The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

“The Garden of Love” by William Blake (1794)

This poem appeared in Blake’s Songs of Experience. It illustrates two themes prominent in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: The suppression of natural desire is a grave error, and the church must take responsibility for it. In the poem, a chapel has been built in the “Garden of Love” (Line 1), and the commandment “Thou shalt not” (Line 6) is written over the door. The speaker laments that the garden has been turned into a graveyard (either real or metaphorical) and the priests are busy “binding with briars my joys & desires” (Line 12).

“The Chimney Sweeper” by William Blake (1794)

This poem is also from Blake’s Songs of Experience. It highlights the kind of social injustice that angered Blake and made him side with the radicals who were campaigning for change. In this poem, Blake brings attention to the plight of the child chimney sweepers in London. Boys as young as five, because they could squeeze into very small spaces, were forced to clean chimneys, with devastating effects on their health and safety. In the poem, the parents of such a boy attend a church service, where they sing hymns in praise of God, king, and priests, thus endorsing the cruelty of State and Church that permit such horrors.