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 Blakes most idyllic poems, as it is set in a pastoral and carefree atmosphere, which centres†¦show more content†¦By using the image of a summer morn in the first stanza, Blake creates a tranquil and untainted atmosphere, and descriptions such as birds sing and the distant huntsman winds his horn add an auditory element in an almost identical way to the previous poem. However the serene scene does not continue into the second verse, where the tone changes and Blake describes how having to go to school ruins such a beautiful day: it drives all joy away. The use of the word drives is quite strong and terminates the flowing nature of the previous verse, and the repetition of a summer morn allows one to contrast the two verses. From hence forward, The Schoolboy continues with a fairly negative tone, switching from the first person, I drooping sit to a more philosophical stance towards the end, How shall we gather what griefs destroy?. The stoical conclusion I feel demonstrates the implications of education, and shows that, if buds are nipped, one not only damages childhood but also runs the risk of establishing a long-term effect on the individual, later on in life. Both poems use time to illustrate the changing nature of the individuals, but even this is performed in very different ways. The increasing darkness of The Schoolboy could be seen as representational of the changing seasons, adding to the aspect of the natural world in the poem, especially as the final verses