John Shelson
ENGL 212-British Literature II
Professor Craig Laird
Option 1-William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience
13 July 2007
A poet does not achieve the highest levels of success until generations and generations after his death have critiqued and recognized his works of art, as seen by the revered poet William Blake. He lived and crafted his finest masterpieces during the era of Romanticism, which is marked by the earliest poems of William Blake in 1783 (Anthology, pg 3). Along with Wordsworth, modern poetry was created (Anthology, pg 8). During the eighteenth and nineteenth century, poetry that described nature and landscapes emerged. Blake was a somewhat ambitious artist who questioned the world and rebelled against tradition and customs. He saw these aspects of life troubling because he did not always agree with the way in which society pressured him to conform. Although Blake did eventually marry, his marriage went through tumultuous periods, sometimes filled with sexual jealousy. This can be interpreted in the “Sick Rose”. William Blake could be characterized as an antinomian. He was a person who based his own religion and morality based on personal experiences with God, or a higher power (Notes, 6/27). His individualistic approach to life can be seen in his modernizing work Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience.
One of the more difficult works of Blake to assess is the pair of poems Holy Thursday. The first and most obvious difference between these poems is the way in which they are constructed. In Songs of Innocence, Blake is telling a story that merely explains the irony behind Holy Thursday, which is the fortieth day after Easter. The children he is referring to that are wearing red and blue and green are actually chimney sweepers. The irony is that the Church, who in an ideal society has a moral obligation to assist the Children of God, is actually exploiting the same young children it vowed to provide adequate guardianship. I think that this poem’s tone is also conflicting and ironic. Although Blake is “describing” the exploitation, he does it in a powerful and somewhat ambitious tone. “Now like a mighty wind they raise to heaven the voice of song”. This line strikes me as confusing; the children are going back to terrible, awful “jobs”, yet they are singing and acting as if they are a powerful army going to battle, even though they are being lead by their exploiters with disciplinary wands (Anthology, pg 22). It seems as though the children find solace in their exploitation by being together. In Songs of Experience, the tone is much different. First, Blake is questioning the exploitation much more strongly with an overtone of anger and resentment. He explicitly states the misery these children endure, which is not “holy” at all. The song that I felt was powerful in the Songs of Innocence is reduced to a “trembling cry” (line 5, pg 24). The last stanza is also prescriptive of society, meaning that this is the way society should be, not the way it is (Notes, 6/27). Society is full of hunger, suffering, and poverty. Both Holy Thursday poems enrich each other because they are complimentary. Each provides a different aspect and tone on the irony of Holy Thursday and what these young, innocent chimney sweepers endure.
Of all Blake’s poems in Songs of Innocence and Experience, the one that I am most fond of is The Sick Rose. This poem can be interpreted in so many different ways that it really exercises the mind. As I discussed before, I believe this poem reflects the sexual jealousy in Blake’s marriage. It is amazing that such a short poem, only two stanzas, can evoke various feelings. My best interpretation is that Blake is frustrated and this poem is referring to his confusion and depression at some point in his life. I think that Blake desires another woman besides his wife, who very well could be a virgin: hence, “bed of crimson joy” (Anthology, pg 25). “Dark secret love” also must pertain to a burning desire for someone else in the “night” (hidden relationship). This poem is found in Songs of Experience because obviously there is nothing “innocent” about his feelings.
Another set of poems difficult to interpret are The Tyger and The Lamb. The Tyger is full of rhetorical questions and is opposite The Lamb. I believe that it relates evil to God, as we discussed in class. Like most of Blake’s poem, this seems to be a strong satire (Anthology, pg 25). I had an extremely difficult task of trying to dissect and interpret this poem and believe that it really depends on the reader’s background and knowledge of religion, or lack thereof, to determine exactly what Blake was trying to establish. Without have prior knowledge to other works, his remarks to “When the stars threw down their spears…” (pg 26) seems to mean that God or angels have become angry or evil and released a wrath of terror on the world in the form of a devastating storm. Hence, “And water’d heaven with their tears:”. The Lamb’s tone is much more subtle and relaxed with an overall feeling of innocence and peace. This contrasts The Tyger by exhibiting good in the world and life, rather than evil. It is a much milder poem and I believe easier to interpret. Blake seems anxious in this poem and tries to convey the good that God can do, not the evil which he can also create as seen in The Tyger.
The Chimney Sweeper is a set of poems that also demonstrates the exploitation as seen in Holy Thursday. These poems enrich each other by demonstrating different aspects of irony. These poems are straightforward and much easier to interpret than Blake’s The Sick Rose. In Songs of Experience, it is a dark and bitter poem that tells the story of how a child was sold to the church in anticipation of having a better life than his parents could provide. However, it turns out that these children are basically tortured and deprived. Ultimately, the child thinks that his parents sold him as a punishment for him being happy. Juxtaposed to the Songs of Experience, the child is more heartbroken than bitter. This poem envisions a life where the children can escape the exploitation as seen by line 13 and 14, “And by came an Angel who had a bright key, And he open’d the coffins and set them all free”.
Overall, The Songs of Innocence and The Songs of Experience provide contrasting aspects on Blake’s view of life and society during this era. The overall tone of the poems that comprise Songs of Experience are much more angry and commanding than the earlier poems in Songs of Innocence. It seems that Blake has become more and more frustrated with the way in which society has been progressing as well as his life, which contrasts the Songs of Innocence. Blake also uses the poems in Songs of Innocence to describe “inexperience” (Anthology, pg 17). Although these sets of poems contrast each other, they do enrich and compliment the other by taking the same feelings and manipulating them. For instance, the exploitation was seen in Songs of Innocence as sad and depressing, while in Songs of Experience the same exploitation was seen as angry, bitter, and deeply questioned by Blake. Ultimately, I believe these poems reflect different times in William’s Blake’s life when he could have been at peace and also frustrated with life in general and its meaning.
Works Cited
Kermode, Frank, and Hollander, John. The Oxford Anthology of English Literature: 1800 to the Present. Oxford University Press: London, 1973.
Poet’s Corner. www.theotherpages.org/poems/blake02.html. Accessed: 12 July 2007.
Shelson, John. Engl 212-British Literature II: Class Notes. Professor Craig Laird: Drexel University, 27 June 2007.
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