The poem is simple, yet sets a strong tone for a piece of that period. It is about a black mother educating her son on how they are all a child of God despite their skin color.
My mother bore me in the southern wild,
And I am black, But O! my soul is white
Whit as an angel is the English child:
But I am black as if bereav'd of light.
(pg 80, lines 1-4)
The lines above is the perception that the boy has about his soul. He believes that, although he his skin is black, he is the same on the inside as any other man. The mother also taught him that God has not given them any burdens that they can't carry.
For when our souls have learn'd the heat to bear
The cloud will vanish we shall hear his voice
Saying: come out from the grove, my love & care,
And round my golden tent like lambs rejoice.
(pg 81, lines 17-20)
When He feels that they have had enough, He will then lighten the load and invite them to be in His presence to be joyful. Blake goes on to express how the black boy will share the same space as the English boy when it is time to meet up with God. They will all love each other as equals and be as God intended them to be. My interpretation is that there was a hope of some peacefulness supported by happiness amongst all races. He was trying to relay a message that the black mother was hopeful of all mankind living by the word and walking the walk that God has set before them.
Blake seemed to be a religious man and it was noticed in his poetry. I'm sure that his works sparked some controversial reactions. I liked his works. They were some of the more simpler poems that weren't hard to gravitate to. I'm a fan of the writers that don't complicate the poems with verbiage that I have to go over many times over just to get the point. Not that he's my favorite, but I didn't mind giving it a go.
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3 comments:
Mishawn,
Nice job in this discussion of Blake. I like the way you focus on a single poem and quote and discuss extensive passages from it. Keep up the good work!
At first when I read this poem, I felt like maybe the boy and his mother were black, but I also thought that maybe he could be black because he is a chimney sweeper like the subjects in many of Blake's other poems. I really liked how you talked about black being the actual race. I also really liked how your interpretation echoed the kinds of things black mothers as slaves in America may have said to their children. Like God not giving them any burdens they could not carry. Thank you for helping me to see the poem in a way I did not see before!
Mishawn,
Great post! I agree with you. I have to remember how long ago this was written and it was probably controversial (as you stated) for Blake to even suggest that there was some equality among the races; as racism against the African population was prevalent.
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