English 12 / Unit 4: Romantic Poets
4.3 William Blake
Notes
William Blake (1757 to 1827) was a poet, engraver and visionary. Songs of Innocence (1789) and Songs of Experience (1794) show two views of the human soul.
- Innocence: trust, joy, childhood, simple language. "The Lamb" asks, "Little Lamb who made thee?"
- Experience: awareness of suffering, corruption and injustice. "The Tyger" asks, "What immortal hand or eye, / Could frame thy fearful symmetry?"
- Paired poems (The Lamb and The Tyger) contrast gentleness and fearsome power, and ask what kind of creator would make both.
- Blake criticized child labor, the church and industrial society, as in "The Chimney Sweeper."
Practice
Which pair best describes the focus of Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience?
Blake presented two contrary states of the soul.
"Tyger Tyger, burning bright, / In the forests of the night; / What immortal hand or eye, / Could frame thy fearful symmetry?" What question does the speaker ask?
The speaker wonders about the creator who made something both beautiful and terrifying.
Blake's poem "The Chimney Sweeper" expresses concern about:
Blake highlighted the exploitation of poor children.
Ready for more? Take the Unit 4 test.