William Blake’s poem “The Little Black Boy” is about a young boy who is born uneducated, black, and poor. The boy talks about his life, and how he will never be equal to the white children until he dies. His mother tells him to rely on his faith to God and one day the rest of the world will see him for his special qualities, even if it comes after he is dead. He is well aware of the racist circumstances of the world and the fact that because he is black he will never be given a chance to live a privileged or equal life. Race is represented in “The Little Black Boy” as a distinguishing characteristic. The theme of the poem is that one is disadvantaged by being dark-skinned, but faith will always make up for this fact and bring one closer to God, even if it has to be after the person dies.
The poem is very reflective of what was going on at the time it was written. The slave trade was in full force and black people were oppressed by devout religious white people, who used the name of God to justify what they were doing to the slaves. There was a significant racial divide between the English and the black people, and this is evident when the boy discusses his life and circumstances. He says that he was born in the “southern wild” (1). This means that he is uneducated and uncivilized, destined to be a slave for his entire life. In this way he describes himself as “bereaved of light” (4). He is not very proud of himself and has very little self-respect due to the circumstances of his birth. He believes that he is not worthy of a good life and must continue to simply pray until the day that he dies and he can be united with children from other races. The little English boy that he compares his own life to is considered closer to the light because his skin is so white. The little boy says the English boy is “white as an angel” (3). Comparing the English boy to an angel also makes him appear innocent, pure, and civilized. This is obviously something that the black boy wishes he could have, as he has already acknowledged that he is deprived of light.
The religious message of the poem is that regardless of skin color, everyone will be united with God when they die. They will never be equal within their lifetime and must wait until they die to achieve true equality. This is evident when the narrator says, “When I from black and he from white cloud free/ And round the tent of God like lambs we joy” (23-24). He is using the image of a cloud as a metaphor for the human body, therefore when the boys are free from their physical bodies through death they will be united and equal with God. Until then, the color of their skin will hang over them like a cloud and block parts of life from happening for the black boy. The image of a lamb is also a metaphor for the innocence that both boys have, being born their respective skin colors without choosing to be a part of the racism that is connected to their time. The English boy is privileged only because he was born white, and potentially does not understand why this is so. The mother also reinforces this idea when she tells the boy, “For when our souls have learn’d the heat to bear,/ The cloud will vanish” (17-18). The is telling him that when he has learned to live with the circumstances he has been given, then God will acknowledge him and take him out of his body and up to heaven where he can finally be equal. Once he learns in his heart that he must continue to live his life according to these terms, and work without complaint, then he will be able to be recognized by God. The last verse of the poem is an example of this notion and shows that the black boy is willing to show the English boy kindness and compassion even though he is not equal to him. The black boy says, “I’ll shade him from the heat till he can bear/ To lean in joy upon our Father’s knee” (25-26). He is stating that he is willing to continue working for the white people and to protect the English boy from having to be out in the sun, as he knows that one day they will both reach the same heaven. Next, he says, “And then I’ll stand and stroke his silver hair,/ And be like him, and he will then love me” (27-28). When both of the boys get to heaven, the black boy will be able to get along with him so well that they will love one another and their skin colors will no longer be something that separates them.
Robert Gleckner, in his analysis of Blake’s poem, focuses heavily on the religious context in regards to race as well as the mother as a larger influence. He argues that the mother in the poem is telling her little boy that his black skin is “a special gift from God” (Gleckner 205). She tells him that this special gift is what will allow him to love better and learn the way of God, and Gleckner argues that this is what influences the little black boy to believe what he does. Additionally, he argues that the mother’s lessons are laced with undertones of superiority for black over white (Gleckner 206). He states that she tells her son that he is special and “God’s favorite” and intends this to make him feel superior to the English boy (Gleckner 206). Gleckner also points out in his criticism that the little boy seems wise because of the fact that he has accepted his skin color and his “inferior position” (Gleckner 205).
Gleckner’s position is somewhat different from the current ideas of this paper. He places a large amount of focus on the mother, who is present in the poem only through the words she has told her son. While it is agreed that she does play a large role in shaping the way that her son has turned out, she is not the only factor influencing his life. The little black boy’s skin is the most influential factor in the poem that shapes his life and determines how he sees the rest of the world. His mother therefore plays more of a supporting role in the influence of his life, pushing him gently in the background and allowing for him to find his own path. Gleckner’s position regarding the mother also differs in regards to racial superiority, because he argues that the mother teaches her son ideas of superiority of black over white. This was simply not realistic for the time period and it is evident throughout the poem that the little boy is well aware of his inferior position. The poem itself provides evidence to contradict this argument. The mother tells her son, “And these black bodies and this sunburnt face/ Is but a cloud, and like a shady grove” (15-16). She states here that she acknowledges that their black bodies are sunburnt from performing labor all day in the heat, while the white people they work for remain in the shade. However, using the cloud metaphor, she is saying that their bodies will one day disappear and they will be lifted to the shady grove in heaven and be able to step out of the heat as equals. This contradicts Gleckner’s argument because it shows that the mother has acknowledged their life of servitude and the fact that they are not better than the whites because they are slaves.
William Blake’s poem “The Little Black Boy” showcases race as a guiding factor for the life of the little boy as well as other black people of the time. Race was what divided people in this day and age and caused a differentiation between children. The little black boy in the poem knows that because he is black he will never have the same lifestyle or education as the little English boy, and will spend his entire life being a human shield for this boy. However, the little black boy strongly believes that one day, when they die, they will be equal in heaven and race will not matter when they get there.
Works Cited
Blake, William. “The Little Black Boy.” Songs of Innocence and Experience: The Illuminated
Books, Vol. 2. Ed. Andrew Lincoln. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1998.
35-36.
Gleckner, Robert F. “Blake’s Little Black Boy and the Bible.” Colby Library Quarterly 18.4
(1982): 205-213.
