Two Contrary States of the Human Soul: William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience - Book Report/Review Example

Two Contrary s of the Human Soul" Introduction: William Blakes Songs of Innocence and Experience are rather clearly written on his thought that the soul has two different states, one of Innocence and the other of Experience. Blake had skilled as an engraver, and thus, every poem had its individual depiction. His training as an engraver also directed him to become captivated with parallel or contradictory metaphors, and the variation which he thought were present in the human soul. His Songs of Innocence were available alone in 1789. After completing the songs of innocence, he shifted from the countryside to London. During this period he experienced the injustice and cruelty of life and the social efforts of his era. The songs of experience were written as a result of that living standard and observations. These were merged with the Songs of Innocence and were printed collectively in 1794. The Songs of Innocence were written in easy words, as if they are written for children, but they were not childrens verses. They demonstrate the souls ideal survival, which according to Blake is a state of childhood. In London, he discovered that children are not just symbols of Innocence, but also of Experience as he noticed how children were despoiled. Songs of Experience were printed as to some extent of a reply to Songs of Innocence, to be evidence for the two contrary states of the soul. He occasionally matched poems in the two sets by granting them the identical titles. Blake took inspiration from many other philosophers such as Locke. Blake through his poems has given a perfect view of innocence and experience. The Chimney Sweeper is an excellent poem written by Blake which analyzes the two states of life closely. "Songs of Innocence and of Experience"  The Chimney Sweeper is portrayed in the songs of innocence as well as in the songs of experience. Both the songs talk about a child who works as a chimney sweeper. The children, as portrayed in the poem, are compelled to work as chimney sweepers regardless of the dangers of death. The poems declare that if they do not become a victim of suffocation they would eventually be carried off by cancer or bronchitis. The Chimney sweeper in the songs of innocence tells about a little boy who has had a dream which raises his spirits and motivates him to continue his strive in his job. The poem talks about little Tom Darce who is an innocent and guiltless child but he is being spoiled and corrupted by his profession. Toms appearance is discussed as a child with curly white hair but his hair is cut off by his master. Blake has compared Tom to a lamb and hence to Christ. Blake compared Tom to Christ who had suffered the brutality of men. The speaker of the poem consoles Tom by giving him a positive view of getting his hair shaved that his pretty curly hair will not be damaged by the black soot now. Tom takes a nap and has a dream in which he can see many people rejoicing in the heaven. These people are Toms old friends who used to be chimney sweepers. In the dream all his friends are covered with soot in the coffin but afterwards they are released out of the coffin to wash out their soot and become white and shiny. Then the Angel further tells Tom that if he would work hard and would avoid the corruption of this world he would also be awarded heaven like his friends. That dream enables Tom to go back to his work the next day without any fear of death and he feels more determined to work as he starts hoping to wash his soot and clear his way to heaven. Toms determination to work in order to achieve heaven, as he saw in the dream, is the proof of his strong faith in God and innocence. The poem portrays the child as black at first. This was due to the worldly sins and the dirt of human brutality. Afterwards the poem describes the boy as pure white and sparkling as he has washed the filth and dirt of materialism and is now innocent. This shows Blakes view about children. Blake believes that children are the symbols of innocence and this innocence is much more beautiful than this materialistic and selfish world. According to his point of view although Tom was corrupted but it was not his fault so he was really innocent. Blake also gives a positive point that even if innocence is used in a negative way by other people, in the end innocence wins and it cannot be stained. He also conveys a message through his poem that if a person leads his life according to the will of God he will be rewarded either in this world or in the hereafter. Similarly, The Chimney Sweeper also comes up in the Songs of Experience and uses a more broad approach. In this poem a child who works as a chimney sweeper is described as a child who is black because of the soot. The speaker in the poem asks the child about his parent’s whereabouts to which he is replied by the child that they are praying in the church to the God who enforced misery on the child. The direct conversation between the speaker and the child tries to hide his unhappiness to work like this. Blake further tells that the child is forced to continue with his job by his parents. Blake here clearly is trying to illustrate the cruelty inflicted upon the child by his parents and is thus portraying a sign of innocence. Furthermore the child does not show his unhappiness and hides it as he is aware of his present situation. He believes that his happiness would be eventually destroyed or overcome by his experience. The child also partially blames the God and the Church for creating such a situation in his life. The Chimney Sweeper in the Songs of Experience has a different touch than that of the Songs of Innocence. In the experience part the child has realized the corruption prevailing in this world which is forcing him to live by their rules. And the child has a belief that he would overcome his problems sooner or later with experience. Blake in this poem clearly illustrates that experience has a deep impact on the happiness and life of one individual. It not only makes the person overcome his problems but also destroys the past of his life. Blake through this poem showed that innocence and experience were directly related to each other as with experience the innocence which one person has goes away. Conclusion: William Blake was genuinely fascinated by the two states through which the human souls go. All the poems written by William Blake gave a clear illustration of these two states. The Chimney Sweeper is an excellent illustration of the two states of the human soul. He relates Innocence to an adolescent and Experience with a grown person. Through his poem Chimney Sweeper he clearly states that Innocence should not be blotted with anything else as it is a pure state. But he further tells about the culture of this world and states that Innocence is eventually blotted by the actions of people. He also states through his poems that eventually one has to grow up and reach the stage of experience. And when one reaches this stage he cannot move back to the stage of innocence as experience snatches away the innocence. This is because pure innocence is the one which is unknown of everything happening in the world. Chimney Sweeper was a great example of both innocence and experience. Blake wrote the Songs of Innocence when he was living in the countryside where he did not see any injustice and cruelty. But as he moved to London he realized the cruelty of the society and wrote the Songs of Experience. This clearly shows that Blake underwent through every stage of life and wrote about the states of the soul according to his experience and innocence. Bibliography: Blake, William, William Blake, William Blake, William Blake, and William Blake. Songs of Innocence and of Experience Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul. London: author & printer W. Blake, 1794. Read More