He speaks of the drudgery he must undertake to be in school and compares it to the wonders he might experience outside on a summer’s day.Ī recurring character (possibly different characters), the Little Boy who is lost appears in two poems from Songs of Innocence and in one poem in Songs of Experience. The School Boy typifies the desire of youth to be outdoors without restrictions, despite the confines of institutionalized education. The Little Black Boy at first dislikes his dark complexion in contrast to the white English boys, but is assured by his mother that all outward appearances will fall away one day, leaving only the pure (but white) souls to enjoy the love of God. He eventually sleeps and has a dream of an Angel, who reassures him that his present suffering will end one day, and that he will be welcomed into an afterlife without pain.Ī character from the poem of the same title, the Black Boy is used by Blake to critique “hope for the future” religious and social beliefs and also to point out the flaws of racism. One of the few named characters in Songs of Innocence, Tom Dacre is the young boy who cries at night after a hard day as a chimney sweeper.
The Bard also has a prophetic voice and claims to see past, present, and future all the same. The Bard is Blake’s persona for several poems in Songs of Experience. More worldly-wise than his counterpart, the Shepherd, the Bard is also more a craftsman of words than is the rustic singer. The Shepherd is intended as a (biased) view of the world from a more naive perspective than Blake himself holds. The Shepherd writes of Innocence, about lambs and the Lamb, about nature, and about the experiences of children. Ode on melancholy Songs of Innocence and of Experience Character Listīlake’s primary persona in Songs of Innocence, the Shepherd is inspired by a boy on a cloud to write his songs down. Taken as a whole, Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience offer a romanticized yet carefully thought out view of nature, God, society, and religion from a variety of perspectives, ultimately demanding that the reader choose the view he or she finds most compelling from among the myriad voices of the poems. Its meaning is further deepened when reading “The Tyger” from Songs of Experience, and vice versa. A critical reading of “ The Lamb,” for example, is impossible without also reading the “Introduction,” “The Shepherd,” and “Night” from Songs of Innocence. Blake also hints at his belief in “free love” in this volume, suggesting that he would like to dismantle the institution of marriage along with all other artificial restrictions on human freedom.īoth Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience contain poems that are interdependent. In Songs of Experience, Blake questions how we know that God exists, whether a God who allows poor children to suffer and be exploited is in fact, good, and whether love can exist as an abstract concept apart from human interaction.
Blake also uses Songs of Experience to further develop his own personal theological system, which was portrayed as mostly very traditional in Songs of Innocence. He attacks church leaders, wealthy socialites, and cruel parents with equal vehemence. Songs of Experience allows Blake to be more direct in his criticism of society. The same method of engraving plates to illustrate the poems is used in Songs of Experience. Innocence has been lost not simply through aging, but because the forces of culture have allowed a hope-crushing society to flourish, sometimes at the direct expense of children’s souls.Songs of Experience followed five years later, bound with a reprinting and slight revision of Songs of Innocence. Songs of Experience has never been printed separately from the former volume, and Blake intended it as a companion piece to the earlier work. Although intended as a celebration of children and of their unadulterated enjoyment of the world around them, Songs of Innocence is also a warning to adult readers. Several of the poems include an ironic tone, and some, such as “The Chimney Sweeper,” imply sharp criticism of the society of Blake’s time. Blake always intended the poems of Songs of Innocence to be accompanied by their respective illustrations, analyzing the texts alone problematic at times.While ostensibly about the naivety and simplicity of innocent youth, Songs of Innocence is not merely a collection of verses for children.
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