William Blake's illuminated book, "Songs of Innocence and of Experience," consists of a collection of poems illustrating the two opposing facets in life – innocence and experience. ... In Songs of Experience, the poem "The Chimney Sweeper" is essentially an indictment of the society valuing religious exercises over young, innocent lives. ... The nurse in Songs of Experience recalls the days of her youth and, instead of feeling peace at her heart, she reveals her "green and pale" face, showing jealousy and resentment due to her twinge of envy for the children'...

• Word Count: 1939
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

For me, this is a piece which unashamedly celebrates the simple joys of childhood and gently mourns the erosion of such ecstasy as adulthood corrupts the innocence with the passage of time. ... Thomas tries to make us, as adults, feel as he feels - he knows that all adults share one common experience at least - we were all once children, so that:- we were all once delighted - none of us, as children, ever valued those fleeting pleasures within a greater whole - we are all nostalgic for something, someone or somewhere. ... Everything about this stanza implies the imagination and naivet&...

• Word Count: 994
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate