the way through, this structure emphasises his poem about London the way he sees it, using harsh contrasts in each verse, which really drums into the readers mind that the London Blake is witnessing is corrupted and evil. William Blake was a religious man with a definite view on leading a moral life. In the first stanza Blake gives a description of how he perceives the streets of London and the Thames. This depiction of the inhabitants suggests people are full of worry and weakness. He then continues to describe the people in more detail; I think he almost expresses a pity for the people living in London because he's mentioning the strife and how hard it is. This is indicated in his sentence 'mind-forg'd manacles I hear', which tells me he imagines the people to be trapped with no freedom and no escape from the drudgery of London (a huge jail). Blake expresses disgust at the monarchy in the third verse, in his mind he describes the monarchy as shutting out the people in London and the monarchy doesn't what to know or get involved with the towns people, whilst demanding loyalty and compliance sending young people (young men) to war to
Compare the ways William Blake in 'The Tyger' and Ted Hughes in 'The Jaguar' use language to make us aware of the power of the animals.
Julia Lee 3) Compare the ways William Blake in 'The Tyger' and Ted Hughes in 'The Jaguar' use language to make us aware of the power of the animals. Tigers and Jaguars are big cats which both have a lot of power. They are beautiful creatures. Even though William Blake and Ted Hughes were born and wrote 200 years apart, I find it interesting that both poets write about big cats, and the amount of power they have considering the time gap. Although the contexts of the poems are different, the way the poems are written with strong words and interesting poetic techniques are very similar. In 'The Tyger', Blake is infatuated by the animal. He thinks of the Tyger as if it is some kind of G-d, one created and blessed by G-d himself. It is a divine creature! Just like Blake thinks so much of the tyger, Hughes thinks the same of the jaguar, but Hughes is not as religious as Blake and does not think of his creature in that context. Throughout the poem, he asks the tiger questions about how it was made because for him it is such an amazing creature, 'What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry?' Even though Blake was not a great believer in organized religion, he was a passionate believer in the power of G-d which would explain why the poem is about the power of the tyger. Blake uses powerful imagery from the start by exclaiming the word Tyger twice. The reader feels