When reading poem 1, I was left with the impression that the speaker was innocent, nave and a good-natured little boy. ... They would simply be replaced by another and possibly even younger boy. I believe that Blake uses the word lamb as a symbol of how these boys were sacrificed in their line of work. ... Blake is clever in his use of symbols and colour. ... Here the black coffins are a symbol of the chimneys, and being locked up in them suggests captivity - there was no way that they could escape their lives (until death). ...

• Word Count: 2076
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Throughout the book, Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison, the image of flight is a major symbol. ... Before his death, he was one of the Seven Days, the small group of men devoted to keeping the balance of blacks and whites equal, which is one of the causes of his desire for an escape from life. As he says in his note, he had become one of the Seven Days for love of black people, not for any hate of whites. While the first image does not seem consistent with the images following it, this first use of flight opens the rest of the story to the symbol. ... Instead, the boy had been dropped at a hou...

• Word Count: 1472
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School