laugh and shout with joy The nurse watches them kindly and allows them to keep playing She understands their happiness and does not stop them She says nbsp Well well go and play till the light fades away nbsp This line shows love care and trust Blake creates a bright and joyful picture where children feel protected and free nbsp Innocence Even in Suffering Blake also shows that even poor children can have innocent minds In The Chimney Sweeper Songs of Innocence the little chimney sweep works in very hard and dirty conditions Still he remains hopeful Through a dream Blake shows the innocent thinking of children Tom Dacre a little chimney sweep dreams of an angel who frees the boys from coffins of black which means their painful lives nbsp And he opened the coffins amp set them all free nbsp The children then leap run laugh and play in the green fields and bathe in the river This dream shows the child s innocent belief that good behavior and faith will bring reward in heaven Even in pain the child does not lose hope nbsp Childhood and Nature Blake often connects childhood with nature He uses green fields flowers birds and sunlight to show innocence Nature shows the beauty and purity of children In Holy Thursday Songs of Innocence Blake compares poor children to flowers nbsp O what a multitude they seem d these flowers of London town nbsp This line shows that children are pure and beautiful like flowers They are not yet damaged by the cruel world Blake wants us to see their innocence and value it nbsp Exploitation of Children In Songs of Experience Blake shows a darker side Society becomes cruel and uncaring Children are forced to work and suffer nbsp In The Chimney Sweeper Songs of Experience Blake shows a child crying alone in the cold snow He is covered with black soot and ignored by society Blake writes nbsp A little black thing among the snow Crying weep weep nbsp This image is very painful While the child suffers his parents pray in church Blake criticizes society and religion for pretending everything is fine while children are being exploited nbsp Loss of Childhood Innocence Blake also shows how innocence is lost with age In Nurse s Song Songs of Experience the nurse is no longer happy She watches children play but feels bitter and jealous She remembers her youth with sadness and says nbsp The days of my youth rise fresh in my mind nbsp She believes that childhood joy is useless because life will end in pain This shows how experience destroys the freedom and joy of childhood nbsp Blake s Message to Society Blake s poems are not only about children They are a warning to society He wants people to protect children and value their innocence He strongly criticizes systems that exploit children through poverty labor and false religion nbsp In conclusion William Blake presents childhood in two opposite ways In Songs of Innocence childhood is joyful free and pure In Songs of Experience childhood is painful and oppressed His message is clear childhood is precious and must be protected