... sweepers, as described by Blake, literally "appalls" the churches and makes them white. The fact that the children of London are in misery and poverty makes the upper class, the church and the monarchy even richer. The children who cry out for salvation portray the impoverished London that Blake sees. ... London is a miserable city in Blake's time, as seen by the "youthful Harlot's curse" (line 14). If the young women of London were not working in the factories, it is very possible that they were supporting themselves by prostitution. These ... girls had no choice but to sell themselves...

• Word Count: 1148
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... into the simple, as evident in the poems published in The Songs of Innocence and The Songs of Experience. His approach to most topics: poverty, pressure, friendship, honesty, jealousy, survival, truth, human rights, industrialisation, child labour, and the complexity of his ideas contradict the simplicity in ... question of moral concerns. The issues explored in this series of poems are very complex, dealing with topics of child labour, vulnerability, discipline, poverty and the question of where life originated (in particular, who made the lamb). Despite these complicated topics, Blake ...

• Word Count: 1014
• Approx Pages: 4

... more stark reality. The first poem ends with a didactic statement that "If all do their duty, they need not fear harm." Blake uses this final line as guidance whereas the second poem ends with the "misery" that is the true picture of the young chimney sweeps life. In the second poem Blake points ... St Paul's. The first "Holy Thursday" poem creates a beautiful vision of London's blessed children parading to church. Blake achieves these images and this emotion with the line: "The children walking two and two, in red, and blue, and green." A peaceful scene and an idealized image of what soc...

• Word Count: 1853
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... the exploitation, he does it in a powerful and somewhat ambitious tone. "Now like a mighty wind they raise to heaven the voice of song". This line strikes me as confusing; the children are going back to terrible, awful "jobs", yet they are singing and acting as if they are a powerful ... which is not "holy" at all. The song that I felt was powerful in the Songs of Innocence is reduced to a "trembling cry" (line 5, pg 24). The last stanza is also prescriptive of society, meaning that this is the way society should be, not the way it is (Notes, 6/27). ... Society is full of hunger, suffer...

• Word Count: 1237
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... . The repetition emphasize the fact that this suffering is not only affecting a group of people but everybody, and no one could escape from the miserable and tragic reality. The fourth line "the mind-forg'd manacles I hear" indicates that the mental suppression was much more powerful than material chains could ever be. In the next verse, Blake introduces two types ... their own misery onto their babies, and the children would grow up or even passed their misery onto further generations. It was a circle of misery that a baby was born into poverty and had congenital diseases. Finally, this...

• Word Count: 861
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... there is wasteful selfishness and prostitution. This form of writing was common during this time period in the industrial revolution. A lot of people were fed up with the waste and poverty and it seemed the only way to get the point across was with a pen and paper. The first time a poem is read the reader must go beyond the author's words ... the effect it had in the people in that time period. When looking closer the reader is able to tell the disguised meaning behind the words written. For example, in line 3 the poem states, "Could scarcely cry weep weep weep weep". The meaning behind...

• Word Count: 573
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... , 1757 as the third of five children to a London hosier. Because of the relatively lower middle class status of his father's profession, Blake was raised in the same state of poverty that he would experience throughout his entire life. As a child, he was already fond of painting and was eventually sent to drawing school as a result. Young William received only enough ... earth . . There's a rich paystreak waiting for someone to work . ." Intrigued, Service started thinking. Then came inspiration. "It was a Saturday night, and from the various bars I heard sounds of revelry. The line popp...

• Word Count: 3374
• Approx Pages: 13
• Grade Level: High School

... must first know about how Blake's mind worked. Forgotten by his contemporaries but venerated by modern society, British poet, prophet, publisher, and artist William Blake was the earliest of a long line of reformist romantic poets. Regarded widely as a mad man, Blake was above all else a rebel whose anti-authoritarian spirit, and belief in freedom and individuality formed the basis of his ... heaven. The image of this child "who cried when his head, that curled like a lamb's back, was shaved" gives the impression of the sacrificial lamb, sacrificed into a life of hardship, poverty, and ...

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

... his purpose for everything he makes. The Sick Rose represents a once beautiful rose that has been infected by an invisible worm. This worm has taken over the rose. There is a line that says "And his dark secret love does thy life destroy." It is implying that this worm is destroying the life of the rose. There is also London, which is ... walking through London observing his surroundings. He claims to look at the people's faces and see nothing but sorrow. The nights in London hold nothing promising. Babies are born into poverty to prostitutes that do not end up getting married (Sparknot...

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