Innocence VS Experience in cosmic world of William Blake’s poem “Chimney sweeper”

            Life is all about getting experience which will definitely influence one’s future. This way William Blake shows in his poem “Chimney sweeper” how an innocent child experiences so much injustice and hard work that being so small already have a lot of unpleasant experience behind their shoulders. It is not only what we live through but how it is perceived by our conscious. That is why Blake shows experiences through the prism of child’s apprehension of outer world.

            Firstly, the author introduces one of the biggest social injustices in England and it is children labour when parents were selling their kids to do such a dirty job as sweeping chimneys as they were small enough to fit there, “And my father sold me while yet my tongue/ Could scarcely cry ‘’weep! weep! ‘weep! ‘weep!’/ So your chimneys I sweep, and in soot I sleep.” (Blake) So we can see that a child speaks as an adult in these lines especially in the last one where the rhyme creates the feeling of sarcasm and sadness at the same time. Thus it slowly goes from innocent voice who realises that he was sold to a mature one who already experienced the weight of hard work. The reader can see the shift from weeping to sarcastic realisation of unfair world.

            The poem is written from the 1st person which makes the narrative even more emotive and breath-taking as it seems that it is the author himself who experienced all of what he describes. “There’s little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head/ That curl’d like a lamb’s back, was shaved…” (Blake) In this line the author introduces to us a new character — little Tom who represents a complete innocence as he does not know what is going on and why his beautiful curly hair was shaved. The speaker who himself is also a child but who already knows what this work is like is trying to comfort him in kind of even a funny way, “Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head’s bare/ You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair.” (Blake)  Now we can notice that the speaker shows experience as he is trying to find bright sides even in very sad conditions. That is why by saying to Tom that it is not the worst thing having shaved head as this work is so dirty so his white hair would not be the same. I strongly believe that this ability to look for positive when everything around is negative is the sign of being a wise and experienced person. So the main character tries to calm little Tom down as he knows that his tears will not help him but just make him feel worse. This also proves that experience overcomes innocence and after some time Tom will get his own lessons too and will not be the same scared kid as he is now. To my mind, this is also how the author shows that everyone is born innocent but it it is impossible to stay like that the whole life as our work is too cruel and unfair and does not let this happen.

            In stanzas 3 and 4 we notice that the Blake involves the names of other kids who work as chimney sweepers just like the speaker and Tom. We cannot but realise that coffins and black color are the symbols of injustice, sadness and deadlock that show that these children are like prisoners who cannot be free and enjoy childhood as others because they are so immature for such work. What is more, they are locked up which means that even if they wanted to run away they could not as they are not in control of their lives, they are in someone’s hands. On the hand, an Angel who represents innocence by itself is that hope that probably never dies in those little children’s dreams. The bright key symbolises that there is actually something fair in this world, it is the key to freedom for those who have not done anything bad in their lives to deserve such a living like these chimney sweepers. Then, of course, green color, which is always believed to symbolise happiness represents here even more, it is children’s hope and happiness combined. Usually kids are happy as they do not know much of bad things that can happen but these little ones already experienced too much that is why their happiness has even greater impact on the reader. And least but not last, river of course symbolises life itself as it is always moving and lives. It also represents clarity as finally these kids got chance to be cleared of dark soot and enjoy a sunny day being free. It is also important to mention that brightness symbolises hope as well, the hope that became much more real now after the angel set them free. That is why, I believe that here we can see how darkness that is kind of experience here fights agains brightness that is still innocence present in children’s souls.

            After reading stanza 5, we realise that what happened before was just a dream and Tom wake up but being a completely different person. Now he does not cry as he knows that the only thing he can do is work, he listens to the angel’s advice that if he continues performing his duties, he will not be harmed. This of course makes this poem so sad as we mature readers realise that even a little kid who is is innocent understands that he needs to work to stay safe. That is how innocence and experience contradict in the last stanza. Sure, last line is ironical as even bright dreams cannot overcome dark unfair world and make little children believe that they should enjoy work so as not to be harmed even though it is the dirtiest work that can be found.

            To cut a long story short, William Blake managed to depict harsh English reality that caught a lot of innocent children on its way and he also brought his message to use, readers, judging such things as child labour in society. Imagination can add various shades to one’s experience and somehow render it either make it softer or darker. that is why it is worth mentioning that imagination helps people learn from their past dids. Tom’s dream is an example how imagination alters mundane and exhausting everyday experiences in poor kids’ lives. By using symbols and different types of humour he made the poem so strong to touch every person reading it and make us think that something should be done to stop such injustice in our world.

           

Works cited

Blake, William. The chimney sweeper. poets.org. Web. 11 Mar. 2016