To what extent are William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience a societal protest against the institutions of 18th century England?
Emma Allen
To what extent are William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience a societal protest against the institutions of 18th century England? William Blake, born in the 18th century romantic period, was one of
England’s most esteemed poets, as well as a recognised painter and printmaker.
Two of Blake’s most famous collections are The Songs of Innocence and The
Songs of Experience, many of his poems are written in pairs, one in each collection, offering similar themes yet differing perspectives. The Songs of
Innocence, published in 1792 and written in a childs perspective, focuses on the beauty and innocence that all life starts at while The Songs of Experience, published in 1796 and written in an adults perspective, focuses on how the spirit will decay and wither when repressed into the confinements of society. The two collections collaborate to highlight the flaws of 18th century society in England.
Blake brings to light the corruption of the institutions and illustrates his sympathy for mistreated, vulnerable individuals: specifically children as they were forced to conform to the guidelines of civilization, performing dangerous manual labour, as shown mainly in the Chimney Sweep poems; and presenting an idealised image, legitimizing the institutions in the public eye; which is demonstrated profoundly in the coupled Holy Thursday poems. Blake’s Holy Thursday(The Songs of Innocence) begins with the children of the town marching to the church “two and two in red and blue and green”, implying a very militarian, structured conduct. The children walk behind “grey headed beadles””with wands as white as snow”. This possibly indicates the hidden brutality of the church in their disciplinary measures and emphasises the differences between the young innocent children to the punitive officials with the juxtaposition used to describe their clothing. In the second stanza, the children are
To what extent are William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience a societal protest against the institutions of 18th century England? William Blake, born in the 18th century romantic period, was one of
England’s most esteemed poets, as well as a recognised painter and printmaker.
Two of Blake’s most famous collections are The Songs of Innocence and The
Songs of Experience, many of his poems are written in pairs, one in each collection, offering similar themes yet differing perspectives. The Songs of
Innocence, published in 1792 and written in a childs perspective, focuses on the beauty and innocence that all life starts at while The Songs of Experience, published in 1796 and written in an adults perspective, focuses on how the spirit will decay and wither when repressed into the confinements of society. The two collections collaborate to highlight the flaws of 18th century society in England.
Blake brings to light the corruption of the institutions and illustrates his sympathy for mistreated, vulnerable individuals: specifically children as they were forced to conform to the guidelines of civilization, performing dangerous manual labour, as shown mainly in the Chimney Sweep poems; and presenting an idealised image, legitimizing the institutions in the public eye; which is demonstrated profoundly in the coupled Holy Thursday poems. Blake’s Holy Thursday(The Songs of Innocence) begins with the children of the town marching to the church “two and two in red and blue and green”, implying a very militarian, structured conduct. The children walk behind “grey headed beadles””with wands as white as snow”. This possibly indicates the hidden brutality of the church in their disciplinary measures and emphasises the differences between the young innocent children to the punitive officials with the juxtaposition used to describe their clothing. In the second stanza, the children are