Songs of innocence

Clean the chimney there would be somebody cleaning

Word play
Rhythm

He didn’t say “he shouted” instead he uses the word play of weep

“Your” accusing you of what happened to the young child, when he says this he gives the blame to the reader

Tom Dacre: “little” innocence

Use of word lamb: innocence

The lamb is referenced to his poem called “the lamb”

Little boy with white curls : angelic

Toms dream: black makes reference to their job, they are going of die this way
“Thousands were dead” : juxtaposition because the Rythym of nursery rhymes “sleeping, quiet, that very
night” contradicts the reality of the child

Nursery rhyme is entertaining for children

“Angel came and set them free”…. “Sun” reference to god, they go to heaven

Angel tells Tom that if he is good, god will receive him when he dies (oppression so he doesn’t miss behave)

“Naked, white” represents innocence

The only happiness they have is not real

Blake makes social commentary “your chimney”

Songs of experience:

Published 5 years after songs of innocence

“Thing” he is no longer a child but an object

“Woe” dreadful sorrow

People see him in the snow and think he is fine and excuse their abuse of children
“Who made heaven of our misery” all the power they can have when the child is suffering

Understanding the whole

What kind of text is this? What genre is it? How can I make connections between this
text and other texts I have read?

An initial reading

What words and phrases seem important? What initial remarks can be made about,
for example, voice, tone, subject matter, and themes?

Focusing on details

Once you have identified some key things, begin to question why they are as they
are. What are the reasons, do you think, for the writer’s choices?
Reasons for author’s choices:
1. Calling Trump the “King of Extrinsics”, at first the meaning is undetermined, I
thought it had something to do with ego. However, after reading the
descripctions on the difference between intrinsics and extrinsics, I started to
get the idea that the writer was intending to explain.
2. The way the term “values ratchet” is used in the phrase “This process is
known as policy feedback, or the values ratchet”. It is an informal way of
saying that there has been a change in the way society works and how our
values shift in response. The fact that he includes these words in such a
manner attracts the reader into discovering what are the changes that are
being made in their society.
3. This short paragraph of short sentences “We talk about society’s rightward
journey. We talk about polarisation and division. We talk about isolation and
the mental health crisis. But what underlies these trends is a shift in values.
This is the cause of many of our dysfunctions; the rest are symptoms”. The
repetition sets a tone as if the writer is intending to express everything that is
seen as superficial over what is actually important. We notice his point when
he states “But what underlies these trends is a shift in values”. Repetition
attracts the reader because it makes an easy read; however, it also makes the
reader want to reach the point. It is a clever way of making a point.
4. The words “Number One” are written in capital letters. In the context of the
sentence; “When a society valorises status, money, power and dominance, it
is bound to generate frustration. It is mathematically impossible for everyone
to be Number One”. They are in capital letters to bring out the importance and
the power of being something like “in first place”. Capital words are there as if
“number one” were a proper noun that refers to a specific person, place, or
thing.
5. This paragraph “Trump exemplifies extrinsic values. From the tower bearing
his name in gold letters to his gross overstatements of his wealth; from his
endless ranting about “winners” and “losers” to cheating at golf; from his
extreme objectification of women, including his own daughter, to his
obsession with the size of his hands; from his rejection of public service,
human rights and environmental protection to his extreme dissatisfaction and
fury, undiminished even when he was president of the United States, Trump,
perhaps more than any other public figure in recent history, is a walking,
talking monument to extrinsic values.” At first it states that Trump has extrinsic
values. In order to demonstrate that, the writer starts listing all the evidence
he may gather about this and uses it as his argument to withhold his previous
statement. Additionally, the phrase “is a walking, talking monument to extrinsic
values” helps the writer to describe how Trump is the basic representation of a
person with extrinsic values.
6. Monbiot’s conclusion is that the only reason Trump may win again is because
of the values that we have adapted in our society. People with extrinsic values
will choose an extrinsic leader, rather than people with intrinsic values. He
doesn’t state it exactly but it seems as if he is intending to say that it is up to
society and the values they want their leader to have. Additionally to this, he
seems very certain of his opinion which may leave the reader considering that
the society of the United States holds extrinsic values within themselves.
⇓

New insights

Reread the text. Can you identify something new that you didn’t earlier identify? On
rereading, do you change your opinion about anything?
Sonethig new;
- Religious allusions “so if all do their duty they need not fear harm”.
Questioning moral justifications and injustices.
- Illuminated printings
- Connection of poem to his life
- Rhyme in poem is aa and bb
- Sense of hope by angels promise but also a critique to the religion
- The tone has two acts

Change of opinion:
- Besides blaming the “elite or rich”, the word “your” is also directed to the
reader.
- The innocence of the children and how sad it is that they see death as
something good.
- Sharing context of the massive industrial revolution in England

© David McIntyre, InThinking http://www.thinkib.net/englishalanglit

Speculation

On the basis of your initial thinking, what larger ideas do you have about this text and
the way it works?
 - He uses words to describe his suffering and accuses the rich by using the
word “you”
- Besides blaming the “elite or rich”, the word “your” is also directed to the
reader.
- Use of nursery rhyme uses a child’s innocence
- The innocent language creates a sense of sympathy, reading the poem
nowadays may anger the reader when it comes to thinking about the social
injustices at the time.
- Who actually read this poem at the time? Would the rich even consider their
privileges if they read this?
- Reference of child labour, human conditions, influence of religion as a global
issue
- It may be seen as a call to action
- He writes the poem in first person making it relatable
- Hypocrisy of society and of blake

Summarising your most interesting ideas

In selecting the most interesting ideas, you are establishing an angle or argument.
You should try to say something meaningful about the text, combining close detailed
analysis with a coherent sense of the whole text.
- Language: He uses words to describe his suffering and accuses the rich by
using the word “you”
- Besides blaming the “elite or rich”, the word “your '' is also directed to the
reader in the sense that we are also the rich and privileged that dont act upon
the global issue.
- Innocence of the text helps us sympathize but also make great recognition of
the problem
- The global issues of this text are still relevant to this day, slavery being a
strong factor.
- Allusion to religion is truly important because it references when it's used to
justify inequality and cruelty.
- Rhymes make it easier to understand, child rhythm makes it contagious

© David McIntyre, InThinking

http://www.thinkib.net/englishalanglit