Songs of Innocence and Experience: Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul

Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience

What ideas, images and words spring to mind when you hear the word ‘innocence’?

What ideas, images and words spring to mind when you hear the word ‘experience’?

Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience

Blake believed that life could be viewed from two different perspectives, or "states": innocence and experience.

To Blake, innocence is not better than experience. Both states have their good and bad sides. The positive side of innocence is joy and optimism, while the bad side is naivety. The negative side of experience is cynicism, but the good side is wisdom.

Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience

The division of daily life into periods of "innocence" and "experience" – two sides of the same coin, really – is something that we grapple with every day.

As Blake puts it, they are "the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul." For him, there are no neat divisions between good and evil.

Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience

What's your take?

In your life, are there clear cut boundaries between innocence and experience, good and evil?

Or do you see the world more like Blake did?

Source: http://www.shmoop.com/lamb-blake/

Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience

‘The Ecchoing Green’

How does Blake represent ‘innocence’?

Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience

‘The Ecchoing Green’

How does Blake represent ‘experience’?

Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience

‘The Ecchoing Green’

In your own words, explain how the poem ‘The Ecchoing Green’ captures the benefits of both innocence and experience.

Note: Try to write ONE solid paragraph. Your paragraph should include THREE quotes as evidence to support your ideas.

Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience

‘The Lamb’

Little Lamb, who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee? Gave thee life, and bid thee feed, By the stream and o'er the mead; Gave thee clothing of delight, Softest clothing, woolly, bright; Gave thee such a tender voice, Making all the vales rejoice? Little Lamb, who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee?

‘The Lamb’Symbolism

Dost = Does

Thou = You

Thee = You

Allusion

Apostrophe

Rhetorical Question

Alliteration

Personification

Sensual imagery

Little Lamb, I'll tell thee, Little Lamb, I'll tell thee. He is called by thy name, For He calls Himself a Lamb. He is meek, and He is mild; He became a little child. I a child, and thou a lamb, We are called by His name. Little Lamb, God bless thee! Little Lamb, God bless thee!

‘The Lamb’Repetition

Implied metaphor – Lambs of

God

Allusion

Rhythm: Trochaic

Rhyme scheme:

AA/BB/CC

Refrain

Refrain

First-person:

collective & singular

SYMBOLISMBlake's reasons why lambs are so awesome: they are soft, gentle and happythey are associated with Jesus Christ, whom

the speaker of this poem regards as the saviour of the world

they represent purity and innocencethey are a symbol of the ideal pastoral life

‘The Lamb’

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In the Bible, Jesus is called "The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

This poem ignores the relationship between the lamb and sacrifice.

lambs, as baby sheep, are connected to the theme of childhood that runs throughout the Songs of Innocence. By contrast, Songs of Experience contains only one reference to a lamb.

‘The Lamb’

RHYTHM

A trochee is a kind of rhythm that repeats the pattern of an unstressed beat followed by a stressed one: "Gave thee life & bid thee feed. / By the stream & o'er the mead".

‘The Lamb’

SPEAKER

the speaker sounds young and inexperienced, judging by the simple words and sentence structures he uses

he is a representative for Innocencethe child who narrates this poem clearly belongs to

the world of innocence - excited about everything around him, and takes joy in natural creation

the voice of the poem is a youthful one, full of optimism and still a stranger to despair and defeat

‘The Lamb’

KEY IDEAS

nature is the means by which we learn about God

the nice things in the world prove that God is kind and will guide us innocent lambs through the sunny world

the poem is an expression of the speaker's amazement at connecting the natural and supernatural worlds, in the figure of the lamb.

‘The Lamb’

In this lyrical poem Blake suggests that children and lambs are made in the image of Jesus Christ.

Into the World

The suggestion being made in ‘The Lamb’ is that children come into the world in a pure and spiritual state and should therefore be protected from harm.

Into the World

Blake employs repetition to illustrate his point, evident in the repeated final line ‘Little Lamb, God bless thee.’

Of course the consequences of children being ‘meek & … mild’ in a changing world are obvious – they are easily exploited by the many who wish to advance their own status.

Into the World

It can be argued that Blake is informing the wider public that the value of children is not in their labour but in their gift of innocence and spirituality.

Into the World

How does the use of personification contribute to innocence of the lamb?

Why does the speaker talk directly to the lamb rather than just talking about it?

What kinds of qualities are associated with innocence in this poem?

What might a voice of "experience" have to say about the lamb?

Does the depiction of nature seem realistic or does the speaker see the world through rose-colored glasses?

HOMEWORK

What situation is being represented in this poem?

What attitudes/beliefs are held by individuals in this text?

Who comes into the world in the poem?What experience(s) does the speaker

encounter as he enters the world?How does the speaker in the poem respond to

the different experiences he encounters as part of growing up?

Texts and Society

Does the speaker grow or change as a result of this experience?

Why does this new experience occur?What are the consequences of this

experience?How has Blake used the language and

structural features of poetry to alter your perspective of the young as they enter into the world?

Into the World

‘The Lamb’ Rap