Early life: • William Blake was born on the 28th of November in the year 1757 to Catherine Wright Armatige

Blake and James Blake, who was the owner of a hosiery shop in London. • William was the third of seven children, two of which died in infancy. His parents were non-

conformists meaning that they did not conform to the ideas and practices of the English church at the time. As a result of this Blake only ever visited a church when he was baptised.

• Blake finished school at the early age of ten: Old enough to be able to read and write, after that he was educated by his mother and spent a great deal of time drawing and engraving copies of pictures that were bought for him by his father.

• He was good enough at this practice to be sent to drawing classes instead of school. In his free time, Blake would read books of his choosing and became engaged in poetry, especially that of Ben Johnson and Edmund Spenser.

• At the age of fifteen, William Blake became an apprentice under an engraver known as James Basire. During this apprenticeship, (a period of about seven years) Blake learnt engraving in a rather old- fashioned style at that time and developed a passion for gothic art, inspired by the chapel of Edward the confessor at Westminster Abbey. This form of art may have been a vital reason as to why William Blake wasn’t largely recognised or respected for his work during his lifetime.

Career/ later life: • After the apprenticeship, William Blake joined the Royal Academy, in which he was expected to learn

popular artistic styles as put forward by the president of the academy: Joshua Reynolds, a man whose taste of art was greatly despised by William Blake, who was set in his was of gothic art.

• William Blake married Catherine Boucher in 1782, after a failed marriage proposal with somebody

else that same year. Their relationship must have been strong during his career because though Catherine was illiterate, Blake taught her how to read and write before allowing her to help him with his career as an engraver.

• Throughout Blake’s career as an engraver he completed many works of art, such as the “Visions of the

daughters of Albion” and he accompanied his skill for drawing with poems as well, such as “The chimney sweeper” and “Jerusalem”. Throughout the rest of his career he produced these “Poetical sketches” in which poems and engraving played a part.

• William Blake died on the 12th of August 1827 after a relatively successful career. Although he was not

popular with his works at this time, he would later gain credit for producing such magnificent works of art.

• It is important to realise that Blake did believe in God and he spent time analysing and reading the Bible, he just did not believe that society was correctly worshipping God by following such strict rules and guidelines.

Legacy: William Blake was not largely recognised for his works of art during his lifetime, but nowadays he is viewed as on of the most influential romantic poets that ever lived. He has also been recognised as somebody who influenced other famous writers and protestors throughout history such as Allen Ginsberg, Alasdair Gray and Bob Dylan through his work which greatly influenced elements of sexual freedom, and the freedom of the imagination.

Was Blake considered controversial during his lifetime? William Blake was definitely considered controversial during his lifetime not only as a protest poet, but a man whose artwork was vastly different to that of other artists of the day. Due to such a difference from the rest of society, Blake was mocked by the critics of the time for his works.

What impacts did his poems have on society? During his lifetime, not so much, but today he is known to have influenced the areas of art, literature, religion and philosophy through his “Poetical Sketches” . He has also influenced the works of many other famous artist after him, such as Bob Dylan and U2.

What inspired him to protest in the form of poetry? William Blake Lived in a time of injustice, where people turned their backs on the children dying on the streets to instead worship God. Blake, being somebody who did not conform with some of the rituals in society, would naturally as an artist protest about these injustices.

What form of poetry did Blake write in? William Blake wrote in a pre-romantic style and his works have been described by many as mystical with amazing and thoughtful imagery. His poems always had a rhyming scheme and the amount of syllables in each line of his poems played an important part in the presentation of the poem.

What are the reasons for Blake’s unique approach to his version of modern society? William Blake took a unique approach to his version of society mainly because of the way in which he was raised. His parents were non-conformists and Blake was believed to have had a mostly casual education, meaning that he would naturally despise the ideas of organised religion and rituals such as going to school, two issues that he addresses in his many poems.

How was the world in which Blake lived in different from our own? William Blake lived in a completely different world from our own. Religion was a dominant force in most people’s lives and there were strict rules to follow. There was an unfair social hierarchy based on the foundations of peasants and chimney sweeps. Although there are still thousands of things that are wrong in our society, we have at least gained our freedom of thought and speech, something that underdeveloped countries are yet to gain.

A little black thing among the snow, Crying ``'weep! 'weep!'' in notes of woe! ``Where are thy father & mother? say?'' ``They are both gone up to the church to pray. ``Because I was happy upon the heath, And smil'd among the winter's snow, They clothed me in the clothes of death, And taught me to sing the notes of woe. ``And because I am happy & dance & sing, They think they have done me no injury, And are gone to praise God & his Priest & King, Who make up a heaven of our misery.''

MAIN IDEAS • Life is not fair • We say that we will be happy in God's heaven but we are left here to clean chimneys • If we need not be happy, then what is the point in life and heaven? • The church and authorities are hypocrites for issuing such labour, and worshipping God for a so-

called perfect world. • Society's overall views are wrong LANGUAGE • Displaying the irony of his parents' faith in the modern view of God • The parents would choose the church over their own son • The message is that we don't have to live in misery CONTENT • "Little black thing among the snow"- referring to a filthy chimney sweep who has been

abandoned by his parents who have put all of their efforts into the established church • In the second stanza Blake is talking about how he was happy but was told that was wrong and

was told to live his life in what is essentially misery • Saying that despite being happy he has still been scarred but oblivious to that, his parents

worship this established "God", not caring for what God has actually given them- Like being given something and then constantly thanking somebody for what you have been given while you completely ignore it.

• Blake's underlying message is that established religion is a “heaven of our misery” IN GENERAL This poem is protesting about how religion is responsible for child poverty, Blake tries to show us that through religion, we have falsely justified that we can use the poor children of London to do their filthy work. This poem is an outright accusation of the hypocrisy of the church of England.

There are a number of things that occurred during the time that Blake wrote this poem (1794) that would have provoked him enough to create such a passionate opinion regarding the misguidance of “modern day” religion. One of these reasons would have been the unfairness in which some of the children faced when they were assigned to sweep chimneys, sometimes being taken at the age of eight. Another explanation is that it is known fact the William Blake was not a fan of the organised Christian religion of that time, possibly due to him being raised by non-conformist parents. Such a dislike in this area of Blake’s present society would have heavily influenced the message that this poem was conveying. This poem addresses these two themes: child poverty and organised religion in the 18th century. Blake has taken the theme of child poverty and essentially blamed it on the hypocrisy of religion, and its apparent pointlessness shines through in this poem.

I love to rise in a summer morn, When the birds sing on every tree; The distant huntsman winds his horn, And the sky-lark sings with me. O! what sweet company. But to go to school in a summer morn, O! it drives all joy away; Under a cruel eye outworn. The little ones spend the day, In sighing and dismay. Ah! then at times I drooping sit, And spend many an anxious hour, Nor in my book can I take delight, Nor sit in learnings bower, Worn thro' with the dreary shower.

How can the bird that is born for joy, Sit in a cage and sing. How can a child when fears annoy. But droop his tender wing. And forget his youthful spring. O! father & mother. if buds are nip'd, And blossoms blown away, And if the tender plants are strip'd Of their joy in the springing day, By sorrow and care's dismay. How shall the summer arise in joy. Or the summer fruits appear. Or how shall we gather what griefs destroy Or bless the mellowing year. When the blasts of winter appear.

MAIN IDEAS • The main idea is how school makes the world dull • Replacing a happy summer with boredom • Taking away the pleasure of learning- 3rd stanza LANGUAGE • Very descriptive of his ideal world or paradise • Sheds school in a very bad light- "under a cruel eye outworn" • "The little ones spend the day in sighing and dismay"- even though they are sent under good intentions, the children

hate it too • Use of a brilliant metaphor-"How can the bird that is born for joy, sit in a cage and sing?" • Another metaphor in the second last stanza- comparing children to buds that are yet to blossom CONTENT • Between the first and second stanza Blake swiftly parts our mental picture of paradise and replaces it with the

despair of having to go to school • The third stanza describes how school dulls the mind instead of letting it flourish- He looses the will to learn when he

goes to school • The fourth stanza builds on this message of the pointlessness of school • In the fifth stanza Blake addresses parents saying that if the children go to school then they will lose what it means to

be a child • The last stanza asks the audience the point in summer if it is not to be enjoyed • The holidays are in winter, so the children suffer all year round. • The last two stanzas are linked and are asking a rhetorical question to the mother and father FORM • Ababb rhyming pattern • The "a's" have the same amount of syllables • So do the first two "b's" • The last "b" is independent • He uses more than one line for a sentence.

The meaning and purpose of school has significantly changed since William Blake’s lifetime. Today, children go to school to learn, make new friends, have fun and enjoy being a child. Back then, the purpose of school didn’t go beyond boring methods of learning and harsh discipline. This is the main reason as to why William Blake wrote a protest poem accusing the pointlessness of going to school. The first stanza goes into detail about Blake’s idea of paradise. The purpose of this stanza is to give the reader or listener an idea of a good place to be, before swiftly plunging them into the second stanza, which addresses the idea of school, and how it takes away the joy that Blake described in the second stanza. Of course, Blake’s idea of paradise is vastly different to what we would describe to rise to on a summer morn. Our idea of school has changed so much that if Blake was born into our society, he would not be protesting about schools, because they have changed a great deal in the space of 200 years. It is important to realise this when analysing the context of the poem because the difference between schools in the two societies would have greatly influenced Blake’s opinion.

William Blake only attended school until the age of ten, up until he was able to read and write; it is also known that he was taught by his mother. This could be a vital indicator as to why Blake had acquired such a disliking of school, simply because its only motivation was to discipline and learn the seemingly dull conventions of the English language. Blake would undoubtedly disagree with school’s intentions because as such a profound artist, he was thoroughly engaged with the beauties of nature and painting a mental picture from the vibrant colours of the English language, not simply being able to understand definitions and read factual texts. From what I understand about William Blake, he was a man who saw the world in a different light to other people of his time, he was somebody who disliked organised religion and formal education because as an artist he believed in freely being able to learn and enjoy reading and writing and worshipping God in a way which did not involve the implication of having to follow a strict order. “The Schoolboy” Is evidence supporting my statement because it is an outright protest addressing the issue of school and how it should not be restricted by a gloomy classroom, and a “cruel eye outworn”.

General overview Charles Lamb was born in 1775 and died in 1834. He was a renowned essayist and was a popular writer during his lifetime. He was raised primarily by his aunt, whom he was very fond of, it is known that there was a lot of tension in the household because of frequent disagreement between Charles’ aunt and his mother. Charles Lamb did not go to school and was taught to read and write by his sister, Mary who was 11 years older than him. During his career, Lamb was most well known for his essays and one of his children’s books.

Differences to William Blake There is not a huge amount of difference between Blake and Lamb, William Blake was more of a controversial artist and because of this, Lamb was much more popular during his lifetime. From the poems that I have analysed from the two poets, it has become evident that they are protesting about different things. For example, Lamb discusses the punishment people’s sins while Blake is protesting about school, perhaps taking a more direct approach to the problems of his society.

Close by the ever-burning brimstone beds Where Bedloe, Oates and Judas, hide their heads, I saw great Satan like a Sexton stand With his intolerable spade in hand, Digging three graves. Of coffin shape they were, For those who, coffinless, must enter there With unblest rites. The shrouds were of that cloth Which Clotho weaveth in her blackest wrath: The dismal tinct oppress'd the eye, that dwelt Upon it long, like darkness to be felt. The pillows to these baleful beds were toads, Large, living, livid, melancholy loads, Whose softness shock'd. Worms of all monstrous size Crawl'd round; and one, upcoil'd, which never dies. A doleful bell, inculcating despair, Was always ringing in the heavy air. And all about the detestable pit Strange headless ghosts, and quarter'd forms, did flit; Rivers of blood, from living traitors spilt, By treachery stung from poverty to guilt. I ask'd the fiend, for whom these rites were meant? "These graves," quoth he, "when life's brief oil is spent, When the dark night comes, and they're sinking bedwards, --I mean for Castles, Oliver, and Edwards."

Main Ideas • One of the main ideas is the suggestion that when life is over, all that is left is

despair • Death is not something to spend life preparing for • We should cherish life and not worry about what will happen beyond the grave,

because that ultimately defeats the purpose of life. Content • The poem is describing how awful the grave is and at the end he says that the

graves will be ours • I think the underlying message in this poem is that we should stop worrying about

life after death because we should enjoy the blessing of life. • The poem says that we will be going to the same place as some of the greatest

sinners-Bedloe, Oates and Judas Form • A a, b b, c c rhyming pattern • Almost every line has ten syllables • Uses more than one line for a sentence • There are no stanzas Language • Uses very graphic descriptions when describing the graves- “Worms of all

monstrous size” and “Large, living, livid, melancholy loads” • Most of the poem was just describing “The Three Graves”

Charles Lamb lived during a time when life was practically revolving around religion. People were so caught up in worshipping God and thanking him for the blessing of life that they hardly had time to enjoy it. What Lamb is trying to say through this fascinating poem is that we need to enjoy life rather than turn our backs on such a wonderful gift and I think that Lamb’s underlying message in this poem is that it is a sin not to fully appreciate life, therefore most of the people of his time will be damned because of this.

One of the main differences between William Blake and Charles Lamb’s poems is that William Blake takes a more direct approach to protesting about his issues. For example, in “The Schoolboy”, Blake is directly protesting about the pointlessness of school and how there are better methods of learning while Lamb; in his poem “The Three Graves”, is describing the horror of the afterlife and gives the audience hints at the point he is trying to make. The point that I believe he was trying to make was that we should spend more time celebrating life instead of wasting it by continuously thanking God; but at no point does he actually say this, he leaves it to the audience to figure out. I believe that the direct approach to protest poems is the key difference between the styles of William Blake and Charles Lamb.

One of the main similarities between the poetic styles of William Blake and Charles Lamb is what they are actually protesting about. Setting aside William Blake’s “The Schoolboy”, The other two poems, “The Chimney Sweep, Songs Of Experience” and “The Three Graves” had very similar messages. They were both arguing about the pointlessness of religion and how it is not the way in which we should live our lives, through different stories, but the message remains the same between the two poems. I believe that the underlying message is the fundamental similarity between the two poems.

Spending all my lifetime’s fees

To travel across the deadly seas

On a pathetic, old and rickety boat

Which could hardly even keep afloat.

There came a time when close to shore

We could see the golden sand

We were taken according to unfair law

So much for the promised land.

We do not want to go back home

Australia has a lot of space

As we sit here, nowhere to go,

Citizens feast on your disgrace.