From an early age, Blake began experiencing prophetic visions of God and angels which had a lasting effect on the writing he produced. Blake had the belief that his writings were of national importance and that they could be understood by a majority of men. While this was not a belief Blake shared with the public, it did not stifle his need to share the Holy Word with his audience. As a poet, Blake presents two sides of his views, but dismisses neither in favor of the other. In reading any of his poems, one has to be aware of the mental “state” of the speaker of the poems. In some cases the speakers address the same issue, but from entirely different perspectives. For example, the child of “The Chimney Sweeper” in Songs of Innocence lives in
