About the Author
William Blake was a famous English poet and artist born in 1757 in London. He loved to write and draw pictures for his poems. Blake cared a lot about children, nature, and how unfair life can be sometimes. He wrote simple but deep poems that show big feelings. His books like Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience talk about happy and sad sides of life. He passed away in 1827, but his words still touch hearts today.
What’s the Poem About?
This poem is like a sad song from a young boy's heart. He tells us how much he loves summer mornings when he wakes up early. The birds are singing sweetly on every tree, and he hears the far-off sound of a hunter blowing his horn. A little bird called the skylark flies high and sings with him, making everything feel like a happy party in nature.
But oh, what a big problem! He has to go to school on that same beautiful morning. School takes away all his fun and joy, like a dark cloud hiding the sun. In class, the teacher watches them with tired, mean eyes that make everyone feel scared. The little kids sit there all day, sighing and feeling sad, with no smiles left.
The boy feels so low and tired sometimes. He sits drooping like a wilted flower, wasting hours feeling worried. He can't enjoy his books or feel happy in the "learning place" because it's all boring and rainy inside his mind, like a garden ruined by endless wet days.
Then he asks a simple question: How can a bird made for flying and singing be happy in a tight cage? It just sits quiet and sad. In the same way, how can a child be cheerful when school fills him with fears? The boy feels like he's dreaming away his days, too scared to play or learn with joy.
He turns to his parents and says: If you pick the new buds off plants or blow away fresh flowers too soon, and if you take away a young plant's happy spring time with worries and sadness, what happens? The summer won't come with fruits or fun. All the good things get destroyed by grief, and love feels empty and scary. The child grows up weak and foolish among friends.
Finally, the boy begs his dear father and mother: Please let our hearts be like soft strings on a harp that touch yours gently. Show us kind faces so our hearts can sing back. If not, what can young hearts do but cry and feel sad all the time?
The poem shows how school can crush a child's natural happiness, like locking up a free bird. But it dreams of learning in nature's way, full of love and play.
Who’s Who in the Poem
- The School Boy: The main voice in the poem. He is a young child who loves nature but hates the strict school routine. He feels trapped and sad.
- Father and Mother: The boy's parents. He calls out to them for help, asking them to be kind and let him grow freely.
- The Teacher: Not named, but shown as a strict person with "cruel eye outworn" who makes the classroom feel scary and joyless.
- The Birds and Nature: Like friends—the birds, skylark, and huntsman represent the free, happy world outside school.
Themes and Moral
Themes
- Joy in Nature vs Sadness in School: The poem shows how beautiful mornings with birds and sounds make life fun, but school locks that away like a cage.
- Freedom for Children: Kids are like birds or plants that need space to grow happy. Too many rules and fears stop their natural learning.
- Role of Parents: Mothers and fathers should give love and kindness, not just send kids to strict places. Kind looks can make hearts sing.
- True Learning: Real lessons come from play and nature, not boring books under a mean watch.
Moral
The big lesson is: Let children be free like birds in the sky or flowers in the sun. School should be a happy place, not a jail that kills joy. Parents, use love to help kids grow strong—don't let fears and rules make their hearts cry. True growth happens with smiles, not sighs!
Important Vocabulary and Phrases
Here are some key words and phrases from the poem. I have explained them in easy words, like talking to a friend.
- Morn – Short for morning, the early time of day when the sun comes up.
- Huntsman – A person who goes hunting in the fields with dogs and a horn.
- Winds his horn – Blows a musical horn to make a far-off sound, like a call in the wild.
- Skylark – A small bird that flies high and sings sweetly in the sky.
- Cruel eye outworn – A mean, tired look from the teacher that watches too hard and scares kids.
- Sighing and dismay – Breathing out sadly and feeling very upset or low.
- Drooping – Hanging down like a tired head or wilted leaf, feeling weak.
- Anxious hour – A time full of worry, like waiting nervously.
- Learning’s bower – A shady, nice spot for studying, but here it means a boring classroom.
- Dreary shower – A sad, endless rain that makes everything wet and gloomy inside.
- Fears annoy – Scary thoughts that bother and upset you all the time.
- Buds are nipped – Young flower starts are pinched off too early, stopping them from growing.
- Blossoms blown away – Pretty flowers get scattered by wind, like joy taken too soon.
- Tender plants – Soft, young green things that need gentle care to grow big.
- Springing day – The lively time of spring when everything wakes up happy.
- Sorrow and care’s dismay – Deep sadness and worries that make you feel lost and blue.
- Summer fruits appear – Ripe, sweet things from summer that show good growth.
- Griefs destroy – Pains and hurts that break and ruin happy plans.
- Naked fear – Plain, scary feelings with nothing to hide behind.
- Shaped imbecile – Made foolish or weak, like not growing right among friends.
- Peers – Friends or kids of the same age who play together.
- Sweet harps – Musical instruments like guitars that make happy tunes from heart strings.
- Touch their hearts – Gently move feelings to make someone care more.
- Kind looks – Warm, loving faces that show you care without words.