Poems
Analysis Of William Blake’s Poems
Infant Joy Notes
This simple poem is two stanzas of six lines each. The two stanzas each follow an ABCDDC rhyme scheme, a contrast to most of Blake's other poetic patterns. The rhyming words are always framed by the repetition of "thee" at the end of the fourth and sixth lines, drawing the reader's attention to the parent, who speaks, and his or her concern with the baby. The infant's words, or those imagined by the parent to be spoken by the infant, are set off with dashes at the end of each line, turning this short poem into a dialogue between parent and child regarding the naming of the baby.
That the baby names itself reflects Blake’s desire to see the human spirit determine its own state of bliss, rather than to rely upon a form of happiness imposed upon it by social constructs or religious institutions. This baby is the perfect innocent who, when left alone to determine its own nature, find joy rather than guilt or repression within.
The last three lines of the second stanza speak to the innocence of the child. “Thou dost smile, I sing the while; Sweet joy befall thee!” The presence of smiling, singing, and being joyous gleam with those innocent happy days only the adults remember of the two year old. The presence of the I is either Blake pretending to recollect his childhood or simply just using his observations of children or a specific child to draw upon. The words joy, happy, and sweet are sprinkled delicately throughout the poem to enhance the notion of the content nature of the two year old child. This repetition and presence calls to the attention of perpetual happiness. Though these factors can be tied to innocence which leads to vulnerability, the happiness of the child may also stand alone within the internal nature of the child. Blake is arguing that to be young and without a label, is to be happy. It is to be perpetually joyous. The first stanza calls for this interpretation, “'I have no name; I am but two
Infant Joy Notes
This simple poem is two stanzas of six lines each. The two stanzas each follow an ABCDDC rhyme scheme, a contrast to most of Blake's other poetic patterns. The rhyming words are always framed by the repetition of "thee" at the end of the fourth and sixth lines, drawing the reader's attention to the parent, who speaks, and his or her concern with the baby. The infant's words, or those imagined by the parent to be spoken by the infant, are set off with dashes at the end of each line, turning this short poem into a dialogue between parent and child regarding the naming of the baby.
That the baby names itself reflects Blake’s desire to see the human spirit determine its own state of bliss, rather than to rely upon a form of happiness imposed upon it by social constructs or religious institutions. This baby is the perfect innocent who, when left alone to determine its own nature, find joy rather than guilt or repression within.
The last three lines of the second stanza speak to the innocence of the child. “Thou dost smile, I sing the while; Sweet joy befall thee!” The presence of smiling, singing, and being joyous gleam with those innocent happy days only the adults remember of the two year old. The presence of the I is either Blake pretending to recollect his childhood or simply just using his observations of children or a specific child to draw upon. The words joy, happy, and sweet are sprinkled delicately throughout the poem to enhance the notion of the content nature of the two year old child. This repetition and presence calls to the attention of perpetual happiness. Though these factors can be tied to innocence which leads to vulnerability, the happiness of the child may also stand alone within the internal nature of the child. Blake is arguing that to be young and without a label, is to be happy. It is to be perpetually joyous. The first stanza calls for this interpretation, “'I have no name; I am but two