Songs of Innocence and of Experience, copy AA, object 1

''Songs of Innocence and of Experience'' is a collection of illustrated poems by

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of t ...

. It appeared in two phases: a few first copies were printed and illuminated by Blake himself in 1789; five years later, he bound these poems with a set of new poems in a volume titled ''Songs of Innocence and of Experience Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul''. Blake was also a painter before the creation of ''Songs of Innocence and Experience'' and had painted such subjects as

Oberon Oberon () is a king of the fairies in medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania, Queen of the Fairi ...

, Titania, and Puck dancing with fairies. "Innocence" and "Experience" are definitions of consciousness that rethink Milton's existential-mythic states of "Paradise" and "Fall". Often, interpretations of this collection centre around a mythical dualism, where "Innocence" represents the "unfallen world" and "Experience" represents the "fallen world". Blake categorizes our modes of perception that tend to coordinate with a chronology that would become standard in

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

: childhood is a state of protected

innocence Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. In other contexts, it is a lack of experience. In relatio ...

rather than

original sin Original sin is the Christian doctrine that holds that humans, through the fact of birth, inherit a tainted nature in need of regeneration and a proclivity to sinful conduct. The biblical basis for the belief is generally found in Genesis 3 ...

, but not immune to the fallen world and its institutions. This world sometimes impinges on childhood itself, and in any event becomes known through "experience", a state of being marked by the loss of childhood vitality, by fear and inhibition, by social and political corruption and by the manifold oppression of Church, State and the ruling classes. The volume's "Contrary States" are sometimes signalled by patently repeated or contrasted titles: in ''Innocence'', ''Infant Joy'', in ''Experience'', ''Infant Sorrow''; in ''Innocence'', ''The Lamb'', in ''Experience'', ''The Fly'' and ''The Tyger''. The stark simplicity of poems such as ''The Chimney Sweeper'' and ''The Little Black Boy'' display Blake's acute sensibility to the realities of poverty and exploitation that accompanied the " Dark Satanic Mills" of the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

''Songs of Innocence''

''Songs of Innocence'' was originally a complete work first printed in 1789. It is a conceptual collection of 19 poems, engraved with artwork. This collection mainly shows happy, innocent perception in pastoral harmony, but at times, such as in " The Chimney Sweeper" and "

The Little Black Boy "The Little Black Boy" is a poem by William Blake included in ''Songs of Innocence'' in 1789. It was published during a time when slavery was still legal and the campaign for the abolition of slavery was still young. Interpretation In accorda ...

", subtly shows the dangers of this naïve and vulnerable state. The poems are each listed below: *

Introduction Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and ...

The Shepherd ''The Shepherd'' is a 1975 novella by British writer Frederick Forsyth. Plot ''The Shepherd'' relates the story of a De Havilland Vampire pilot, going home on Christmas Eve 1957, whose aircraft suffers a complete electrical failure en route f ...

The Echoing Green "The Echoing Green" (''The Ecchoing Green'') is a poem by William Blake published in ''Songs of Innocence'' in 1789. The poem talks about merry sounds and images which accompany the children playing outdoors. Then, an old man happily remembers ...

* The Lamb * The Tyger *

The Blossom "The Blossom" is a poem by William Blake, published in ''Songs of Innocence'' in 1789. Analysis This poem is full of cheerful images of life, such as the "leaves so green", and "happy blossom". The poem tells the tale of two different birds: a ...

* The Chimney Sweeper *

The Little Boy Lost "The Little Boy Lost" is a simple lyric poem written by William Blake. This poem is part of a larger work entitled ''Songs of Innocence'' which was published in the year 1789. "The Little Boy Lost" is a prelude to "The Little Boy Found". Summa ...

* The Little Boy Found * Laughing Song * A Cradle Song * The Divine Image * Holy Thursday *

Night Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends ...

Spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a h ...

* Nurse's Song * Infant Joy *

A Dream A Dream may refer to: Literature * A Dream (novel), ''A Dream'' (novel) or ''Somnium'', by Johannes Kepler, 1634 * A Dream (Blake poem), "A Dream" (Blake poem), by William Blake, 1789 * A Dream (Poe poem), "A Dream" (Poe poem), by Edgar Allan Poe, ...

On Another's Sorrow "On Another's Sorrow" is a poem by the English poet William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figu ...

''Songs of Experience''

''Songs of Experience'' is a poetry collection of 26 poems forming the second part of

's ''Songs of Innocence and of Experience''. The poems were published in 1794 (see 1794 in poetry). Some of the poems, such as "The Little Girl Lost" and "The Little Girl Found", were moved by Blake to ''Songs of Innocence'' and were frequently moved between the two books.See the various extent editions republished in their original publication order
at the William Blake Archive. The poems are listed below: *

* Earth's Answer *

The Clod and the Pebble "The Clod and the Pebble" is a poem from William Blake's 1794 collection ''Songs of Innocence and of Experience''. The poem Summary "The Clod and the Pebble" is the exemplification of Blake's statement at the beginning of ''Songs of Innocenc ...

* Holy Thursday * The Little Girl Lost * The Little Girl Found * The Chimney Sweeper * Nurse's Song *

The Sick Rose "The Sick Rose" is a poem by William Blake, originally published in ''Songs of Innocence and of Experience'' as the 39th plate; the incipit of the poem is O Rose thou art sick. Blake composed the poem sometime after 1789, and presented it with an ...

* The Fly * The Angel * The Tyger *

My Pretty Rose Tree "My Pretty Rose Tree" is a poem written by the English poet William Blake. It was published as part of his collection ''Songs of Experience'' in 1794. Poem Summary A man is offered a flower far surpassing the beauty of an ordinary flower, b ...

Ah! Sun-flower "Ah! Sun-flower" is an illustrated poem written by the English poet, painter and printmaker William Blake. It was published as part of his collection ''Songs of Experience'' in 1794 (no.43 in the sequence of the combined book, ''Songs of Innocence ...

* The Lilly * The Garden of Love *

The Little Vagabond The Little Vagabond is a 1794 poem by William Blake in his collection ''Songs of Innocence and of Experience''. His collection, ''Songs of Innocence'', was originally published alone, in 1789. The scholar Robert Gleckner says that the poem is a ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

* The Human Abstract *

Infant Sorrow Infant Sorrow is a poem by William Blake from ''Songs of Experience''. Background This poem belongs to the ''Songs of Experience'' by William Blake. It is the counter poem of "Infant Joy". The poem suggests that childbirth is not always joyf ...

A Poison Tree "A Poison Tree" is a poem written by William Blake, published in 1794 as part of his ''Songs of Experience'' collection. It describes the narrator's repressed feelings of anger towards an individual, emotions which eventually lead to murder. The ...

A Little Boy Lost "A Little Boy Lost" is a poem of the ''Songs of Experience'' series created in 1794 after the ''Songs of Innocence'' (1789) by the poet William Blake. The poem centers on the theme of religious persecution and the corrupted dictates of dogmatic ...

* A Little Girl Lost *

To Tirzah "To Tirzah" is a poem by William Blake that was published in his collection ''Songs of Innocence and of Experience''. It is often described as the most difficult of the poems because it refers to an oblique character called " Tirzah", whose identi ...

The School Boy "The School Boy" is a 1789 poem by William Blake and published as a part of his poetry collection entitled ''Songs of Experience''. These poems were later added with Blake's ''Songs of Innocence'' to create the entire collection entitled "Songs ...

The Voice of the Ancient Bard The Voice of the Ancient Bard is a poem written by the English poet William Blake. It was published as part of his collection ''Songs of Innocence'' in 1789, but later moved to ''Songs of Experience'', the second part of the larger collection ''S ...

Musical settings

Poems from both books have been set to music by many composers, including

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

, Joseph Holbrooke, John Frandsen,

Per Drud Nielsen Per is a Latin preposition which means "through" or "for each", as in per capita. Per or PER may also refer to: Places * IOC country code for Peru * Pér, a village in Hungary * Chapman code for Perthshire, historic county in Scotland Math ...

Sven-David Sandström Sven-David Sandström (30 October 1942, in Motala – 10 June 2019) was a Swedish classical composer of operas, oratorios, ballets, and choral works, as well as orchestral works. Life and career Sandström studied art history and musicology at ...

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

, and Jacob ter Veldhuis. Individual poems have also been set by, among others,

John Tavener Sir John Kenneth Tavener (28 January 1944 – 12 November 2013) was an English composer, known for his extensive output of choral religious works. Among his best known works are '' The Lamb'' (1982), ''The Protecting Veil'' (1988), and '' Song ...

Victoria Poleva Victoria Vita Polevá (also spelled: Poleváya; uk, Вікторія Польова; russian: Виктория Полевая; born September 11, 1962) is a Ukrainian composer. Biography Born on September 11, 1962 in Kiev, Ukraine, daughter of ...

, Jah Wobble,

Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese having been the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup ...

, Jeff Johnson, and

Daniel Amos Daniel Amos (aka D. A., Dä) is an American Christian rock band formed in 1974 by Terry Scott Taylor on guitars and vocals, Marty Dieckmeyer on bass guitar, Steve Baxter on guitars and Jerry Chamberlain on lead guitars. The band currently con ...

. A modified version of the poem "The Little Black Boy" was set to music in the song "My Mother Bore Me" from Maury Yeston's musical

Phantom Phantom may refer to: * Spirit (animating force), the vital principle or animating force within all living things ** Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living Aircraft * Boeing Phantom Ray, a stealthy unm ...

. The folk musician Greg Brown recorded sixteen of the poems on his 1987 album '' Songs of Innocence and of Experience'' and by Finn Coren in his ''Blake Project''. The poet

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

believed the poems were originally intended to be sung, and that through study of the rhyme and metre of the works, a Blakean performance could be approximately replicated. In 1969, he conceived, arranged, directed, sang on, and played piano and harmonium for an album of songs entitled ''

Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake, tuned by Allen Ginsberg ''Songs of Innocence and Experience'' is an album by American beat poet and writer Allen Ginsberg, recorded in 1969. For the recording, Ginsberg sang pieces from 18th-century English poet William Blake's illustrated poetry collection of the sam ...

'' (1970). American composer and producer David Axelrod produced two solo albums, Song of Innocence (1968) and Songs of Experience (1969) which were homages to the mystical poetry and paintings of William Blake. The composer William Bolcom completed a setting of the entire collection of poems in 1984. In 2005, a recording of Bolcom's work by Leonard Slatkin, the Michigan State Children's Choir, and the University of Michigan on the Naxos label won four

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

: Best Choral Performance, Best Classical Contemporary Composition, Best Classical Album, and Best Producer of the Year (classical). The composer

completed "Songs of Innocence and of Experience" in 2002, a chamber cycle on the verses by Blake for soprano, clarinet and accordion. It was first performed by the ensemble Accroche-Note of France. Popular group

based their album '' Tyger'' on lyrics by William Blake. Popular rock group U2 released an album called '' Songs of Innocence'' in 2014, and followed it in 2017 with '' Songs of Experience''. Karl Jenkins' Motets includes a setting of The Shepherd. The fictional rock band Infant Sorrow, as featured in the 2008 film '' Forgetting Sarah Marshall'', appears to be named after the Blake poem.

Facsimile editions

The

Huntington Library and Art Gallery The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington (1850–1927) and Arabella Huntington (c.1851–1924) in San Mari ...

in San Marino, California, published a small facsimile edition in 1975 that included sixteen plates reproduced from two copies of ''Songs of Innocence and of Experience'' in their collection, with an introduction by James Thorpe. The songs reproduced were ''Introduction'', ''Infant Joy'', ''The Lamb'', ''Laughing Song'' and ''Nurse's Song'' from ''Songs of Innocence'', and ''Introduction'', ''The Clod & the Pebble'', ''The Tyger'', ''The Sick Rose'', ''Nurses Song'' and ''Infant Sorrow'' from ''Songs of Experience''. Tate Publishing, in collaboration with The William Blake Trust, produced a folio edition containing all of the songs of Innocence and Experience in 2006. A colour plate of each poem is accompanied by a literal transcription, and the volume is introduced by critic and historian Richard Holmes. William Blake, ''Songs of Innocence and of Experience'' edited with an introduction and notes by Andrew Lincoln, and select plates from other copies. Blake's Illuminated Books, vol. 2. William Blake Trust / Princeton University Press, 1991. Based on King's College, Cambridge, copy, 1825 or later. ''Songs of Innocence'' Dover Publications, 1971. Based on copy of Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection, Library of Congress, Copy B, ca. 1790. ''Songs of Experience'' Dover Publications, 1984. Based on "a rare 1826 etched edition," per back cover.

Notes

References

External links

Multiple digital copies of Blake's illustrated versions of the ''Songs of Innocence and of Experience''
at the William Blake Archive
''Songs of Innocence and of Experience''
(1794), from Rare Book Room
''Songs of Innocence and of Experience''
(1826), from Rare Book Room
Link to Ginsberg recordings of the poems
* {{Authority control English poetry collections Artists' books English art Self-published books 1789 poetry books 1794 poetry books 18th-century illuminated manuscripts Books about cats