“The Little Black Boy” is a poem written by William Blake, an English poet, painter, and printmaker, and it was published in his collection of poems called “Songs of Innocence and Experience” in 1789. The poem is characterized by its themes of race, identity, spirituality, and the concept of innocence. Read More Class 11 English Summaries.
The Little Black Boy Poem Summary
The Little Black Boy Introduction:
In this poem, the poet gives the message of universal love and brotherhood. He gives this message by telling the story of a little black boy. One day, a little black boy says to his mother, “I am black in my body, but the English child is as white as an angel. It seems as if all light had been taken away from me.” At this, the little black boy’s mother says, “Look at the rising sun.
God lives there. It is He who gives us light. He gives us heat also. Flowers, trees, animals and men all receive God’s light and heat. These black bodies and faces of ours have little importance. They are merely like a cloud or a shady grove that hides from us the light of the sun. When our souls have learnt to bear the warmth of love, the cloud of our black bodies will disappear.”
Thus the little black boy learnt the lesson of love from his mother. Now he tells the same thing to his little English friend. He tells him that when they free themselves from the clouds of bodies, they shall be like God’s lambs and play round His tent joyfully.
In other words, when the black boy and the white boy forget about the differences of race and colour, they will start loving each other. Then they will earn the love of God also. Thus this poem teaches the lesson of universal love.