Question

critically examine the development of thought in the poem the little black boy

Answer 1



'The Little Black Boy' is from Songs of Innocence and was published in 1789. At this time in England, slavery was still legal and would not be abolished until 1834. Let's look at the text of the poem and summarize it:

'My mother bore me in the Southern wild,
And I am black, but O! my soul is white;
White as an angel is the English child:
But I am black as if bereav'd of light.'

In this stanza, Blake is introducing the little black boy who was born in Africa ('the Southern wild'). He brings up the colors of white, which is often associated with 'good' things like angels, and black, which is often associated with 'bad' things like darkness ('bereav'd of light').

'My mother taught me underneath a tree
And sitting down before the heat of day,
She took me on her lap and kissed me,
And pointing to the east began to say.'