William Blake Research Paper

Alana Dureault
200375460
Melanie Schnell
English 100 – 326
11 April 2016
Transportation to a New World

William Blake was a true master mind when it came to writing poetry in the 19th century. He was an artist that influenced an infinite amount of writers because of his phenomenal works throughout the Romantic Age. Blake captures so much oppression through words, as he lived in a time period where slavery, aggression, and revolutionary change was deemed as regular, especially throughout “Songs of Innocence”, 1789. An author uses visually descriptive words in literature to create a meaningful impact while reading and appeal to the reader's senses. While both “The Chimney Sweeper” and “London” show imagery and symbolism portraying slavery

The coffins of black is used to create the image of the chimney. The children were confined by claustrophobic chimneys which could potentially lead to the child's death. Once soot got into their lungs, it was common for the child slave to become really ill or even die. Describing the coffins as black allows the reader to compare black with the filth or with death. However, Blake then talks about Tom's dream where the children became free. The freed children then experience infinite amounts of joy, became cleansed by the river, and their innocence was essentially renewed. The child's living conditions would not be socially acceptable today. They lacked running water which caused poor sanitation. The river not only representing as clean, but can be said to have renewed the children. In the bible it talks about baptisms in the rivers which represents the ending of the old way of living and beginning a new eternal life. When the child is cleansed in the river, he washes away his inequity, sins and old way of living as a

Imagery helped to provide vivid visuals through words so that the reader can receive a better idea of the circumstances in that era. He used imagery to transport the reader into a world that they aren't familiar with. Imagery helped to transform the poem and make it much more relatable. “The Chimney Sweeper” transports the reader into a world where children are sacrificed for the wants of others. Blake uses various adjectives to portray a world filled with cruel and unusual punishments and a world of oppression. Like “The Chimney Sweeper”, Blake also portrays a world of oppression in “London”. The imagery in “London” is used to transport the reader to a world of social and urban decay. A reader can see a completely different world than what the reader is used to. A world without freedom and ownership. A world where basically all the rights of the citizens are confined to the government and everyone is enslaved to something. A world where only the wealthy prosper. All in all, “London” and “The Chimney Sweeper” are filled with oppression, but “The Chimney Sweeper” still shows signs of hope while “London” is completely pessimistic and focuses on urban decay. There is a large amount of meaningful and effective imagery in both