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Recommended: Salient features of blakes songs of innocence and experience

William Blake wrote many poems that can each be analyzed continuously. The Chimney Sweeper poems songs of innocence and songs of experience have a deep meaning that can be interrupted many ways. Blake is clearly portraying the life of young Chimney Sweepers so it can be determined he wants to give his opinion on the matter, But what is he trying to say, and why was it so important to him?

The first of the two-poem set is songs of innocence. The titles are very important in my analysis. Innocence suggests ignorance, or lack of knowledge to many subjects, leaving interruption wide open. The first stanza introduces three characters, a mother, father, and, child, or a family. It was very common for these family’s to have a religious belief in God. The son describes how before he could yet speak his father already chose his life path, and he must live in this life, that is less than ideal for him. This is very relatable to everyone’s life and should raise questions. One question that was brought into my mind was: Am I where I am today because of the decisions I made, or am I where I am today because my life made those decisions for me? Which is what the son could be crying out in this first stanza. But also could raise the question: why did I never make a conscious decision about my belief in religion. Blake may be leaning more towards a totally different question, but a strong analysis of this poem can be formed from the two I mentioned.

The son introduces a third character with the second stanza, “little Tom Dacre.” I think Blake’s use of the word little shows the innocence Tom posses. The son tells Tom "Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare, You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair...

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...ught me to sing the notes of woe.

"And because I am happy and dance and sing,
They think they have done me no injury,
And are gone to praise God and his priest and king,
Who make up a heaven of our misery."

The boy states his parents are the reason for his death and the reason he never questioned his “bad situation.” He then goes on to say his parents were always blind to this unethical treatment even though they to will find a spot in heaven with their God and his priest and king. The same god who makes up this “heaven” full of other “good” and “behaved” Chimney sweeper boys.
The poems can be taken in a literally sense, as can the dream, and have great meaning, but looking at the poem with a different pair of glasses on can give you a totally different perspective. This poem is so well written doing one single interpretation of it would just be blasphemy.

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