Student essay on The Chimney Sweeper

Brainstorm:

·         Innocence: uses of lexical discourse which has connotations of innocence and purity – ‘white hair’, ‘Angel’ and ‘joy’. White is often associated with pureness, as it is untainted, the Angel which was sighted by Tom has religious connotations (creating heavenly imagery), and the abstract noun ‘joy’ is associated with happiness and delight, all of which have evidently been incorporated in Blake’s world of innocence.

·         Experience: juxtaposes entirely the semantic field of virtuousness presented in the Songs of Innocence → e.g. ‘black’, ‘weep’ and ‘woe’. Black is the stark opposite of ‘white’ and is often associated with death and doom. The visceral verb ‘weep’ suggests poignancy and the repetition of this intensifies this indication. The abstract noun ‘woe’ has connotations of despondency also. This negative ambience contrasts that of the Songs of Innocence.

·         Innocence: The Biblical references are used to connote positivity and the view of religion in an optimistic light, for instance ‘He’d have God for his father’ suggesting Blake believes God will look after this unfortunate child chimney sweeper, and the ‘Angel had a bright key’ implies the Angel will unlock the opportunity for Tom to be cared for.

·         Experience: The Biblical references in the Songs of Experience are much more so associated with negativity. The phrase ‘who make up a heaven of misery’ makes the assertion that God’s kingdom is one of deceit, as while his parents attend church he is left to work in the chimneys. Also, Blake negatively presents the priests as well, and uses sarcasm in the line ‘and are gone to praise God & his Priest & King’.

·         Innocence: The plot to the Songs of Innocence is about a child finding it’s way to love and care. The first stanzas of the poem set the scene and evoke sympathy for the child who (is potentially an orphan) has to work in poor conditions, and he then is able to find God within himself and proceeds to feel much more able to continue working.

·         Experience: The plot to the Songs of Experience is very different, as we learn of how parents think they are being righteous by attending Church while they’re child goes to work in bitterly poor conditions, and it is inevitable that he will become cynical of the world.

Discuss the ways in which Blake represents both the worlds of innocence and experience in both poems of ‘The Chimney Sweeper’.

 

    Blake represents both the worlds of innocence and experience in both poems of ‘The Chimney Sweeper’ to be completely juxtapositional realms. The Chimney Sweeper in the Songs of Innocence is presented in almost the form of a story whereby a child reaches enlightenment and contentment as a result of his discovery of religion. The Chimney Sweeper in the Songs of Experience, however, is contrasting to this and has a consistently melancholic ambience throughout. The two dimensions are therefore dissimilar in many aspects in relation to the atmosphere of the poems, however, the literary and linguistic techniques may not be so disparate.

   Firstly, Blake represents the world of innocence to be one revolving around the idea of hope. The character in the Chimney Sweeper, Tom Dacre, is portrayed to be a symbol of this yearning. It is evident that the children of this time period are often the victim of poverty, but Blake cleverly injects his own personal religious beliefs in the poem to illustrate to the reader how religion can act as a saviour. The biblical references throughout the poem are used to connote aspiration and the view of religion in a positive light. For example, the line “He’d have God for this father” suggests that God will care for this unfortunate child, and furthermore, the line “The Angel had a bright key” implies that the Angel would unlock the opportunity for Tom to be cared for. As a result, the world of innocence therefore seems to be one of tenderness and has the chance for those in need to be cherished. However, the biblical references in the Songs of Experience indicate the stark opposite of that illustrated throughout the Songs of Innocence. The phrase ‘who make up a heaven of misery’ leaves the reader under the impression that God’s kingdom is one of deceit, as whilst this poor child is cleaning chimneys his parents are attending church to clear their conscience. This is further reinforced through the line ‘and are gone to praise God & his Priest & King’, which has a surreptitious hint of sarcasm; which allows Blake to insert his own negative view of priests. The world of experience is considered to be very cynical of religion, as it is evident that there is a distrust between the character in the poem and the theme of the Church. The perception of religion is therefore differentiated greatly between the two poems, as one is overwhelmingly positive, and the other is significantly more despondent.

   The world of innocence is considered to be almost a utopia; as Blake uses lexical discourse which has connotations of innocence and purity. For example, the adjective ‘white’ to describe Tom Dacre’s hair is often associated with pureness, as it is untainted. This suggests that in the worlds of innocence there is nothing target to corruption, as we learn of how Tom Dacre is able to find cheer within himself. In addition to this, the abstract noun ‘joy’ is induces the ambience to be filled of happiness, and suggests that the world of innocence very much operates on the basis of this emotion. We are therefore left under the impression that delight is a welcoming environment that the world of innocence is founded upon. However, when we compare the general mood of the poem to the Chimney Sweeper in the Songs of Experience, we are greeted with a much more poignant setting. The world of experience is entirely contradictory to the world of innocence and this harsh comparison conveys it to be a dystopia. The semantic field of virtuousness presented in the Songs of Innocence has been eradicated, and lexis linked to much darker emotions are presented. For example, the repetition of the visceral verb ‘weep’ suggests to the reader that the character in this poem is the object of dejection, as the fact that it is repeated twice in conjunction with emotive language, such as ‘woe’, provides an engulfing sense of guilt. Additionally, the adjective ‘black’ is used to describe the character, ‘a little black thing amongst the snow’; which demonstrates that his misery vividly stands out. There is an overpowering realisation that in the worlds of experience the strong emotion of depression cannot be escaped, which only intensifies the intense difference between the two worlds.

   However, in spite of the two domains existing with contrasting vibes, they often contain many similar techniques to present the way the worlds serve. For example, both poems encompass a semantic field of naturalistic imagery and description. The world of innocence is portrayed to be one of happiness, as the lines ‘then down a green plain leaping laughing they run And wash in a river and shine in the Sun’. The ‘river’ in culmination with the dynamic verb ‘wash’ has connotations that the orphaned chimney sweepers are washing away their sorrows as they relish the opportunity to find faith within themselves after an apparition of an Angel appeared to them. The eradication of sorrow conveys the perception that any misery existing in the world of innocence will always be diminished as sanguinity prevails. In addition, the reference to the ‘Sun’ in aggregation with the visceral verb ‘shine’ expresses the idea that optimism will always radiate throughout the world of innocence, despite whatever circumstances these ill-fated children may encounter. Analogously, in the Songs of Experience, Blake uses antithesis in the line ‘And smil’d among the winters snow’; again using the semantic field of nature and the seasons to convey emotion and sentiment. The stative verb ‘smile’ used alongside the ‘winter snow’ is juxtaposed as winter notoriously is associated with harsh weather conditions and the bitter cold. This leaves the reader with a captivating sense of pity; as it is evident that the child in this poem has to work in these environments whilst feigning that he is content. This emotional abyss and torment creates a conflict for the reader, and Blake cleverly evokes empathy and commiseration for a potentially hypothetical child. Although the idea being presented is entirely contrasting, Blake uses similar techniques to convey opposing messages, which ultimately illustrates how Blake can ingeniously embody different notions through similar literary techniques.

    In conclusion, Blake presents the worlds of innocence and experience to be zones of one’s lifetime that are entirely opposing, in terms of events and emotions. The juxtaposition between his multitude of concepts are so intense that the disparities between the two poems are exaggerated even more extensively. The world of innocence is renowned to be one of bliss and happiness, whereas the world of experience, on the other hand, is a realm of dismay. Blake uses a range of techniques to convey these emotions, such as imagery, abstract nouns and a semantic field of lexis to ensure the reader is experiencing the sensations he intended them to.