William Blake Research Paper

Salma Alemán

AP Literature

April 28, 2016

Sweep or Weep

The Romanticism Era began in 1798 and ended in 1850. The era was during the Industrial Revolution and was all about nature. It was also a counteraction against the Enlightenment Era, which was all about balance, order and moderation. Some of the characteristics about the Romanticism Era were:introspection, nature, children, folklore, and imagination. Majority of the writings regarded pastoral elements, spots of time and pantheism. One controversial and memorable poet during the era is William Blake. He composed two collections: Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. Blake utilizes the naive and experienced perspective to demonstrate both thoughts of the youthful and the matured,

He claimed he had seen God at age four, and angels at age nine (“William Blake”). Although his parents thought it was all about imagination, they later found out he was a child out of the ordinary. Blake had no formal education; learned how to read and write at home. At the age of ten, he attended an art school, two years later he began poetry ("William Blake"). He became a printist at the age of fourteen and remained as one for seven years. In 1782, at the age of twenty five, he married an uneducated woman, whose name was Catherine Boucher, they had no children. Boucher was taught how to read and write by Blake and was also the woman to help him print the poems he is known for today ("William Blake"). He opened a printshop in 1784, with James Parker -- a former friend--,

In this collection, Blake demonstrates innocence and purity creatures have and their natural thoughts. In “The Chimney Sweeper”, the main character is Tom Dacre. Blake demonstrates the difficult, and temerous labor children had to do, cleaning chimneys. Blake utilizes Tom’s hair as a symbol of purity and innocence. Blake also mentions an angel with a key, that angel could be interpreted as Robert's spirit visiting him when he was writing. Blake was influenced to compose this poem due to the time period he was in. During his time, the Industrial Revolution was taking place. London had become the greatest place in the world since various jobs were rising and London was developing. During the 1700s and 1800s, in England, orphans and poor children were bought by Master Sweeps (“The Role”). The innocent children were usually young and their age ranged from five to ten years old. Through their tedious work, from dawn to afternoon, the children were compensated with housing, food and clothing (“The Role”). The children announced their services by crying “‘weep, ‘weep”, by that cry, the audience can conclude the children were barely learning how to speak.

In “Songs of Experience”, there is a contrary poem also named “The Chimney Sweeper”. The poem tends to be obscure and exposes the church's faults. The narrator