One of the most famous work of William Blake is “The Song of Innocence and Experience”, he express his core idea of the book by means of showing in different poems. Due to the industrialism background at that time, William Blake’s poems are closely related to people’s daily life, and he emphasized the theme of nature in his work. But William’s main purpose is to accuse the government and the church for not taking notice of people who living at the bottom of society, the discrimination and the exploited labor become the source materials of these poems. Therefore, I think the nature theme contrasts with the darkness of industrialism, just as the experience and innocence are relatively contrary.
In Songs of innocence and of experience, “The lamb” and “The tyger” respectively represent” innocence” and “experience”, which also symbol the exploited and the exploiter. “The lamb” symbolizes purity and mildness, the incarnation of God, and it focuses on the concepts of innocence and individualism much like a newborn child, and the perspective of a curious child brings the idea of innocence and religious faith of the Christian belief of Jesus Christ. As for experience, it is when beings are confronted with the world of law, morality, and domination of other individuals. “The Lamb” presents creation in a simplistic way of all things being made by God, where as “The Tyger” tries to understand the motivation behind creation. However, both works are the reflection of similar ideas from a different perspective, is God responsible for creating both the good things in life and the evil things? This also point out the different attitude that William holds against to this world.
The Term Paper on Songs Of Innocence Experience Blake Poems
Introduction (Innocence) Piping down the valleys wild, Piping songs of pleasant glee, On a cloud I saw a child, And he laughing said to me: "Pipe a song about a lamb!" So I piped with merry chear. "Piper, pipe that song again;" So I piped, he wept to hear. "Drop thy pipe, thy happy pipe; Sing thy songs of happy chear:" So I sung the same again, While he wept with joy to hear. "Piper, sit thee down ...
In” The little black boy”, the white boy is the experience, while the black boy represents innocence, also the exploited. The poem illustrates the racial discrimination and child labor at that time, hence, it also indicates a despair and longing to be recognized and understood. However, the little black Boy’s mother symbolizes the poem’s ideal, a spiritual symbol to a hard life but one with God. The mother told him that God will love him and the conflict between blacks and whites will be erased, and that earthly life is a preparation for the rewards in heaven, William Blake ties everything in to how we are all equal in God’s eyes. The theme of this poem evokes the author’s concern for the spiritual progress of humankind, this work is considered to be products of conscious intention, is to show the boy transcend the realities of oppression and racism, and absorb his mother’s words and apply it in his relations with the outer world.
The vivid contrary of these innocence and experience are complementary and interdependent. The innocence will be raised to higher experience level after it is tried, which is the organized innocence. Innocence is the process that should be learned so that people can confront with everyday life, which is inevitably filled with experience. I think this also means Blake’s changing of his mental state, from the initially wonderful innocent world change to the experienced world that full of reality. For Blake, childhood is a state of innocence, a state of freedom that is lost as we grow into adulthood, this process can lead to many realizations.
