The
poem that I
have chosen for this first paper is, The
Little Black Boy, written by the famous romantic poet William
Blake. In this
section we will comment and analyze the poem. Secondly, we will compare
and
contrast this poem with other poems written by the same author. We will
also
comment on the historical events during the time when the poem was
published to
comprehend and understand the difficulties and changes during that
time, as was
the Romantic Movement.
To start off, we should
first
comment on the obvious features of the structure and the technical
features of
the poem. This poem is narrated by the little black boy, therefore
written in
first person. The language used by the poet is in Old fashioned
English, as we
can see the use of words like ¨thou¨ and ¨O¨.
In this particular poem, we can point
out
the various subjects that are mentioned in the poem like for instance,
slavery,
racism, discrimination, religion, love, nature and the innocent,
pastoral world
of childhood. Slavery, racism and discrimination all have to do with
the fact
that the poet contrasts two different things, the division of race
between a
white boy and a black boy and associates it with the good and bad. We can see that the
author tries
to express the discrimination and hatred there is towards the black
people in
society during this epoch.
The Little Black Boy dramatizes the naive hopes and fears
of the
little black boy who narrates this didactic poem. The little black boy
claims to
be black but has the soul of a white child as we can see in the first
stanza,
¨And I am black, but O my soul is white¨. Here we can see that
discrimination
and racism were two topics that where very important during these times
due to
the fact that slavery was becoming legal in society, and by this
discrimination
and racism arose between the population.
On the other hand, religion
plays a
big role in this poem due to the fact that Blake, during his time
attacked the
conventional religion. We can see this become apparent in the poem when
Blake
uses the sun as a metaphor
for God
and His Kingdom. In accordance with the metaphor of the son used in the
poem,
Blake speaks of ¨sunburnt face¨ and ¨black bodies¨ to imply that the
more darker you are the closer you are to God due to the fact of their
suffering, meaning that you can only become dark and sunburnt by being
exposed
to the sun, which is God.
Furthermore, later on in the poem the little black boy states
that
he will be the English boys
shadow
as we can see in one of the stanzas, ¨I’ll shade him from the
heat.¨
Here we can see that the
English boy
in this poem is symbolic because the English were distanced from God as
a result
of their treatment towards the black population.
In this poem there is great
use of
symbolism. For example, the words; white, along with light, angel, symbolize good and
denotes
innocence and purity, while black,
and darkness represent evil
and sin.
The mother who teaches her son and tries to lead him in the correct
path
represents the ´innocence´, as we can see in the poem, ¨she pointed out
to the
east began to say, look at the rising, there
God does
live, and gives his light and gives his heat away¨. A notable aspect
that is
worth mentioning is the use of neutral colours throughout the poem like
silver and gold, which are used to
represent in
terms of spirituality and wisdom the indifference of race and social
class.
Blake uses powerful imagery
with
metaphors and similes. We can see examples like, ¨my soul is white,
white as an angel is the English child¨. In this
metaphor we
can see that the little black boy feels as though he has a white soul.
Another
metaphor we can find in the poem is ¨but I am black as if bereaved of
light ¨,
here the poet contrasts, black
and light. Other metaphors used in
the poem
are the sun, as I mentioned
in the
beginning of this essay, and lastly clouds, ¨When I from black
cloud, and he
from white cloud are free,¨ here Blake uses the clouds as a metaphor
for the
human body.
Secondly we will by
comparing ¨The
Little Black Boy¨ with other poems written by Blake.
Most of the poems of ´Songs
of
Innocence´ deal with the emotional power of conventional Christian
faith, and
the innocent belief in a supreme, benevolent, and protective God.
In the poem ¨The Lamb¨, the
narrator
is a child as in ¨The Little Black boy¨. We can see spiritual matters
involved
and the child questions his origins and the nature of creation. The
child’s
answer however, reveals his confidence in his simple Christian faith
and his
innocent acceptance of its teachings, as we can see in ¨The Little
Black boy¨.
We can see some common symbols which were used in both poems, like for
example
the representation of the lamb,
which
symbolizes Jesus. The image of the child is also associated with Jesus,
and many
more come from the bible, due to the fact that Blake was in touch with
the bible
and in the majority of his works we can see some kind of relationship
with the
Bible or the Old Testament. For example, in this poem, the child
approaches the
ideas of nature and of God. This poem like many of the ´Songs of
Innocence´,
accepts that Blake saw as the more positive aspects of the conventional
Christian belief. Both ¨The Lamb¨ and ¨The Tyger¨ both give a
perspective on
religion that includes the good and clear as well as the terrible and
inscrutable. They offer a good instance of how Blake himself stands
somewhere
outside the perspectives of innocence and experience his projects.
Another poem
that we can compare is ¨The Divine Image¨. Here we can see that the
poem talks
about the prayers to Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love, which are not just to
God but
to ¨the human form divine¨, which all people must love and respect
regardless of
their culture or religion. When people pray regardless of who or where they are, or to what God they think
that they
are praying, they actually worship ¨the human form divine.¨ The speaker
praises
both God and man while asserting an identity between the two. Lastly,
we will be
seeing ¨The Human Abstract¨. This poem together with ¨The Divine Image¨
offers a
closer analysis of the four virtues (mercy, pity, peace and love) that
constituted both God and man, (in both poems). This poem asserts that
the
traditional Christian of mercy and pity presuppose a world of poverty
and human
suffering.
(SparkNotes, Internet source)
Thirdly, we will be
commenting the
relation between this poem with the society and historical events in
the moment
it was written and published. ¨The Little Black Boy¨ was written in
1789 during
the Romantic Era. This movement can be defined as, an artistic, literary, and
intellectual
movement which was a clear revolt against aristocratic, social and
political
norms of the Enlightenment Period and a reaction against the scientific
rationalization of nature in art and literature. (Wikipedia,
Internet source)
Blake during the 1780´s was
believed
to have come part of a mob. Riots took place in response to a
parliamentary bill
revoking sanctions against Roman Catholicism, which later came to be
known as
the Gordon Riots; they provoked a flurry of legislation from the
government of
George III, as well as the creation of the police force. During Blake’s
times
there was slavery and discrimination of race and sex, but as we read
his poem we
can clearly see his position which is his belief in racial and sexual
equality.
Also we should mention the ¨Blake
condemned the cruel absurdity of enforced chastity and marriage without
love and
defended the right of women to complete self-fulfilment.¨ (wikipedia, internet source).
Blake rejected not only
these absurd
ideas imposed by society but also rejected the modern trends and his
belief in a
spiritual and artistic New Age. Blake shared this idea with a group of
artists
called Shoreham Ancients. Blake also rejected all forms of imposed
authority;
indeed, he was charged with assaults and uttering seditious and
treasonable
expressions against the King in 1803. We can also point of Blake’s
spiritual
beliefs which are evidenced in ´Songs of Experience´ published in 1794,
in which
he shows his own distinction between the Old Testament God, whose
restrictions
he rejected, and the New Testament God whom he saw as a positive
influence.
(wikipedia, Internet source)
Poem
lyrics of The Little Black Boy by William Blake.
My
mother bore me in the southern wild,
And I
am
black, but oh my soul is white!
White as an angel is the English
child,
But I am black, as if bereaved of light.
My
mother taught me underneath a tree,
And,
sitting
down before the heat of day,
She took me on her lap and kissed me,
And,
pointed to the east, began to say:
"Look
on the rising sun: there God does live,
And
gives
His light, and gives His heat away,
And flowers and trees and
beasts and men
receive
Comfort in morning, joy in the noonday.
"And
we are put on earth a little space,
That we may learn to bear the
beams of
love
And these black bodies and this sunburnt face
Is but a
cloud, and
like a shady grove.
(sparknotes, internet source)
Bibliography
·
Planet Papers. 28 November
2007