Question

William Blake's "The School Boy"

I love to rise in a summer morn, when the birds sing on every tree; the distant huntsman winds his horn, and the sky-lark sings with me. O! what sweet company. But to go to school in a summer morn, O! it drives all joy away; under a cruel eye outworn. The little ones spend the day, in sighing and dismay. Ah! then at times I drooping sit, and spend many an anxious hour, nor in my book can I take delight, nor sit in learnings bower, worn thro' with the dreary shower. How can the bird that is born for joy, sit in a cage and sing. How can a child when fears annoy. But droop his tender wing. And forget his youthful spring. O! father & mother, if buds are nip'd, and blossoms blown away, and if the tender plants are strip'd of their joy in the springing day, by sorrow and care's dismay. How shall the summer arise in joy. Or the summer fruits appear. Or how shall we gather what griefs destroy or bless the mellowing year. When the blasts of winter appear.

What is the theme of this poem?
What details support the theme?

Answer 1

The School Boy" is a poem written in the pastoral tradition that focuses on the downsides of formal learning. It considers how going to school on a summer day "drives all joy away".The boy in this poem is more interested in escaping his classroom than he is with anything his teacher is trying to teach. In lines 16-20, a child in school is compared to a bird in a cage.Meaning something that was born to be free and in nature, is instead trapped inside and made to be obedient. Hope this helps;)