Compare and contrast The Echoing Green with The Schoolboy by

Compare and contrast The Echoing Green with The Schoolboy by

William Blake

Both "The Echoing Green" and "The Schoolboy" are classed under the

section, "Songs of Innocence", which at first suggests that they will

be of a similar nature. However this presumption is dispelled early

on, as one examines the issues behind the often comparable wording.

Many elements in "The Schoolboy" do echo those in "The Echoing Green"

and visa versa, but the atmospheres of each poem that are presented

are so different that it becomes difficult to see how two such

contrasting pieces of work can unite in the same genre.

"The Echoing Green" is one of Blake's most idyllic poems, as it is set

in a pastoral and carefree atmosphere, which centres around the

activities on a village green. Much of the imagery used is

nature-associated, such as "the skylark and thrush", and the presence

of the oak tree under which the elderly people in the village sit to

"laugh at our play". The entire poem takes place in a single day,

which gives rise to many different interpretations and suggests an

idea of continuity within the community. The first two stanzas

concentrate mainly on the bliss of the spring day, and the enjoyment

that both the young and the old in the neighbourhood get from the

'echoing green'. The bells are "cheerful" and "merry", and the skies

are "happy", which all demonstrate the atmosphere that Blake is trying

to portray. The final stanza has a slightly different air to it, as it

focuses on the end of the day when "no more can be merry", but it

brings a peaceful and optimistic close to the poem, leaving the reader

with a mental picture of "the darkening green".

In "The Schoolboy" Blake takes on the persona of a young boy wh...

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...e huntsman winds his horn", and even uses the practically identical

image of "when the birds sing on every tree", again combining man-made

and natural noises. I feel that this is typical of Blake's poetry, as

appealing to as many senses as possible, a poem is able to be brought

to life, and the reader is perhaps more likely to involve themselves

with what is being written.

Therefore, although there are similar threads which are drawn through

the two poems, their subjects are too diverse to really be paralleled.

One might at first think, because of the genre they both belong to,

that they will follow an analogous pattern, but this is soon dissolved

by their themes. Only the language used, especially that of nature,

and the use of auditory imagery is alike, but I feel that it is

through their disparity that one is able to appreciate the qualities

of each.