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How do the Songs show Blake’s commitment to revolution?
William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience show that Blake was greatly influenced by the revolutions at the end of the eighteenth century. Not only was his poetry influenced by the American and French Revolutions (1776 and 1789, respectively) but also by the Industrial Revolution which swept the country at the end of the 18th Century.
In “London”, the industrial lifestyle is attacked as Blake ironically criticises commercial interests referring to the natural “Thames” as “chartered”. In this way, Blake laments the lost joys of the former country life.
The first person voice helps us to empathise with the person walking through London. It is the only view we have of this industrialising city which makes the narrative even more powerful.
The narrative describes “mark in every face I meet”. This “mark” could be taken from the verb, to mark, (as in, to notice), or as a literal mark – a representation of what the revolutions are doing to the population. They are being harmed both physically and mentally by what is going occurring in their everyday lives, and this is later verified by “marks of woe”. The language is gloomy, as “woe” has pessimistic and miserable connotations.
Blake allows us to see the multitude of people affected by the ongoing revolution. The repetition of the word "every" in the second stanza five times shows us the universal suffering affecting all generations, ie every "man", "infant" and "voice". Furthermore, Blake does not simply blame a set of institutions or a system of enslavement for the city's woes; rather, the victims help to make their own "mind-forg'd manacles," more powerful than material chains could ever be. It shows that it isn't just external restrictions that were put on the people of London; they however, allow those in power to put the restrictions in place by not fighting the injustice of it all. This can be closely related to Rousseau’s “Man is born free and is everywhere in chains”. Rousseau influenced Blake to a great extent and they wanted everyone to be free and equal. There also seems to be a rather mechanical beat in the second stanza due to the repetition of the word "every"; used to further echo the after-effects of the industrial revolution in London, for example. This adds to the sense of restraint and constriction evident in this change in society.
In this song, we can see that Blake is condemning of the church because they are not taking any action into helping those who suffer. We are presented with the image of a young (and innocent) chimney sweeper who is unrepresented by the church who is choosing to be ignorant towards the conditions of life he faces on a daily basis. We are also given images of "harlots" and "soldiers" - synechdochic details which emphasise the sheer number of people affected by the changes in society. The church is described as "black'ning" which further reinforces the idea of an uncaring, cold, and somewhat sinister institution - an institution that Blake was very much against; as shadowed in "The Garden of Love" with "Thou shalt not writ over the door". The church is therefore presented as restrictive, invasive and dictatorial.
In contrast, Blake shows countryside imagery in “The Echoing Green” such as “the birds of the bush”, and with emotions such as “cheerful”, “merry” and “happy”. The birdsong represents a non-linguistic expression of the natural joy, whilst the birds themselves represent freedom of life in this world. The human and natural worlds are presented with a feeling of unity. We are aware of the different voices in this poem; those of the children and of the older people. Even these two worlds, despite a generation gap, are united. The older people are not envious of the children’s play, and content that the green is an “echoing place” which has heard their laughter before, and will hear other laughter in the future. The children play with feelings of “joy” on the green whilst the older people “laugh away care”. The green is shared by both young and old alike, with simple happiness, unrestricted by the limitations that both the agrarian and industrial revolutions would have posed. With the agrarian revolution, the countryside and fields were enclosed, resulting in the elimination of the “open-field” system (and eventually leading to the loss of liberty). Furthermore, the “chapel” in “The Garden of Love” has replaced the “oak”, and “graves” have replaced the “sweet flowers”. This garden is clearly not a paradise because man and nature are no longer united.
Further, some elements of “The Tiger” show Blake’s attitude to revolution. The tiger in this song is “burning bright in the forests of the night”. The red and black colours which come out in this description seem to be representative of the population’s anger to these revolutions, whilst the harsh ‘b’ alliteration represents the fierce opposition to the revolutions. The continued questions (of which there are fifteen) emphasise another mechanical beat, shown by “What the hammer? What the chain?”, whereas a hard alliteration in “dare the deadly terrors” reminds us of the French revolution and the Reign of Terror in 1793; something to which Blake was against, wanting only “liberté, fraternité egalité”. Those that took part in the French September Massacre were called “tigers” by the British press, and by asking, in “The Lamb” whether “he who made the tiger made [the lamb], we can see that the narrator, possibly Blake is confused and angry at how such good and such evil can co-exist. “The Tiger” could also be symbolic of Blake’s own revolutionary activity as references to “fire” such as “…Burnt the fires of thine eyes” could represent the burning of Newgate Prison during the Gordon Riots in which Blake participated.
In conclusion, I believe it clear to see that Blake is against these changes in society caused by the revolutions as shown by his critical comments and indictments. His interest in breaking free from the “mind forg’d manacles” and also in liberty, fraternity and equality prove his unhappiness with the contemporary changes in everyday life.
Comments
These notes are aimed at A Level English Literature students at A2 level.
Originally written by Simon-J on TSR Forums.
