1. Blake describes innocence and experience as “the two contrary states of the human soul.” What do you think he means by this?
2. Compare the mode of creation described in “The Lamb” with that of “The Tyger.” How are they similar? How are they different?
3. In “London” the speaker says he hears “mind-forged manacles” (line 8) What do you think that phrase means?
4. What differences do you see between the two “Chimney Sweeper” poems?
5. The introductory poem to Songs of Innocence refers to a poet/singer/piper who composes “…happy songs,/Every child may joy to hear.” To what extent does this line describe the poems in Songs of Innocence?
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4. What differences do you see between the two “Chimney Sweeper” poems?
William Blake expresses the same meaning in his two “Chimney Sweeper” poems in that the job is a dangerous one. However, his two poems differ in metaphors and main characters.
The recurring motif in Blake’s two poems are of the colors black and white. The child in poem one explains to another that his white hair must be shaved so the black soot does not spoil it. Poem two begins with a black soot-colored figure walking through the white snow. By the second poem, the chimney sweeper seems to have aged and accepted his role in society.
The child’s parent in poem one simply sold his son to work as a chimney sweeper. In poem two, the parents of the sweeper are so full of praise that they go to church to worship “God & his Priest & King.” Only the sweeper seems to be aware of the heaven they praise to be filled with children who used to be chimney sweepers.
4. What differences do you see between the two “Chimney Sweeper” poems?
In the first chimney sweeper poem, it discusses boys in misery as chimney sweepers, and then a dream which gives them hope, especially in terms of g-d. The second poem describes the church in a negative light as opposed to the first poem. Unlike the first poem it starts off good and then goes to a negative, whereas the first poem starts off in a negative light and goes to a positive.
4. What differences do you see between the two “Chimney Sweeper” poems?
The differences between the two “Chimney Sweeper,” poems is the place, tone, imagery, and messages portrayed. In the first “Chimney Sweeper,” the poem seems to revolve around two kids working in a dusty chimney, along with a crowd of other workers. The tone is resilient and encouraging. Some imagery is realistic and some is imaginary. The message is that they’ll be rewarded for their hard lives in death. In the second “Chimney Sweeper,” the place is not vividly shown. The tone is more melancholic and sarcastic. The imagery is of a man and a woman praying in a church. The message could be that during the narrator’s life he was set up for death and in his death there would be no happiness.
2. Compare the mode of creation described in “The Lamb” with that of “The Tyger.” How are they similar? How are they different?
In “The lamb” the mode is very innocent. lamb is compare to Jesus and “The Tyger” is more over to be aggressive and scary. The lamb and Tyger both make idea and creation of God. Lamb is very religious and Holy animal where it is offer as a sacrifice. And Tyger is both very scary and beautiful. Blake tries to tell us that God can create both innocent and distract animal.
5. The introductory poem to Songs of Innocence refers to a poet/singer/piper who composes “…happy songs,/Every child may joy to hear.” To what extent does this line describe the poems in Songs of Innocence?
The poems in Songs of Innocence appeal to little children. These poems contain imagery that would lead children to tap into their imagination. They contain detailed descriptions of nouns while containing a lot of similes and metaphors. Also the rhyme scheme of these poems are similar to nursery rhymes. I think William Blake structured Song of Innocence in this specific way to grab the attention of children. If he would have structured it like an essay or an book it would not catch their attention.
Compare the mode of creation described in “The Lamb” with that of “The Tyger.” How are they similar? How are they different?
The lamb was created as a beautiful creature, it was the most innocent creature created that even is compared to a child and Jesus. On the other hand, the Tyger was created by a blacksmith in a furnace, The Tyger was shine, beautiful, unique, but dangerous. that produced fear to anyone. The lamb and the Tyger are both created by God, to prove that God can create anything. The lamb is too beautiful that shall be given as a sacrifice, while the tiger is beautiful and should produce fear.
2. Compare the mode of creation described in “The Lamb” with that of “The Tyger.” How are they similar? How are they different?
The lamb was a very graceful and alluring animal. The lamb shall be sacrificed while the tyger produces terror. The lamb portrays innocence while the tyger portrayed the complete opposite. The tyger was very bright, fierce, and belligerent but was very dangerous. The lamb created a more guiltless vibe while the tyger created a fearful vibe. The lamb and the tyger are the same because they are both a creation of god and it shows that god can create things that are both evil and innocent.
Compare the mode of creation described in “The Lamb” with that of “The Tyger.” How are they similar? How are they different?
When we talk about lamb, our first impression of them is innocence and pure. On the country, our first impression for tigers are always scary and strength. In the poetry, the author keep asking who make them. As we can see, the word that author choose are different. The God give lambs life and bid its fees. They created as weak and mild. The language that author use to describe lambs are tend to be peaceful and careful. For the tigers, they are created in the forests of the night with burning bright. We can feel the language are more powerful. That is the big different. I think Blake is writing but actually, he is talking about human being. He shows the different between an innocence child and a pessimistic adult just like the different between lamb and tiger.
What differences do you see between the two “Chimney Sweeper” poems?
The first “chimney sweeper” is filled with a mood of joyfulness and faith in God’s omnipotence. It describes children who are suffering but have hope for the future and wait for God’s shelter. However, the second poem pointed out that the almighty, merciful God could not save poor chimney boy, but also build their heavens upon the suffering of the people. From the content and spirit of the two poems with the same name, we can clearly see that Black has gone through a period of great changes and understanding of idea: from the joy of immersing in the fantasy world to bravely facing the cold reality. No longer confined to seeing the appearance of things, it is necessary to point out the real face of the real world, to explore the social roots of poverty and suffering.
1. Blake describes innocence and experience as “the two contrary states of the human soul.” What do you think he means by this?
Blakes meaning is quite literal. To be contrary is to be opposite and Blake states that innocence and experience are contrary parts of the human soul. Our soul refers to our existence and in our existence, we are one of the two. Being innocent, we do no wrong, see no wrong, and can’t differentiate between right and wrong. Being experiences we have seen enough to know right and wrong, we have done wrong and have been corrected, and have lived through enough to know certain things and in this process lose our innocence.
What differences do you see between the two “Chimney Sweeper” poems?
In The Chimney Sweeper in the Songs of Innocence, the mood that the child who is a chimney sweeper and the narrator of the story seems to be joyful and hopeful. Working and living their everyday lives with the belief that if they are good and listen to what they’re told to do, they will be with God in heaven after they pass away. With no fear but with confidence and assurance in their dream that everything awful they were going through at the moment would be left behind once they die and will be joyful with God as their father. The Chimney Sweeper in the Songs of Experience, the child is more knowledgeable of the situation he is in. Losing complete faith in God and the angel he once saw in his dream, the child proceeds to say his parents had “gone to praise God, his Priest and King. Who make up a heaven of our misery.” The children who were chimney sweepers learned about the real world and how cruel it can be, deterring their spirit in relying on prayers to God in hopes someday their lives would change for the better. Coming to the realization that they will suffer in poverty even when working from such a young age.