Analysis of William Blake's Chimney Sweeper DOCX

Title	Analysis of William Blake's Chimney Sweeper
Author	Shivangi Sinha
Pages	13
File Size	34.7 KB
File Type	DOCX
Total Downloads	219
Total Views	930

Summary

Sinha 1 Shivangi Sinha ENGLISH HONORS British Romantic Literature Analysis of William Blake’s Chimney Sweeper One of the first generation Romantic poets of the 18th century, William Blake in his combined edition of The Songs of Innocence and Experience etched between 1789-1794 depicts “the two contr...

Description

Sinha 1 Shivangi Sinha ENGLISH HONORS British Romantic Literature Analysis of William Blake's Chimney Sweeper One of the first generation Romantic poets of the 18th century, William Blake in his combined edition of The Songs of Innocence and Experience etched between 1789-1794 depicts "the two contrary states of human soul" caught between conservative and radical forces that collectively exist within individuals and society. Since art is not created in a vacuum Romanticism as a cultural movement can be traced back as a reaction to the French and Industrial Revolution which marked the onset of various social, political and economic changes, all at once. Politically shaken up by the ideals of the French revolution, England as a monarchy grew decadent through a radical reconceptualization of a society that foreground new ideas about the value of human life and a commitment to 'freedom, equality and brotherhood.' However, the industrial revolution widened the gap between class of capital and labor making England more mercantile. Manufacture in factories and the speed of mechanization created a corrupt and polluted urban society that verged towards moral decadence by exploiting the working class. In his poem, "The Chimney Sweeper: Innocence" and "The Chimney Sweeper: Experience" Blake makes a scalding commentary about societal injustice by representing the plight of poor children who are forced to work as chimney sweeps by juxtaposing two contrary states – one in...