Cruelty In Blake And Douglas's Poetry

Both Blake and Douglass’s poetry seem to be captivated by the themes of exploitation and cruelty, we can see this in these poems by both authors. The author’s stay true to the theme of exploitation and cruelty by providing the reader with a somber tune throughout all readings and providing explicit and raw scenarios that the characters were in. William Blake’s poems touch upon child labor, people wishing for death, and the somber environment that these poems take place in. Douglass’s autobiography is a little different than Blake and tells the devastating story about slavery and his exact hardships of being a slave. Both authors stayed true to the common theme of exploitation and cruelty, however in Blake’s poems he approached the theme of
William Blake demonstrated cruelty and exploitation in his works by describing the brutal working conditions of children and their high hopes for the after life. In the poem "The Chimney Sweeper" in Songs of Innocence, the child lives in gruesome and frightful conditions and is forced to do dangerous and full labor tasks like sweeping the chimneys. The child narrating the poem seems to live life like an adult for he is sweeping chimneys day and night; while still keeping his innocent child like thinking by dreaming of a happy thought which in this case would be death. Exploitation and cruelty are apparent when the child glorifies death by saying, “Were all of them locked up in coffins of black; And by came an Angel who had a bright key, And he opened the coffins & set them all free”. Another scenario where Blake stays with the theme of exploitation and cruelty is in his poem “Holy Thursday”. In the poem it is obvious that the small amount of care that the children receive is not granted because the people want to, but for self-interest. The care is minimal and grudgingly given to them and is shown in the quote “Fed with cold and usurious hand”. This poem by William Blake describes a society that is revolved around materialism and the ongoing dispute between the privileges of the upper and
Slavery and child labor are just a few of the hardships that the characters in Blake’s and Douglass’s works experienced which show vivid details of cruelty to the children, slaves and slaveholders. Both works touch upon such serious issues in society that put many people to believe that death is a beautiful thought rather than a scary and uninviting thought. Both Blake and Douglass truly show us cruelty and exploitation in their works by describing scenarios that leave the brutal images in the readers head long after they finish reading the