William Blake; The schoolboy Essay - 896 Words

William Blake; The schoolboy William Blake believed in freedom of speech, democracy and ‘free love’, for these reasons he disagreed strongly with formal education and conventional teaching in both schools and churches. He believed that this constrained people stopping them from having their own thoughts. Blake believed that children who were not given a formal education would want to learn off their own accord making learning more fun and enjoyable for the child. Blake portrays these opinions in the poem ‘The schoolboy’; which he chose to write in the voice of ‘the schoolboy’ himself, to stand up for children who’s views on schooling are rarely acknowledged. Blake’s decision to use a definite article in the title; ‘The†¦show more content†¦The word ‘sighing’ in the last line of this verse relates it back to the first as it could be referring to the child thinking about what he could be doing instead of school. The third stanza is negative again, showing the way the child feels by describing his body language whilst at school; ‘I drooping sit’, and the line ‘and spend many an anxious hour’ shows how the boy is permanently feeling nervous and in fear whilst at school. Blake then goes on to show the effect this would have on the pupil ‘nor in my book can I take delight, nor sit in learning’s bower’, this demonstrates his theory that school represses the child and stops learning being fun for them. These lines imply that if the boy were not at school he would be choosing to read and learn off his own accord. The fourth stanza marks a change in the poem as the narrative shifts from first to third person. This is where Blake addresses the parents and teachers showing that he unlike most other adults agrees with the children when they say they shouldn’t have to go to school. The way the verse is structured into two rhetorical questions makes th e reader stop and think about the matter in hand. Blake provokes sympathy for the schoolboy by comparing him to a ‘bird that is born for joy’ and saying that sending the boy to school when his natural right is to be free and happy, is as bad asShow MoreRelatedWilliam Blake s Poem The Schoolboy 1551 Words   |  7 PagesMany writers construct natural imagery by deploying figurative language throughout their work. Natural imagery is a prominent feature in the works of William Blake, particularly in his 1789 poem ‘The Schoolboy’ published in the poetry collection ‘Songs of Innocence’. He explores the theme of restriction and how freedom can be found in the natural setting, also demonstrating how human-identity can be influenced by these worlds. 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