Q: Criticize the social, political and religious factors that Blake has addressed in his "Songs of Innocence and of Experience".
Written by William Blake the “Songs of innocence and experience” express two opposite states of the human soul, heaven and hell. “Songs of Innocence” expresses the state of childhood, a state of free imagination and infinite joy and “Songs of Experience” expresses that how the society gets corrupted when the innocent soul gets corrupted.
Blake Is quiet philosophical and his ‘Songs of innocence and experience’ he wrote various poem in systematic section. However, by these poems Blake targets is to address the social, political and religious problems –the major problems in the society at his time.
One of the three major problems is, social conflict. Child labor is one aspect of social problem. In the time of industrial revolution, people were getting more involved with industry rather than farming. So the people who were rich getting richer and the people who were poor getting poorer. Some poor parents also sold their children on account of food and the baby’s proper care. Most of the child was sold to sweep the chimney, as it is too narrow that only a baby can enter there, to master sweep who engaged them on poor payment. The kid was as much little that they can utter properly. As in the poem ‘The Chimney Sweeper’ the little boy is so young, that he utter the word ‘sweep’ as ‘weep’. And also racism can be seen. The people who had black skin, they never been treated as human being. The worst curse of society was the slavery. The English people always neglected the black. In the poem ‘The Little Black Boy’ the main target of the poet is racism.
Because of the industrial revolution, people were hungry in collecting money, so they became loses their morality instead of cruelty.
In Blake’s period, church is the main political centre. The priest revealed the general people that religion is more impotent than child. Thus, church and the King was the ruler of the country. The church opposed the religion to the poor as they can possible. In the poem ‘The Chimney Sweeper’ from Experience, we find the little boy is sold to his parents who are now in the church. The church also revealed that if someone want to pray to God for forgiveness, then they should raise up his hand with any innocent soul. In the poem ‘Holy Thursday’ the harsh reality is hidden under colorful processions of children. Thus religion is used in politics.
Blake thinks that Child is the symbol of innocence. Thus nothing should be imposed on them and they are free from everything, this is the main concept of “songs of Innocence”. But on contrary, he portrays cruelty of a mature heart, the roughness of life- which is the concept of “Songs of Experience”.
Written by William Blake the “Songs of innocence and experience” express two opposite states of the human soul, heaven and hell. “Songs of Innocence” expresses the state of childhood, a state of free imagination and infinite joy and “Songs of Experience” expresses that how the society gets corrupted when the innocent soul gets corrupted.
Blake Is quiet philosophical and his ‘Songs of innocence and experience’ he wrote various poem in systematic section. However, by these poems Blake targets is to address the social, political and religious problems –the major problems in the society at his time.
One of the three major problems is, social conflict. Child labor is one aspect of social problem. In the time of industrial revolution, people were getting more involved with industry rather than farming. So the people who were rich getting richer and the people who were poor getting poorer. Some poor parents also sold their children on account of food and the baby’s proper care. Most of the child was sold to sweep the chimney, as it is too narrow that only a baby can enter there, to master sweep who engaged them on poor payment. The kid was as much little that they can utter properly. As in the poem ‘The Chimney Sweeper’ the little boy is so young, that he utter the word ‘sweep’ as ‘weep’. And also racism can be seen. The people who had black skin, they never been treated as human being. The worst curse of society was the slavery. The English people always neglected the black. In the poem ‘The Little Black Boy’ the main target of the poet is racism.
Because of the industrial revolution, people were hungry in collecting money, so they became loses their morality instead of cruelty.
In Blake’s period, church is the main political centre. The priest revealed the general people that religion is more impotent than child. Thus, church and the King was the ruler of the country. The church opposed the religion to the poor as they can possible. In the poem ‘The Chimney Sweeper’ from Experience, we find the little boy is sold to his parents who are now in the church. The church also revealed that if someone want to pray to God for forgiveness, then they should raise up his hand with any innocent soul. In the poem ‘Holy Thursday’ the harsh reality is hidden under colorful processions of children. Thus religion is used in politics.
Blake thinks that Child is the symbol of innocence. Thus nothing should be imposed on them and they are free from everything, this is the main concept of “songs of Innocence”. But on contrary, he portrays cruelty of a mature heart, the roughness of life- which is the concept of “Songs of Experience”.
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