"The Chimney Sweeper," a title shared by corresponding poems in Blake's Songs of Innocence and of Experience, portray the lot for chimney sweepers, children subjected to child labor in order to escape poverty. In the version thematically addressing innocence, both Tom Dacre, the chimney sweeper whose dream is recanted in the poem, and the narrator, share a puerile wishful thinking that takes the form of blind acceptance and faith in the doctrine prescribed by the Church.
Here, Tom Dacre, despite suffering the ills of his work, escapes the woes of child labor by keeping in mind what the angel in his dream professes: that 'if he'd be a good boy / He'd have God for his father & never want joy," as he gets up to work. In the cold of the winter, he is 'happy & warm. / So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.' Tom Dacre's innocence comes through in his passive acceptance that his worldly pain will transform into eternal life and salvation in the next realm.
In stark contrast, the version on experience paints a vastly different picture. Here the chimney sweeper soberly identifies the folly of his parents who 'are both gone up to the church to pray,' and who 'think they have done [him/her] no injury' are 'gone up to praise God & his priest & King / who make up a heaven of our misery.' In an honest account of the abuse perpetrated by the parents in their passive acceptance of suffering as a vehicle to salvation, the chimney sweeper begrudgingly identifies the sham of organized and institutionalized religion. Suffering is no longer understood as a means to achieving eternal life, but rather as a tool for the subjugation of the people by the Church.
Thus, these two poems present two opposing viewpoints on the lot for chimney sweepers. In the first, a hopeful innocence is conveyed through the passive acceptance of suffering as a way to eternal life. In the second, experience has brought forth the understanding that suffering is caused by the organized religion itself as a means of control.
"The Lamb" and "The Tyger" are two often-contrasted poems in Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience, because both contain themes of good and evil as well as the nature of God the Creator. Both poems have certain parallels, even down to individual lines—with the lamb's wool described as "softest clothing wooly bright" and the tiger described as "burning bright." The brightness of the lamb comes from its innocence while the tiger's brightness is from its feral majesty.
"The Lamb" reads like a childish catechism. The speaker's diction evokes that of a small child speaking to an animal. The speaker explains how the lamb was created by a loving, kind God who seeks to make sure it is cared for. This is as pure an image of God the Father as one could ask for: paternal and protecting.
However, "The Tyger" paints a different image. The rhythm and diction are more urgent here, describing the tiger as a fearsome beast, as frightening as it is inspiring in its sheer power. The tone here is also questioning, but here, the speaker has no answer for any of the inquiries he poses, lacking the childlike confidence of the speaker of "The Lamb." The question, "Did he smile his work to see? / Did he who made the lamb make thee?" is almost despairing in its tone. It is as if the speaker from "The Lamb" has grown up and come to question his or her original beliefs about the nature of the Creator. If God created both the gentle lamb and the violent tiger, then what does that say about God?
So, by combining these two poems, we can see a journey from an unquestioning, innocent trust in a benevolent God to the ambiguity and uncertainty which arises from adulthood musings on morality and faith.
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