Analysis of There was a boy by William Wordsworth compared to The

Chimney Sweeper by William Blake.

Tone and mood in There was a Boy

compared to The Chimney Sweeper
There was a boy was written by the Romantic poet William Wordsworth. This poem can
be analysed and compared to both The Chimney Sweeper from Songs of Innocence and
Songs of Experience written by William Blake, since the former can be divided into two
sections according to the moods that are conveyed, and the poems by Blake also put
forward opposed ideas and tones.
In the first part of There was a boy, the reader can experience the feelings of tranquillity,
peacefulness, harmony, and joy which are all transmitted by the frequent use of visual
imagery that alludes to the natural environment with which this boy is in communion,
such as:
At evening, when the earliest stars began,
To move along the edges of the hills,
Rising or setting, would he stand alone,
Beneath the trees, or by the glimmering of the lake;
(There was a boy, W. Wordsworth)

The use of words like evening, stars, hills, trees, and lake give the reader the
mental picture of a beautiful landscape that despite of the fact that starts are starting to
appear, which is a symbol of the coming of the night, their presence together with the
glimmering of the lake emanate a light that still makes this environment a peaceful
place to be in. Moreover, even though the boy stands alone, the presence of the silent
owls to whom he blew mimic hootings seems to be comfort enough for him. Thus, it
appears that this boy can connect with nature when he is in solitude. This further idea is
closely related to Wordsworths Preface to the Lyrical Ballads in which he claims that
emotions [are] recollected in tranquillity (1802), that is, when one is let alone in
contact with nature, one can find inspiration and truth through feelings and not
reasoning. On the other hand, in the poems written by Blake, The Chimney Sweeper, the
environment is that of oppression, repression and hostility, where the boys (the
sweepers) cannot experience this sense of harmony for they work in the cities. Thus, it
would appear that nature is a powerful element man can place himself within and
become part of once he has felt the city, that is, once he is in solitude.

Wordsworth deals with such subjects as childhood and the memory of the childhood in
the adult, since for him the child and nature are inseparable, forming such an intense
bond that they appear to be a part of this natural environment rather than a part of the
human, social world. When children grow up and reach maturity, they no longer have
this connection but rather they gain the ability to feel and recollect emotions, both good
and bad. These emotions are awaken through memory, and as has been stated above,
they can only be recollected in tranquillity (Wordsworth, 1802). However, in the
second part of the poem There was a boy, the tone gets more obscure and melancholic
for he announces the death of the boy:
This boy was taken from his mates, and died
In childhood, ere he was full twelve years old.
Pre-eminent in beauty is the vale
Where he was born and bred: I believe, that there
A long half-hour together I have stood
Mute--looking at the grave in which he lies!
(There was a boy, W. Wordsworth)

It could be claimed that the death of this boy is merely metaphorical for he is not
physically dead but rather, after having reached the age of twelve, the author may be
suggesting that his childhood is the one that has reached to an end. Thus, he has become
more rational and critical of the world, like the boy in the poem The Chimney Sweeper
form Songs of Experience, losing his purity and innocence that allow him to be in direct
communion with nature. Therefore, the connection both children can have with it is no
longer the direct one a little child has, for the only way to be in communion with the
natural environment again is through the recollection of their past memories.
In conclusion, the poem by William Wordsworth can be analysed in two sections since
the moods expressed are opposed to each other, the same as in the case of The Chimney
Sweeper by William Blake.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Blake, W. (1789, 1794). The Chimney Sweeper. Songs of Innocence and Experience.
GjVu Editions Ebooks. Online version.
Wordsworth, W. (1798). There was a boy. Lyrical Ballads. Retrieved from
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174827 on October 14th.
Wordsworth, W. (1802) Preface to the Lyrical Ballads. In: Leitch, V. B. (2001). The
Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. W. W. Norton & Company. New York.

CONSULTED WEB-PAGES
http://www.bartleby.com/221/0516.html. Retrieved on October 16th.
http://collections.wordsworth.org.uk/GtoG/home.asp?page=MSJJ7.2TherewasaBoy.
Retrieved on October 16th.