William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience exhibits a strong theme of the relationship between literature and life. My first impression of Blake’s poetry was that it was too simple and pointless. After reading more of his work from the book, I began to feel that maybe his point is to take you back to a place or experience when things were simpler. He relied on visions of childhood memories and life experiences to write his poetry.
Child-like imagination and emotion are evident any many of the poems. Reading deeper into Blake’s poetry, I found three main themes that connect his life to his literature. I found expressions of religion, social issues, and human responsibility. He addresses the issue of how some fathers in his day made their children become chimney sweeps. In The Little Black Boy, Blake even speaks from a black boy’s point of view in wanting love and acceptance from an English boy. In The Lamb, Blake makes sure the lamb knows who made him.
Although literature can be fiction or non-fiction, every work is based on some degree of human experience. Songs of Innocence reminds me of when I was a child and how questionable everything was to me. I am also reminded of how unaware I was about other things. Songs of Experience puts me in mind of recent experiences coming out into the real world and out of the oblivion of childhood up through teenage and young adult years. Literature’s link to life and experience is the strongest link out of anything else.
The Essay on The most meaninful experience of my life
For many people the most meaningful experience of their lives is well defined, clear and concise. One given occurrence, at a given time and in a clear setting can change the meaning of life for a person. One late night I sat down in a quiet room in my house to think about my personal experiences, the only sound in the house came from an old mantel clock, which I like to keep wound and on time. I ...
