Brainless Children Or Heartless Adults - 1391 Words

Brainless Children or Heartless Adults? The evolution of the mind as it develops from youth into adulthood is a topic highly analyzed by many authors spanning all forms of literature. In most cases, it seems to progress from a sort of naà ¯ve sanguinity to pretentious nihilism as the individual gains experience and â€Å"wisdom.† The question is then presented: are children truly senseless, or are we simply breeding generations of heartless adults? Together, William Blake’s â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper† poems, as well as William Wordsworth’s â€Å"We Are Seven†, isolate and exemplify this archetype to construct a reality more true than either poem alone, that a child’s mind is the most pure and untarnished form of humanity, indirectly criticizing the modern world for manufacturing cynicism in the adolescent brain and teaching children â€Å"to sing the notes of woe† (Blake 8). William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience dichotomy is perhaps the most notable illustration of this progression. Songs of Innocence is a collection of poems dedicated to the whimsical nature of children, contrasting Songs of Experience, an anthology demonstrating the contempt and negativity that is derived from maturity. Both collections include poems titled, â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper.† The chimney sweep of innocence tells the story of Tom Dacre, a young boy who has yet to learn the misery that accompanies a sweeper’s lifestyle. He tells of a dream in which an angel releases them from their â€Å"coffins of black†