... that he can not be harmed (Blake 24). When Tom tell the little chimney boy of his dream, hope of a better life is visual to the little boy. In Tom=s dream an angel frees the sweepers from the Acoffins of black@ and then she tells Tom, Aif he=d be a good boy, / He=d have God for his father & never want j @ (Blake 12-20). By this ... , the little chimney boy can let go of being abandoned and betrayed by his parents since ... there is a better world for him later. Through observing the little chimney boy=s action in lines twenty- one ... ...

• Word Count: 664
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... "Mother to Son" is a poem about a mother enlightening her son that life for her hasn't been easy. "The Little Black Boy", the poem written by William Blake, is about a little black boy who questions his mother on the differences between blacks and whites. The children in each poem learn a life lesson from their mother; ... him that he should continue to climb the stairs, no matter how high they are or how tired he gets. In Blake's poem" The Little Black Boy", the son has realized that there is a difference between blacks and whites. He questions his mother on this new found fact and she ...

• Word Count: 1123
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... lyrical, written with almost childlike simplicity," they carry a powerful, spiritual message of God (B-281). In this particular poem the speaker is "a little black thing among the snow". One reason this poem is not an "all may read" poem is because if the reader is not familiar with Blake's ... work he or she may not understand why this boy is being called "a little black thing"; this is not to construe the thought of a racial slur or anything of the nature. The little boy is black because he is covered in soot from the chimney, but how are ... we to know unless we are familiar with "I...

• Word Count: 2002
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... speakers is their amount of experience. When reading poem 1, I was left with the impression that the speaker was innocent, nave and a good-natured little boy. He does not question his current life situation, because he does not know any better. Even though he tells us that his father sold him, he ... Many of them would die very young because of soot poisoning, diseases, or accidents during work. They would simply be replaced by another and possibly even younger boy. I believe that Blake uses the word lamb as a symbol of how these boys were sacrificed in their line of work. The speaker i...

• Word Count: 2076
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... story from the writer's point of view in the beginning, and from Tom's point of view throughout the rest of the poem. The speaker is a little boy that realizes how difficult his life is. There is one key word that let the reader know that he is speaking in first person, the word "I& ... quot;. After the first stanza, the word is no longer used. From the second stanza until the end, Tom became the storyteller. The young boy tells that his father sold him at a young age. He then comforts little Tom Dacre and tells him that everything will be alright and reminds him that ... " is a poem of h...

• Word Count: 803
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... Chimney Sweeper, Blake suggests that the innocent child is caught in an exploitive and harsh world beyond its understanding. This poem describes how a chimney sweeper boy and his fellows cope with their miserable fate of being chimney sweepers, as it would often lead to death. The chimney sweepers are nave and ... which is exploitive of others for personal joy and happiness. In The Chimney Sweeper (Innocence), the persona, a young boy chimney sweeper, expresses how and when he became a chimney sweeper. The young boy was sold to be a chimney sweeper at a very young age which is an excuse...

• Word Count: 1280
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... is becoming filthy because of the soot in the chimneys. It may be considered that the job of the chimney sweeper is tainting him. The black soot is dirty and is polluting the chimney weepers clean white hair, the white standing for the purity of the child. Throughout both poems the speakers ... of Innocence is in line twelve "That thousands of sweepers, Dick Joe, Ned and Jack,/ Were all of them locked up in coffins of black." Here the speaker uses black to describe coffins and the death that is surrounding the speaker. However, in the next stanza the speaker says, "and by came an angel,...

• Word Count: 654
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... is also reflected in this artwork. An angel is releasing the soot-covered boys from their "coffins of black," and they are dancing away as they are released. The sky above them is blue, not black, and healthy, green vegetation, grows around the text. This nice, naive view of religion is seen ... they establish and reinforce. The poems can be read as the evolution from Blake's dissatisfaction with organized religion to an outright denunciation of its practices. The boy in the poem of experience does not expect a merciful angel to save him, but rather, he blames God, the church, and the K...

• Word Count: 2556
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

... pessimistic. In the first two lines, Blake gives us an image of an anguished child in a state of agony or even a state of corruption. The little boy in this poem seems to blame his parents for is agony. He has been basically sold to a master chimney sweep for seven years. In return his parents ... hate towards his parents for putting him in such sadness, but instead he chooses to hide it by making himself look happy and satisfied. The color black seems to be very important because it is used to represent sin against innocence, the color of the white snow. Blake used a lot of imagery ......

• Word Count: 794
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... nothing more than a lie to perhaps soothe the conscious of those involved in child labor. The image of a "black" child suggests that the chimney sweep is covered in filth and soot. The boy then helplessly cries "weep, weep" alluding to sweep, sweep, having felt innocence lost over such labor. In discussing ... 6 A.M. to 8 P.M., with an hour off at noon. " However, when work was busy he could easily find himself working 16 hours straight. "Another boy, whose parents had sold him to a mill owner, testified that the child laborers were locked up in the mill night and day. He ran away twice,...

• Word Count: 1198
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... attempt to analyze and contrast my own belief system with what is presented in the poem. In the poem, "The Chimney Sweeper," Blake employs the persona of a small boy, Tom Dacre. This gives the boy the persona of being an individual. He is no longer just another young chimneysweeper; he has a name, feelings and emotions. These are all things which are unrecognized ... effect composed by Blake, to representing the living standards of the common people of the time, was the use of coffins. "Were all of them lock"d up in coffins of black" (12) illustrates the sweeper's deathly lives, impriso...

• Word Count: 1143
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... attempts to answer the question. He says that he who made him also calls himself a Lamb and we are called by his name. The Little Black Boy is the next poem. This poem is about a little black child and his mother. The mother teaches her child about God and how he loves everyone. He created everyone the way they are and loves them ... the way he made them. He doesn't care if you are black or white, when he comes to take you up to heaven with him it makes no difference. As long as you live according to his ways, he pays no attention ... ...

• Word Count: 1008
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... , and as a consequence, their oppression is a continuous cycle. Blake expresses in "The Chimney Sweeper" that humankind is not part of the solution but part of the problem. The image of a "black" child suggests that it is covered in filth and soot because he is forced by society to do his or her duty as a chimneysweeper. Blake suggests that society is cruel ... how things used to be very innocent and because of society they lose it. In "The Chimney Sweeper," the second line alone describes what parents would do for money. The boy's father sold him before he could even say the words sweep...

• Word Count: 1046
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... ., p. 156". Assonance is the primary sound device in the fifth stanza where there are many words containing short "o" sounds such as: "upon," "sport," "told Tom" which is also an alliteration, "boy," "God," and "for" "Ibid., p. 156". In the final stanza, assonance is also the primary sound device where long "o" sounds such as "so," "awoke," "rose," "tho,"" and "cold" "Ibid., p. 156" are ... this work. Other examples of figures of speech used in The Chimney Sweeper are symbolism, syntax and punctuation, imagery, a simile, and personification. Symbolism is apparent with the phrase "coffins...

• Word Count: 1529
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... telling the lamb that God made him. The atmosphere is cheerful, bright, and warm; taking place in a spacious field by a small flowing stream with the little lamb and the little boy informing the animal of the graces of God. Though the child's soul is not tainted, a slight offense is detected, though not yet a sin, but a nave linkage as the child in ... does the innocent lamb. During the entire poem the methodical beat of the words spurt vivid images, painted by Blake to show the physical labor that the Creator, portrayed as a black smith exerts to make the tyger: "seize the fire", "twis...

• Word Count: 1106
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School