What Is The Similarities Between William Wordsworth And Children

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Children are usually portrayed in books as angelic beings meaning they are the closest to being perfect since they are innocent and pure. However, the idea of this angelic child did not come into play until the 18th century. The poets William Blake and William Wordsworth are the two poets that coined this idea of the child. In the poems of these two authors, children are portrayed as innocent and pure beings that are closer to God than adults. Although these two poets have very different views of what children are like such as their interactions with adults, their perspective on life, and their own beliefs; there are many similarities between the views of these famous poets. William Blake is a poet from the late 1700’s. He spent most of …show more content…
Children are viewed that they are younger and may need more guidance than adults, however, they have this purity and innocence that adults do not have. According to the writings of both Blake and Wordsworth, they are closer to God because of their innocence and purity. In Blake’s poems children are always seen as neglected orphans. This is relating back to his childhood where his parents were not supportive of his religion and this left him feeling like he was an orphan. This aspect in his biography demonstrated the importance adults played in shaping the lives of children. In a similar way this happened throughout Wordsworth’s writings, since he wrote mainly about his own life as a child. The biographical information from Wordsworth’s poems shows why he decided to elevate children to a higher level than adults. Since he was a very pious man, he liked to write about finding God in nature. This is why most of the settings in his poems are outdoors rather than inside a church. Wordsworth believed that children are closer to God since they are able to be free and delightful in their own way. They can be outside and be as close to God as they wanted to without worrying about obligations. This view comes from his time in solitude without his sibling near him. Since he was alone for a great deal of time, he knew that nature was where God was and that made him find comfort. Wordsworth elevates children because they are pure and innocent and do not have to know as much about difficult topics such as death. In the first stanza of his poem “We are Seven” He says, “A simple child (…) what should it know of death?” (Wordsworth). Death is a subject not very many children understand. Although the girl did not fully understand the loneliness of the death of her two siblings she still felt comforted. She still imagined they were alive and able to still spend time with

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