the innocence mission

SongsofInnocenceandExperience

WilliamBlake

Analysis

Blake’sSongsofInnocenceandExperience(1794)juxtapotheinnocent,pastoralworldofchildhoodagainst

anadultworldofcorruptionandrepression;whilesuchpoemsas“TheLamb”reprentameekvirtue,poems

like“TheTyger”exhibitopposing,ecollectionasawholeexploresthevalueand

thepoemsfallintopairs,sothatthesame

situatiooesnotidentify

himlfwhollywitheitherview;mostofthepoemsaredramatic—thatis,inthevoiceofaspeakerotherthan

tandsoutsideinnocenceandexperience,inadistancedpositionfromwhichhehopes

icular,hepitshimlfagainstdespoticauthority,

restrictivemorality,xualrepression,andinstitutionalizedreligion;hisgreatinsightisintothewaythe

paratemodesofcontrolworktogethertosquelchwhatismostholyinhumanbeings.

TheSongsofInnocencedramatizethenaivehopesandfearsthatinformthelivesofchildrenandtracetheir

thepoemsarewrittenfromtheperspectiveof

children,thepoemsdrawattention

tothepositiveaspectsofnaturalhumanunderstandingpriortothecorruptionanddistortionofexperience.

Otherstakeamorecriticalstancetowardinnocentpurity:forexample,whileBlakedrawstouchingportraitsof

theemotionalpowerofrudimentaryChristianvalues,healsoexpos—overtheheads,asitwere,ofthe

innocent—Christianity’scapacityforpromotinginjusticeandcruelty.

TheSongsofExperienceworkviaparallelsandcontraststolamentthewaysinwhichtheharshexperiencesof

adultlifedestroywhatisgoodininnocence,whilealsoarticulatingtheweaknessoftheinnocentperspective

(“TheTyger,”forexample,attemptstoaccountforreal,negativeforcesintheuniver,whichinnocencefailsto

confront).Thelatterpoemstreatxualmoralityintermsoftherepressiveeffectsofjealousy,shame,and

crecy,gardtoreligion,theyareless

concernedwiththecharacterofindividualfaiththanwiththeinstitutionoftheChurch,itsroleinpolitics,andits

encethusaddsalayertoinnocencethatdarkensitshopeful

visionwhilecompensatingforsomeofitsblindness.

ThestyleoftheSongsofInnocenceandExperienceissimpleanddirect,butthelanguageandtherhythmsare

painstakinglycrafted,thepoemsare

narrativeinstyle;others,like“TheSickRo”and“TheDivineImage,”maketheirargumentsthrough

Blake’sfavoriterhetoricaltechniquesarepersonification

requentlyemploysthefamiliarmetersofballads,

nurryrhymes,andhymns,applyingthemtohisown,mbinationofthe

traditionalwiththeunfamiliarisconsonantwithBlake’sperpetualinterestinreconsideringandreframingthe

assumptionsofhumanthoughtandsocialbehavior

“TheLamb”

Summary

Thepoembeginswiththequestion,“LittleLamb,whomadethee?”Thespeaker,achild,asksthe

lambaboutitsorigins:howitcameintobeing,howitacquireditsparticularmanneroffeeding,its

“clothing”ofwool,its“tendervoice.”Inthenextstanza,thespeakerattemptsariddlinganswerto

hisownquestion:thelambwasmadebyonewho“callshimlfaLamb,”onewhoremblesinhis

mendswiththechildbestowingablessingonthe

lamb.

Form

“TheLamb”hastwostanzas,tioninthefirst

andlastcoupletofeachstanzamakesthelinesintoarefrain,andhelpstogivethepoemits

wingl’sandsoftvowelsoundscontributetothiffect,andalsosuggest

thebleatingofalamborthelispingcharacterofachild’schant.

Commentary

Thepoemisachild’ssong,ststanzaisruraland

descriptive,whilethecondfocusonabstractspiritualmattersandcontainxplanationand

ld’stion(“whomadethee?”)isa

simpleone,andyetthechildisalsotappingintothedeepandtimelessquestionsthatallhuman

beingshave,m’sapostrophicform

contributestotheeffectofnaiveté,sincethesituationofachildtalkingtoananimalisabelievable

one,nsweringhisownquestion,thechildconvertsit

intoarhetoricalone,weris

prentedasapuzzleorriddle,andeventhoughitisaneasyone—child’splay—thisalso

contrld’sanswer,

however,revealshisconfidenceinhissimpleChristianfaithandhisinnocentacceptanceofits

teachings.

ditionalimageofJesusasalambunderscoresthe

Christianvaluesofgentleness,meekness,geofthechildisalsoassociated

withJesus:intheGospel,Jesusdisplaysaspecialsolicitudeforchildren,andtheBible’sdepiction

realsothecharacteristics

em,likemanyof

theSongsofInnocence,acceptswhatBlakesawasthemorepositiveaspectsofconventional

oesnotprovideacompletelyadequatedoctrine,becauitfailstoaccount

dant(orcompanion)poemtothisone,

foundintheSongsofExperience,is“TheTyger”;takentogether,thetwopoemsgiveaperspective

onreligoems

complemefera

goodinstanceofhowBlakehimlfstandssomewhereoutsidetheperspectivesofinnocenceand

experienceheprojects.