The document provides analysis of William Blake's poem "The Little Black Boy". It summarizes that the poem expresses the black boy's self-hatred due to being denied whiteness and feeling deprived of God's light. His mother tries to reassure him by explaining that their outer skin is just a temporary "cloud" and that they will be equal in heaven. The analysis notes the poem's rhyme scheme and depressing tone as the black boy looks forward to death so he can feel accepted.

1. The Little Black Boy
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2. My mother bore me in the southern wild,
And I am black, but oh my soul is white!
White as an angel is the English child,
But I am black, as if bereaved of light.
Published in a time when
Slavery was still legal
A black boy is comparing himself
to a white English child – and
trying to convince himself that the
‘whiteness of his soul
compensates for the blackness of
his body.
Linked to evil and
judgement
Innocence and
Goodness
Blake immediately associates whiteness
with goodness and innocence, and even if
he is correct in suggesting that outward
skin colour doesn’t matter in light of the
state of a person’s soul, it is a rather hard
judgment upon a small child to inform him
that his skin colour is associated with evil
and judgment.
Light and white being associated
as the same things – suggests
‘White Masters’ are seen as god

3. My mother taught me underneath a tree,
And, sitting down before the heat of day,
She took me on her lap and kissed me,
And, pointed to the east, began to say:
"Look on the rising sun: there God does live,
And gives His light, and gives His heat away,
And flowers and trees and beasts and men receive
Comfort in morning, joy in the noonday.
Imagery of a garden, Nature –
Links with
innocence, reminder speaker
is a child.
God is associated with
heat, light, and the Sun –
physical entities that all
convey the presence of
God to man.
The boy’s mother takes
him on her lap and
tries to reassure him
and keep his faith in
God.
The mother says that
flowers, trees, human beings and
animals –all receive the light of
the Sun alike. Everyone enjoys
the bliss of God.

4. "And we are put on earth a little space,
That we may learn to bear the beams of love
And these black bodies and this sunburnt face
Is but a cloud, and like a shady grove.
"For when our souls have learn'd the heat to bear,
The cloud will vanish, we shall hear His voice,
Saying, 'Come out from the grove, my love and care
And round my golden tent like lambs rejoice',"
The Colour of their
skin suggests that
they are closer to
God – as being
exposed to the sun
can darken the skin.
His colour is a
‘cloud’ and
represents his
suffering - it’s
so he can fully
feel the extent
of God’s when
he goes to
heaven.
This retelling of his mothers
story represents the effect she
has had on his life
The pain and
suffering of there
life is linked to the
pain of a sunburn.
Suggests that God
restores innocence
Once released from this outer
garment – his black body, the boy
will have God’s invitation to
enjoy His love and care.

5. Thus did my mother say, and kissed me;
And thus I say to little English boy.
When I from black and he from white
cloud free,
And round the tent of God like lambs
we joy
I'll shade him from the heat till he can
bear
To lean in joy upon our Father's knee;
And then I'll stand and stroke his silver
hair,
And be like him, and he will then love
me.He is looking forward to the time when there
is no more clouds, and him and the white boy
can love one another truly.
The black boy
nurtures a hope for
the union. He tells
the white child that
once they leave
this body they will
be united in
heaven.
The black boy proposes to shade
the white boy from the heat.
Silver is a
precious
metal.
Suggests that
the white boys
love is precious
to the black
boy.
He believes that finally
both of them will be
free from the colour
prejudice.

6. Blake’s “The Little Black Boy” appears to be little
story of how race doesn’t really matter since one day
all Christians will be free from the “cloud” of skin
colour and equal in the eyes of God.
The poem was inspired by the poet’s concern for black
races.
It voices the little black boy’s self-hatred. On account of
having been denied whiteness he feels deprived of
God’s light.
The poem can be roughly divided into three parts–The
little boy’s agony, his mother’s effort to lessen the pain
and the heightened awareness of the black child.
ABAB Rhyme Scheme
throughout this poem
Dismal, Depressing tone
as this little boy is looking
forward to no longer
living, so he can feel
accepted and loved
Songlike feel of the rhyme scheme reminds the
reader that the speaker is a child. This makes as
the poem even more melancholy as it reinforces
the fact that someone so young is looking
forward to death.