AN ANALYSIS OF WILLIAM BLAKE’S SONGS OF INNOCENCE AND OF EXPERIENCE AS A RESPONSE TO THE COLLAPSE OF VALUES TIMOTHY VINES∗ Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience are a much studied part of the English canon‚ and for good reason. Blake’s work depicts a quandary that continues to haunt humanity today: the struggle of high-order humanity against the ‘real’ rationality and morals of institutionalised society. This essay seeks to explore both Blake’s literary reaction to the Enlightenment and the
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London by William Blake A poem which makes a social or political statement is London by William Blake. Blake’s poem is about the social problems‚ inequalities and Injustice that arose due to the industrial revolution. In London‚ William Blake brings to light a city that was overrun by poverty and hardship. Blake discards the glorifying view of London. He believes that London is nothing more than a city suffocated by a harsh economy‚ where Royalty and the church have allowed morality and
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Romantic period? -William Blake Nowadays when people talked about “romantic” or “romance”‚ usually indicated that of the opposite of ration and reason. Rousseau pointed out that romance is to go back to nature‚ However‚ Heine in the other way thought that romance is to go back to the life style of middle age‚ while Hugo considered romance as the combination of tragedy and quaintness. Romance to me‚ is the opposite of civilization‚ ration‚ and reality‚ just like the typical tension between
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The use of children is a prominent theme in William Blake’s poems. He sees the world through the eyes of a child and embraces the innocence of the young. He illustrates this style in poems such as "the lamb"‚ "the little black boy"‚ and "the chimney sweeper". The lamb really illustrates the innocence and purity of a young child. The boy questions the lamb as to where it came from and he expects the lamb to answer back‚ but it is obvious to the reader that the lamb cannot talk. As the boy receives
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The Lamb & The Tyger William Blake “The Lamb” and “The Tyger” are two different poems written by William Blake‚ the first taken from the Songs of Innocence and the second taken from the Songs of Experience. Both poems follow an A-A-B-B rhyme scheme and both focus on the topic of religion. Many sources have recommended the reading of the two poems together and I‚ myself‚ found that it was an experiment worth trying. When I first read “The Lamb” I was sure that it would be a poem with Jesus
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Adult Living in Despair William Blake was a first generation Romantic poet‚ along with Samuel Coleridge and Charles Woodsworth. Each poet had an archetype which meant they had some form of Byronic hero within them and wanted to find a way to escape their bodies. Blake focused on the social rebel. He believed governments and institutions were corrupt and all the people had a right to fight against them. He was more than just a poet‚ he was also an illustrator. He wanted to combine pictures and words
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getting rid of the terrible smell the disease gave the victims. “Ashes to ashes‚ we all fall down” of course is symbolic of how many people were killed and the cremation of their bodies. There are many similarities between these nursery rhymes and William Blake’s poem‚ “The Chimney Sweeper‚” printed in the first half his book‚ Songs of Innocence. “The Chimney Sweeper” is written in the same whimsical tone‚ and can also be considered a British nursery rhyme. Most people when they think of chimney
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advantage of cheap labor. Children were among the most abused work force in that country ’s history. William Blake saw this increase of social injustice and was overwhelmed‚ so he began to write about this hypocrisy of social values that he felt was being carefully hidden from the mainstream. While most considered this unavoidable‚ child labor was a topic that they did not discuss openly in social groups. Blake wanted to change all of that. As a social critic‚ he wrote many poems condemning the hypocrisy
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Katie Layman Mrs. Laine Comp 2 December 12‚ 2008 Innocence versus Experience Even though many things can affect what people believe‚ William Blake expresses his religious views through the innocence of childhood leading to the experience of sin. Blake’s writing has frown in interest in the 19th century‚ but the 20th century has put his works in the spotlight. Blake is known for his renowned books: Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience‚ among many of his other works such as The Four Zoas. In
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“The Chimney Sweeper” Songs of Innocence & Experience analysis with‚ William Blake In 1794 William Blake’s work was known and published as a collection of poems that were put together as one book called Songs of innocence & Songs of Experience. In the collection Blake titles a poem‚ “The Chimney Sweeper”‚ and this one is viewed in two ways: Innocence and experience. In the book of innocence Blake shows how poor innocent children are being abused and mistreated during this time era. In Songs
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