‘Striving against my swaddling bands’ shows that this child is very constrained, as its so tightly wrapped up, it doesn’t feel safe but confined. This can show that children are always refrained from doing things and it’s the parents who do not allow them freedom. The poem suggests that childbirth is not always joyful and happy but can bring sorrow and pain. The response of the child itself may be different from that of the child in "Infant Joy" because of the behaviour of the parents. In this poem the parents seem depressed by this unwanted birth and they seem like they cannot take care of this child as the child is ‘struggling in my father’s hands’ where as we look at a father figure being someone who protects us. This poem uses symbols to show how people are restricted even from the moment they enter the world. Children are repressed and held back, not by society in this poem, but by the people closest to them, their parents. Blake speaks through the new born child and on the last two lines says how he gives up to 'sulk upon my mother’s breast'. This message is showing that the restriction given to children represses them and in the end they just give up. Blake’s view on children being born "naturally good" is altered to match what religion thought at the time, which suggested that children were "naturally bad" due to Original Sin.
‘The Chimney Sweeper’ has six stanzas and includes rhyming couplets.
There is repetition of the word weep which emphasises the cries of the little boys who has to work all day in horrible conditions. “Naked and white” links to religion and heaven as it presents us with the image of angels. It opposes what the sweeps were before, dirty and black with soot but now they have been cleansed. However this happens not while they are alive but once they are dead and Blake portrays that the sweeps are not cared about and always are seen as the dirty things of society by the clean wealthy people but that they end up going to heaven where as the cleaner people might not as they do not have the same innocence as the children. “All their bags left behind” can show that the little bags that the boys carried would be left behind and also metaphorical reference to having the weight of their shoulders. The line “That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned and Jack” it a hyperbole and also a paradox as it mentions thousands but only four are named. This could imply that they are not important enough for more of them to be mentioned and can show that all of them basically are the same and are not concerned about individually and the poem shows what happens to these little boys who have nobody to take care of them. Also the names are all monosyllabic which show the simplicity an innocence of the chimney sweeper. It can shows that in society then that having a name like that distinguished you as lower class even if it was short form of the name. The final line 'so if all do their duty they need not fear harm' could be a cynical and angry response to a religious idea that justifies the suffering of these children. A lamb, a (religious) symbol for purity and innocence, is used to describe him. Also lambs are used for sacrifices in religion and Blake maybe trying to portray that the lives of little children are sacrificed for the upper class of society to live better. The poem has a hopeful tone and shows that the little boy looks forward to getting away from the society that do not appreciate them and treat them very harshly. This poem also shows the faith and hope the children have in God. The angel tells Tom that if he does his duty he will have God as his father, someone he didn't have when he was growing up.
The second ‘The Chimney Sweeper’ poem is shorter with three stanzas but similarly to the other one it has rhyming couplets but with a couple of half rhymes too, and is from Songs of Experience.
‘The Echoing Green’ is Blake’s poem from the Songs of Innocence consists of three stanzas which can portray a day scene and also each of which represent the stages of life; the 1st stanza shows youth. In this one most of the life stages are shown which shows that we through most of our life when we are young. However this could be because in that society the life expectancy was much shorter. It starts with ‘the sun does arise’ which is the beginning of life. ‘The skylark and thrush’ are aspects of nature which is a romantic notion. ‘The bells’ cheerful sound’ could represent celebrating a marriage and links to a religious ceremony in a church. The first stanza has a generally cheerful tone and it reflects energy, happiness and freedom, it echoes the children's happiness and playing.
In the second stanza the growing up is shown through ‘old John’ having ‘white hair’ which shows experience and also purity. He reminisces about when he was a child; ‘on the echoing green’ could mean that his memories are coming back to him and he could be nostalgic. Blake mentions an ‘oak’ tree which is relevant as oaks are old and sometimes are considered wise trees.
In the final stanza which about the ending of life, the old folk are parting for death, the line ‘on the darkening green’ can represent this.
The rhythm in the first stanza is fast showing the energy and vitality of children. The rhythm of the second stanza is slower to reflect old age, weariness and tiredness.
The poem could represent life and how it is not regular, just like the structure of this poem.
This poem seems to show interactuality with the Bible and the Garden of Eden and Blake may be portraying that paradise is what we do in life.
The four stanza poem ‘London’, by William Blake, gives a very tragic and moving view of London and its inhabitant. The poem, gives the impression that London is a very deprived and uncaring city. It shows also how London is a controlled and corrupt city.
In lines 9-10, the cry of the chimney-sweeper should be heard by the church, but the church utters are trite and empty, because the church is blackening, devoid of light and goodness, but is portrays that it only knows death as it is a connotation of blackening. This can show that religion was not as good as people believed it was. It could also mean that there is a lot of pollution from industrialisation which Blake did not like.
There are lines that are not only an indictment of the child labor, but show the impotence of moral authority to do something concerning it.
‘Runs in blood down palace walls’ shows that the place where the monarchies live is to blame for all the ‘soldiers’ deaths as they send them out to war while they live luxuriously. It could also suggest a biblical image the writing is on the wall - the poet is a prophet foretelling the governments eventual fall.
The last stanza is about marriage and talks about harlots which are prostitutes and where condemned by the church and were thought to be diseases but in actual fact it was the men who were giving them sexually transmitted diseases and children. With marriage and hearse, it echoes back to the church and appals, suggesting marriage is an oppressor of omission.
If Blake were alive today his poetry would still be critical of many things that are wrong with society today justlike his other work. Religion in today’s society is not as essential and important to people as it was in the 18th century. Christianity now in this country currently is not as significant and people are much more relaxed about religion.
He wrote about the constraint of children and how they had to work and live in really bad conditions but now children are not as badly treated and there are laws that concern their health and safety so his poetry would not be as relevant. Society has changed so his views on society would different and not as effective.
Bibliography
William Blake - Songs of Innocence
Songs of Experience