1. Blake describes innocence and experience as “the two contrary states of the human soul.” What do you think he means by this?
2. Compare the mode of creation described in “The Lamb” with that of “The Tyger.” How are they similar? How are they different?
3. In “London” the speaker says he hears “mind-forged manacles” (line 8) What do you think that phrase means?
4. What differences do you see between the two “Chimney Sweeper” poems?
5. The introductory poem to Songs of Innocence refers to a poet/singer/piper who composes “…happy songs,/Every child may joy to hear.” To what extent does this line describe the poems in Songs of Innocence?
18 thoughts on “William Blake, Songs of Innocence and Experience”
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5. The introductory poem to Songs of Innocence refers to a poet/singer/piper who composes “…happy songs,/Every child may joy to hear.” To what extent does this line describe the poems in Songs of Innocence?
The poems in “Songs of Innocence” sound like lullabies or bed time stories that are told to little children before they go to sleep. The ending of that poem embodies the feelings children would have and joy they would experience from hearing, according to the adults, gibberish and nonsense from the narrator. If the song would happen to be happy and catchy, a child would learn it quick and repeat it multiple times. The lamb is also a symbol of peace and innocence found within children. Their actions are pure and carefree just like a lamb might be in its early stages of life as well, constantly seeking a new adventure and curiosity. Of course, the piper is aware of this eagerness to hear stories, so he proceeds to do as he is told by the child. This would in fact be the ultimate joy of a child to have an adult do as they command. A hymn for all of innocence to hear and fall asleep too is what in essence all these songs are, with of course a meaning behind it all, which children couldn’t pick up on.
On their face, these two poems seem to be very similar. They both pose questions about creation. They both use animals as a reference for the created world. They both seemingly point to God. However, these two poems have important differences that highlight the duality of both creation and Christianity.
In Christian theology, Christ is the human manifestation of God. Born a baby, Jesus is both fully human and fully divine.
The Tyger is concerned with the divine dimension. Ostensibly about a fierce and beautiful animal, Blake uses language that suggests something transcendent and metaphysical. There is a sense of awe as the poet contemplates something created by an unfathomable God.
The Lamb is concerned with the human dimension. The metaphor of the lamb suggests humility and gentleness, and it’s also a reference to the sacrificial nature of the crucifixion. Christ is often referred to as “Agnus Dei” which means Lamb of God. The poet and his ovine subject both share the experience of Christ; “I a child & thou a lamb, We are called by his name,” Blake writes. In this poem, there is a sense of the accessibility of God.
Blake describes innocence and experience as “the two contrary states of the human soul.” What do you think he means by this?
Innocence and experience are two contrary ideas because when one increases, the other decreases. When babies are born, they are a blank slate. They have no knowledge of what is right and wrong and hence, they are perceived as being innocent. As they grow up, people, their parents or friends, are going to influence the way they think. At the same time, they are going to encounter situations they haven’t encountered before. This can be considered experience, which takes away a bit of innocence from them. As their blank slate begins to fill up, they are going to be less and less innocent. At the same time, I think someone can be innocent and have experience at the same time. For example, someone can be romantically innocent but they can be experienced in solving friendship issues/problems. I don’t think someone can be completely innocent or completely experienced in their lifetime.
– Blake describes innocence and experience as “the two contrary states of the human soul.” What do you think he means by this?
I think that Blake means that experience and innocence are opposite components to life but yet impacts one another tremendously. Innocence remains the same until people start experiencing life and they become more knowledgeable about things. If you do not experience things for your own, and go by what people tell you, you can be seemed as innocent, and that means being ignorant, pure and unaware of whats good or bad etc.
1. Blake describes innocence and experience as “the two contrary states of the human soul.” What do you think he means by this?
I think Blake means that innocence and experience are opposite elements in life but they deeply influence a person. Innocence refers to one’s childhood. When we were kids, we were all innocent. We were all so carefree, we did not know there were consequences to some of our actions and we just do whatever we were told to do, no questions asked. But as we grow older, we go through different situations and learn from them. We become more mature and less innocent. We begin to realize what is right and wrong, the consequences of certain actions, and we are knowledgeable to make decisions and not just follow what people tell you do . Experience changes our views on life. Without experience we will always think the world in a very simplistic manner and not realize that the world is actually very complicated. With experience, we become a better people being more cautious, responsible and wise, viewing the world in our own eyes rather than others.
Compare the mode of creation described in “The Lamb” with that of “The Tyger.” How are they similar? How are they different?
In “The Lamb” the mode of creation is more gentle and innocent whereas the mode of creation of “The Tyger” is very dangerous and evokes a feeling of fear. Images such as “softest clothing wooly bright” and “tender voice” are used to describe the lamb which makes you think of the lamb as a pet. The lamb “is meek and he is mild.” The tiger, however, is described with images such as “burning bright in the forest of the night” and “what dread grasp dare its deadly terrors clasp?” The method of creation of “The Tyger” suggests the creation of a dangerous and deadly creature who is also considered to be a perfect, beautiful creature in it’s physical attributes. Both the lamb and the tiger might have been created by the same person, like the question “does he who made the Lamb made thee?” is posed in “The Tyger.”
4. What differences do you see between the two “Chimney Sweeper” poems?
In the Songs of Innocence, The Chimney Sweeper is a poem written to the clientele of chimney owners. The poem sends a message that it is unethical for children to be suffering in labor as chimney sweepers have a shorter lifespan than other children. In the poem Blake speaks of a dream that Tom, a fellow chimney sweeper, has of an angel setting the children free from their labor and waking up the next morning knowing that all the sacrifice will soon be paid off after their passing.
In contrast, The Chimney Sweeper in the Songs of Experience, speaks to the parents of chimney sweepers. The message calls that parents should not be blind from the laughter and joy of children masking the hardships and suffering they face while being cold, naked, dirty and in pain from spending hours in the dark cleaning chimneys. There is also a sense of mockery in the last two stanzas where Blake questions the parents that instead of praising God and praying for the end of world misery, should they not pray for the misery of their own children? The poem calls for parents to stop being hypocrites and face the reality of chimney sweepers.
Blake describes innocence and experience as “the two contrary states of the human soul.” What do you think he means by this?
Innocence is supposed to be that of a child, before knowing the harsh realities that life can bring. Children, by nature and in the context of Blake’s poems, are pure and untouched (both mentally and physically). They do not know any more than what is in front of them, and even then, they lack a full understanding.
Experience brings knowledge and understanding, but also pain when dealing with the unforeseen and grim realities this world can bring. In this context, experience changes children and leads them in certain directions as they mature. It can take away a child’s purity and innocence in a heart beat, because of how the world is, even during the 18th century.
4. What differences do you see between the two “Chimney Sweeper” poems?
In the two “Chimney Sweeper” poems there is a difference in the perspective of them being told. The first poem is told in the perspective of the children working in unethical situations. It talks about how children are sold to be sacrificed as a lamb due to the hazardous conditions of chimney sweeping. The second poem, on the other hand, is told in the perspective of the parents. The parents who sent their children to chimney sweep do not understand the problems of doing so. They go to church and praise god but do not understand their children are being sentenced to misery. The differences between the two poems is the first one is being told about the struggles of the children while the second one talks about the oblivious nature of the parents.
1. Blake describes innocence and experience as “the two contrary states of the human soul.” What do you think he means by this?
I think that Blake means that innocence and experience are opposite elements because firstly if one is innocent one has no experience because there are two different stages and at two different moments of the life of a human being. These two stages are childhood and puberty. when we are innocent therefore child, we do not think and care nothing because we are mentally and physically weak and ignorant. once we reach the age of puberty we begin to take cognizance of all that we do and we begin to reason. And we can physically do what we could not before in childhood.
1. Blake describes innocence and experience as “the two contrary states of the human soul.” What do you think he means by this?
When he says ‘the two contrary states of the human soul’, already, the contrary makes you think about contrast and how it means very opposite. He says that innocence is a state in which someone is naive and vulnerable. They will believe anything people tell them since they don’t know much better and have a huge bright outlook towards life. He talks about experience as a kind of guilt with consequences that follow. He believes that the human soul can know innocence and experience in two different ways and they can both affect the type of person somebody is.
Blake describes innocence and experience as “the two contrary states of the human soul.” What do you think he means by this?
I believe he means that innocence and experience cannot coexist together. When I think of innocence in today’s time I understand it as the inexperience of knowledge and time living. As you live and come to understand the daily experiences you come to understand that reality is obstacles to overcome. When that innocence meets experiences you become everything but that. Ultimately the result of these experience shape us who we are and what do in society. Innocence is not to be taken as good or bad characteristic of us but rather as something we need to grow out to become better or worse from what we were born with.
Compare the mode of creation described in “The Lamb” with that of “The Tyger.” How are they similar? How are they different?
“The Lamb” and “The Tyger” are similar because they both present the idea of creation and make references to God. They reflect ideas of religion, and imply that God creates both good and bad things. In “The Lamb”, the mode of creation is very tranquil and innocent. Blake describes the lamb as “mild” and has “such a tender voice”. In “The Tyger”, Blake describes the tiger as beautiful yet dangerous. He questions how God could have created something as innocent as the lamb, and at the same time, create something as vicious as a tiger.
4. What differences do you see between the two “Chimney Sweeper” poems?
In the “Chimney Sweeper” from the Song of Innocence, it relates the duty of the children’s practice to be a political and a destined duty. Black’s use of the Angel in the child’s dream shows that they are destined for sacrifice. All the suffering they are enduring now is acceptable because upon death, they will feel happy and warm in heaven. However, in the “Chimney Sweeper” from the Song of Experience, it portrays a satire in which the parents think because they praise to “God & his Priest and & King”, it is acceptable for them to send their child to endure such pain. In the Song of Experience version, it depicts that there it is unacceptable to treat children this way. As described in the poem, just because the children look happy, it doesn’t mean that they don’t suffer have no injury.
1. Blake describes innocence and experience as “the two contrary states of the human soul.” What do you think he means by this?
Blake says innocence and experience are two contrary states because innocence is lost once you experience life. When you are born you are pure and oblivious to all the bad in the world. You think everything is good and everyones intentions are good. However, as soon as you experience certain events that proof those ideas wrong you start to loose that innocence and start to gain knowledge and understanding that not everything is rainbows and butterflies. You’re innocence starts to drift away as you grow up.
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1. Blake describes innocence and experience as “the two contrary states of the human soul.” What do you think he means by this?
I believe that Blake is comparing many things when he describes innocence and experience as “the two contrary states of the human soul.” I think the basis of this comparison can be simply found in age, when someone is born they are inexperienced, and innocent, they know nothing about the world they have entered into. Many people believe that when you are born you are inherently good, which again can refer back to the idea of young age and innocence going hand in hand. On the opposite end, as this same baby goes on through their life and begins to encounter the world for what it truly is they gain experience and loose their innocence. Through the course of this now aging baby’s life, they can see terrible things happen to ones they love, experience hardships and many other negative occurrences that could easily change their originally innocent perspective of the world; so much so that this once inherently good child could turn to things such as committing crimes or drug abuse to deal with whatever is occurring around them. Proving that experience can drain the human soul of it’s innocence.
4. What differences do you see between the two “Chimney Sweeper” poems?
The obvious difference with both poems is that the first chimney sweeper is from a perspective from orphans works day and night with their chimney sweeping shifts and contemplating about their life and trying to escape from their miserable reality with believing in God. Kids are more positive towards the religion and whenever they dream of escaping this reality they feel warm and happy. The second poem is slightly different than the first poem because the kids’ perspective of the religion is negative. Instead of taking care of their kids and other moral issues, parents care more about praising God and going to the church.