Essay on Blakes The Songs of Innocence - 1353 Words

Blakes The Songs of Innocence The Songs of Innocence poems first appeared in Blake’s 1784 novel, An Island in the Moon. In 1788, Blake began to compile in earnest, the collection of Songs of Innocence. And by 1789, this original volume of plates was complete. These poems are the products of the human mind in a state of innocence, imagination, and joy; natural euphoric feelings uninhibited or tainted by the outside world. Following the completion of the Songs of Innocence plates, Blake wrote The Marriage of Heaven and Hell and it is through this dilemma of good and evil and the suffering that he witnesses on the streets of London, that he begins composing Songs of Experience. This second volume serves as a response to Songs of†¦show more content†¦For example, in â€Å"Infant Joy,† Blake demonstrates the child’s eye and sense of wonder that we find in the incorruptibility of infants. Blake presents a truly pure creature in the first stanza: I have no name. I am but two days old- What shall I call thee? I happy am Joy is my name- Sweet joy befall thee! (1-6) The voice in this poem is one of pure happiness and innocence. In this state of joy, the infant is unaware of the world in which he lives and that awaits him. In these opening lines, we see Blake revealing the everyday modeling and structure that categorizes the world, but is absent in the simplicity and purity of childhood. The child has no name because joy needs no other name. Labeling and classification are products of organization and arrangement that the world uses to assimilate innocence into experience. Blake demonstrates that it is through this transition, that the virtue of child’s play is destroyed. Blake utilizes specific emotions such as â€Å"happy,† â€Å"joy,† â€Å"sweet,† â€Å"pretty,† â€Å"sing,† and â€Å"smile† to describe this uncorrupted state of being. There is no danger, darkness, or struggle for the infant. Instead, he exists in a care free state, free of guilt, temptation, and darkness. The birth of a child is celebrated by Blake and it stirs in us powerful emotions of peace, love, and hope. Conversely, in Songs of Experience, â€Å"Infant Sorrow† serves as the counterpart ofShow MoreRelated In William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, many872 Words   |  4 PagesIn William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, many of the poems correlate in numerous aspects. For example, The Chimney Sweeper is a key poem in both collections that portrays the soul of a child The Chimney Sweeper in Innocence vs. The Chimney Sweeper in Experience In William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, many of the poems correlate in numerous aspects. For example, The Chimney Sweeper is a key poem in both collections that portrays the soul ofRead More The Condition of Youth in Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience2679 Words   |  11 PagesThe Condition of Youth in Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience are collections of poems that utilize the imagery, instruction, and lives of children to make a larger social commentary. The use of child-centered themes in the two books allowed Blake to make a crucial commentary on his political and moral surroundings with deceptively simplistic and readable poetry. Utilizing these themes Blake criticized the church, attacking theRead More The Violation of William Blakes Songs of Innocence Essay2438 Words   |  10 PagesThe Violation of Blakes Songs of Innocence      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Abstract: William Blakes Songs of Innocence contains a group of poetic works that the artist conceptualized as entering into a dialogue with each other and with the works in his companion work, Songs of Experience. He also saw each of the poems in Innocence as operating as part of an artistic whole creation that was encompassed by the poems and images on the plates he used to print these works. While Blake exercised a fanatical degree of controlRead MoreAnalysis of Blakes Songs of Innocence and Experience Essay1889 Words   |  8 PagesAnalysis Blakes Songs of Innocence and Experience (1794) juxtapose the innocent, pastoral world of childhood against an adult world of corruption and repression; while such poems as The Lamb represent a meek virtue, poems like The Tyger exhibit opposing, darker forces. Thus the collection as a whole explores the value and limitations of two different perspectives on the world. Many of the poems fall into pairs, so that the same situation or problem is seen through the lens of innocence first andRead More Blakes Portrayal of Creation in Songs of Innocence and Experience1890 Words   |  8 Pagescreativity is, for Blake, the manifestation of the divine. The Songs of Innocence and Experience deal with life and the move, in particular, from youth to age. Creation is an extremely important aspect of life [being its beginning], whether the subject is creating or being created. As religion plays an enormous part in all of Blakes poetry, we can expect creation to have some biblical resonance as well . Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience portray creation ? as they portray most themes Read More William Blakes The Chimney Sweep and Songs of Innocence and Experience2318 Words   |  10 PagesWilliam Blakes The Chimney Sweep and Songs of Innocence and Experience In this essay I will attempt to analyse, compare and contrast the poems The Chimney Sweep from both Songs of Experience and Songs of Innocence which were both written by William Blake in 1790-92 and 1789 respectively. These two poems were amalgamated in 1794 to create a new collection called Songs of Innocence and Experience. I will be looking at what Blake says and hints at concerning the two contraryRead MoreAnalysis Of William Blakes Songs Of Innocence And Of Experience1005 Words   |  5 PagesSongs of Innocence and of Experience, which is written by William Blake, was published in 1794. Author wants to describe the contrary of two states of human soul: innocence and experience. While Songs of Innocence include is collection of poems about happy, or joyful world, Songs of Experience are a collection of poems about sorrows, or sufferings. The above selection text is from The Lamb which is a poem in Songs of Innocence. The first impressive about this poem is that it is as a song for childrenRead MoreThe Notion of Duality of the Human Soul in William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience4371 Words   |  18 PagesHuman Soul In   William Blake’s Songs Of Innocence And Experience Tembong Denis Fonge             Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience generally subscribe to the main stream appreciation that they present the reader with two states of the human condition - the pastoral, pure and natural world of lambs and blossoms on the one hand, and the world of experience characterized by exploitation, cruelty, conflict and hypocritical humility on the other hand. However, Blake’s songs communicate experiencesRead MoreSocial Criticism in William Blakes Songs of Innocence and Experience906 Words   |  4 PagesWilliam Blake was a social critic of his time, yet his criticism also reflects society of our own time as well. He mainly communicates humanitarian concerns through his Songs of Innocence and Experience; which express two opposite states of the human soul, happiness or misery, heaven or hell. Innocence; expresses the state of childhood, into which we are all born, a state of free imagination and infinite joy. Experience;, according to Blake, is mans state when disast er has destroyed the initialRead MoreWilliam Blake s The Tyger1132 Words   |  5 PagesWilliam Blake’s â€Å"The Tyger† and Tragedies William Blake wrote a set of poems in his collection Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. Some of the poems in each collection were meant to be read together to show the difference between innocence and experience. Many people question why Blake wrote a two part series to his poems and what they could actually mean. Two specific poems, â€Å"The Lamb† and â€Å"The Tyger,† were meant to be read together. â€Å"The Lamb† is a part of Blake’s Songs of Innocence and â€Å"The