I love to rise in a
summer morn, When
the birds sing on every
tree; The distant
huntsman winds his
horn, And the skylark
sings with me: O what
sweet company!
But to go to school in a
summer morn, - O it
drives all joy away!
Under a cruel eye
outworn, The little
ones spend the day In
sighing and dismay.
Ah then at times I
drooping sit, And spend
many an anxious hour;
Nor in my book can I take
delight, Nor sit in
learning's bower, Worn
through with the dreary
shower.
How can the bird that is
born for joy Sit in a cage and
sing? How can a child, when
fears annoy, But droop his
tender wing, And forget his
youthful spring!
O father and mother if buds are
nipped, And blossoms blown away; And
if the tender plants are stripped Of their
joy in the springing day, By sorrow and
care's dismay,
How shall the summer arise in
joy, Or the summer fruits
appear? Or how shall we gather
what griefs destroy, Or bless the
mellowing year, When the
blasts of winter appear?
The first verse sets a cheerful scene of a summer morning,
accompanie by singing birds and the hntsman's horn. It does not relate
clearly to the title of the poem, which creates an odd sense of curiousity
The second verse then makes it clear as to
why the poem is named 'The School Boy'.
Blake describes school as being able to 'drive
all joy away', which, in all honestly, is
occasionally true
I do not really understand the third
verse, but i think it says about how at
school you cannot read for long
periods of time - 'Nor in my book can I
take delight'.
The fourth verse includes the line that is referenced to in
Skellig. This verse (in my opinion), remarks upon how
children enclosed in a classroom will forget how to be
happy. Possibly.
The penultimate verse remarks on what
would happen if plants were stuck in a
stuffy classroom;p they would wilt and die,
and not be joyful
The concluding verse is another that I do not
particularly understand. I think that it is
speculating about how, if the winter is so
harsh, the summer can even exist.