William Blake presents two contrasting views of life in his Songs of Innocence and Experience: the innocent and idyllic world of childhood is set against the dark and ominous world of adulthood. Several of the poems in this collection can be read as pairs, each...
Songs of Innocence and Experience is a collection of poems by William Blake, published in 1789. Together, Blake explores ‘the two contrary states of the human soul,’ as he had put in the subtitle. Despite its simple images of children, flowers, animals, and an off-putting...
William Blake
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Blake was undoubtedly a fierce critic of many aspects of 18th century society, and through his poetry, called on people to free themselves from the ‘mind-forged manacles’ which religious dominance and social conventions had placed upon them. His strong feelings of outrage at the complacency...
Songs of Innocence and of Experience
William Blake
Introduction Christians believe God did not create evil nor is He to be blamed for the evil in the world. “I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things” (Isaiah 45:7, New International Version)....
Social hierarchies function to elevate a group of elite citizens to a superior position, thus resulting in the disempowerment of groups that are below them in rank. William Blake was one of 18th century Britain’s most prolific Romantic poets, leaving a legacy of poetry largely...
Songs of Innocence and of Experience
William Blake
Introduction William Blake, in line with his standing as a Romantic and being both politically and ideologically a libertarian, can be seen in his ‘Songs of Innocence’ to express his views as to the superlative value of the freedom of the human spirit, by presenting...
Songs of Innocence and of Experience
William Blake
William Blake’s “The Lamb” is a renowned poem that has fascinated readers for centuries. The poem is part of a collection known as “Songs of Innocence,” first published in 1789. The poem is a short, simple, and sweet piece that celebrates the innocence and beauty...
“The Chimney Sweeper” is a poignant poem by William Blake that delves into the harsh realities of child labor and the loss of innocence in the lives of young chimney sweepers. Through powerful imagery, symbolism, and poetic devices, Blake sheds light on the cruel nature...
William Blake, an English poet and artist, is known for his thought-provoking and often paradoxical works that explore themes of innocence, experience, and divine creation. Two of his most famous poems, “The Lamb” and “The Tyger,” provide a striking contrast in their representation of these...
Introduction to William Blake William Blake was born in 1757 during a time when Romanticism was on the rise. Born in the town of SoHo located in London, his style of poetry most commonly results in him being identified as an active political poet. A...
The Tyger attempts to represent genuine, negative powers known to mankind, which guiltlessness neglects to stand up to. The poem can be found in the Songs of Experience gives a viewpoint on religion that incorporates the great and clear just as the awful and incomprehensible....
Introduction Internal conflict is a psychological struggle within the mind of a literary character that has been influenced by external forces and ambitions. Macbeth, written in 1606, is one of Shakespeare’s many tragedies, and “The Poison Tree,” written in 1793 by William Blake, are two...
William Blake, as a libertarian and political writer concerned with Romantic values concerning the freedom of the human spirit and liberty, wrote his ‘Songs of Innocence and Experience’ in an attempt to attack the corrupt political systems and institutions around at the time he was...
William Blake
Songs of Innocence and of Experience
Although scholars classify both William Wordsworth and William Blake as “romantic poets”, their writing styles and individual perspectives differ tremendously. Wordsworth, though he is not so blind as to ignore the strife that is prevalent in everyday society, tends to focus on more positive aspects...
The most effective poems use a specific everyday issue to portray deeper, timeless ideas. This means that the poet’s contemporary audience can relate to the issue, while future audiences can relate to the idea. William Blake’s poetry is enjoyed by modern readers, even though its...
William Blake
Poetry
Songs of Innocence and of Experience
“Poetry,” said Robert Frost “is a way of seizing life by the throat.” Not having been equipped with the media and technology of today, poets of the post-1770s era often approached their poetry in this fashion. They took advantage of the freedom of words and...
The concept of universal human suffering permeates through William Blake’s dolorous poem “London,” which depicts a city of causalities fallen to their own psychological and ideological demoralization. Though the poem is set in the London of Blake’s time, his use of symbolic characters throughout the...
Introduction Nature serves as a muse and a source of clarity in times of distress; it soothes and re-centers the soul. On the other hand, Nature can be a force of chaos that has the capacity to bring mankind to its knees. Romanticism strived to...
Religion has always been global, in the sense that religious communities and traditions have maintained permeable boundaries. Being a visionary, Blake had his own way of viewing religion. Standing in the heart of Songs of Experience, The Tyger explores the loss of innocence that the...
Introduction William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognized during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age. He wrote a...
In his iconic poem The Tyger, William Blake directly addresses the paradoxically beautiful yet horrific figure with a question: What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry? This simple question, wondering how and what divine being could possibly create such a creature, serves...
The poem “The Chimney Sweeper” by William Blake is set around a dark background of child labor. In the 18th and 19th centuries, boys of four and five were sold because of their small physical size to work as chimney sweepers. In this poem, one...
Songs of Innocence and of Experience
William Blake
The word apocalypse derives from the Greek word meaning “revelation”, lending its name to the last book of the New Testament, The Book of Revelations. It refers to a prophetic vision which, through elaborate and often violent symbolism, signals an end to the current world...
Introduction William Blake’s collection of illuminated poems in Songs of Innocence and of Experience depict, as the title page explains, “the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul” (Blake 1). Although Songs of Innocence, written in 1789, was crafted five years prior to Songs of...
Songs of Innocence and of Experience
Literature Review
William Blake
“Jerusalem,” by William Blake, is a contemplative portrayal of England’s development during the time period in question. This poem is concerned with the theme of England’s loss of innocence; this is important because it shows that development is not, as people often perceive, beneficial for...
Europe in the 18th century was an absolute mess. The Seven Year War ended and the Treaty of Paris was signed, meaning France had no money, no army and was forced to give up everything they once had to Great Britain. Years later, France continued...
William Blake’s collection of poems, Songs of Innocence, highlights both the positive and negative aspects of the trait of innocence. Many of the poems within the collection feature speakers who find comfort in religious teachings and experiences despite the lives of suffering and turmoil that...
Black Boy
Songs of Innocence and of Experience
William Blake
In the literary writing “The Chimney Sweeper” by William Blake, I assume that the reader could pick out several themes that the author placed in the poem. Throughout the poem Mr. Blake uses the tone, speaker, and diction to develop and support that theme. The...
English author William Blake was notorious for his anti-authoritative poetry that challenged organized religion during the time of the Industrial Revolution. Regarded as one of his most acclaimed works, his poem “The Tyger” molds together a series of rhetorical questions that seek to understand the...
In “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” (1793), Blake writes with a strong prophetic voice, bringing forth a new set of proverbs, a new poetics, twisting and flipping traditional wisdom. Blake challenges the status quo, questioning stagnant, conventional thought. As if standing before a gathering...
"Tiger, tiger, burning bright In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye, Could frame thy fearful symmetry?"
"To see the world in a grain of sand, and to see heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hands, and eternity in an hour."
"If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite."
Date
28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827
Activity
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age.
Works
“A Vision of the Last Judgment”, “Auguries of Innocence”, “Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion”, “London”, “Milton”, “Songs of Experience”, “Songs of Innocence”, “The Everlasting Gospel”, “The First Book of Urizen”, “The Tyger”, “Vala or The Four Zoas”, “Visions of the Daughters of Albion”
Style
The poetry and writing style of William Blake resembles the spirit of Romanticism. Imagination, mysticism, idealization of childhood, humanitarian sympathies, love of liberty, and symbolism are the major features of his poetry. He attributes great importance to these features in his poetry.
Legacy
William Blake’s poetry and art moved away from the periphery following Alexander Gilchrist’s publication of a two-part biography and compilation of Blake’s works in 1863, more than three decades after Blake’s death. Thereafter, his work received positive critical attention, particularly in the first half of the 20th century and continuing to the present day.
Quotes
“It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.”
“If a thing loves, it is infinite.”
“Those who restrain desire do so because theirs is weak enough to be restrained.”
“What is now proved was once only imagined.”
