Page 275 - DENG405_BRITISH_POETRY

British Poetry

Notes Enough so that he colorizes his spirit in a desperate attempt to convince himself it is necessary to be
something other to receive his desire. Another seemingly dire example of this primary idea is the
final line, “And be like him and he will then love me.” (28) This child searches out the love of the
white boy so much as to acknowledge the necessity to assimilate.
There is, however, a restrained sense of nave authority in the speaker after his mother explains
God’s plan. He changes the way he refers to the English child. Instead of “the English child,” (3) he
refers to him as “little English boy.” (22) Little on one hand indicates age and maybe stature, but
also represents the newly projected inferiority placed on the English child because he does not have
this newfound wisdom. The little black boy who once felt small in spirit now is in a position to
impart spiritual knowledge upon he who may have put him there.
His authority is exerted in that he makes concrete actions to attain his goal; to be accepted. He is no
longer crying out “O!” in the face of his desperation, but is taking direct action: “Ill shade him” (25)
“I’ll stand and stroke”(27) “And be like him”(28). The initiators of these actions are not dependent
on the desires of the English boy, but solely on the wants and needs of the speaker. If the speaker
asked for permission to do these things, or said “And I may be like him,” his reluctance would
continue to show the balance between the two; he takes charge though, and simply dictates what he
will do to achieve the ultimate goal; the English boy’s acceptance.
The authoritative stance he takes is colored with naivety. First, the speaker’s actions become
inconsistent with the idea he is trying to represent. “When I from black and he from white cloud
free,” (23) indicates the readiness to meet with God and the ability to withstand Him. The speaker’s
first course of action, however, is to shade the English boy until he is ready to bear the heat. Logically,
if they are with God, then the English boy is already prepared to bear the heat. The speaker either
unnecessarily doting on the English boy, or implying that the English boy needs the speaker to
realize a true relationship with God. The major sense of naivety comes from the conditional nature
of the love the speaker is pursuing. It is only if he takes care of the English boy and assimilates
himself that he will find his satisfaction.
Once the speaker receives the wisdom of God’s plan, he becomes armed with a knowledge that
allows him to imagine a situation that he has control over. Although the wisdom is understood
from an immature perspective, it gives the speaker the control he needs to cope with such a
complicated matter.
‘The Little Black Boy’ is drawn from the ‘Songs of Innocence’. The lyrics composing the ‘Songs of
Innocence’ have the stamp of pastoral innocence and an inspired note of truth and conviction. This
poem thus breathes a spirit of innocence, joy and harmony. He looked as black as though he was
deprived of light. The mother of this black boy bore him in the wild and backward settlements of
the South of the United States of America. Even though his body is black, the boy knows that his
soul is white and that he is not essentially different from an English boy who is white. There is a
close bond between the child and nature, the mother and the child and the pervading imagery of
love, innocence and joy.
Each day his mother would take him beneath a tree and made him sit on her lap and before teaching
him anything, she would kiss him. Throughout the heat of the day both would interact with each
other in the most sacred of conversations. His pious mother has taught him about the Lord who
gives both light and heat and everything we see on this earth. Each morning she would point
towards the east and both would watch the sun rise. The East is believed to be the residence of God.
Through the sun, God gives His light and heat away in which all the flowers, trees, beast and men
receive. The sun according to the boy’s mother provides comfort in the morning and joy in the
afternoon. She has taught him that in God’s eyes there is no difference between a black boy and a
white boy, the bodies being immaterial and God’s love being universal.
God has put all of us mortal human beings here on earth for a little while that we may learn the true
implications of god-like love towards each other. Hence the black bodies and sun burnt face of the
boy and his mother are like a dark cloud and a shady grove. If we love each other and bear ourselves

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