Blake then in the second half of the poem shows that God is the one who you can seek relief in and who is there to help in times of sorrow. He wirtes,
‘And can he who smiles on all…
And not sit both night and day
Wiping all out tears away…
Oh no! Never can it be.’
This quote clearly illustrates that ‘he who smiles on all,’ who is God, cannot not wipe the tears away, therefore saying that God is so loving that he has to help. As Blake is clearly very religious his work seems to take on an almost takes on the tone of propaganda towards religion. He uses phrases like,
‘Oh! He gives us his joy,
That our grief he may destroy.’
The use of the exclamation mark adds a sense of excitement to the phrase. Also it makes it stand out more as a statement of fact which gives it authority, so necessary for propaganda to be effective. There are many reasons to explain why Blake uses so many rhyming couplets at the end of the majority of every two lines; because it creates a rhythm which is appealing to children, and as this poem is in the innocence section of the anthology, so that would be appropriate, but also as rhyming couplets are typically used in romantic poetry to express a single thought, for example:
‘Can I see another’s grief,
And not seek for kind relief?’
This is an example of how the rhyming couplet is used to express a complete thought, which in this instance is can you see grief and not try to find relief from it.
Blake uses quite powerful images to illustrate pity and sorrow and the power of God. Phrases like ‘pouring pity,’ are quite powerful because it presses the idea of the level of grief you could feel; that it could so great that it’s as if it is pouring into you. Also images of destroying grief that are used in the last stanza, initially sound quite violent, but they used by Blake to make God sound powerful and foreboding, but, are also used to be of some comfort, that there is powerful being there to look over you.
The structure reflects the rhyming pattern, in the way that it is quite simple; four lines to a stanza, with two rhyming couplets in each stanza, but its simple nature makes it more accessible to children.
I do feel that Blake’s message in this is Religious, even though God isn’t directly mentioned. Blake almost comes across as a preacher in his work, because his message of, God is there to help comfort you and support you, is so pro Christian that it is hard to miss. As this poem is in the innocence section it is clearly aimed towards children, but the references to parents: ‘can a mother sit…’ and ; ‘can a father see…’ show that children are not this poems sole audience, and that there is a message for adults here too.
