Questions tagged [songs-of-experience]
Questions about the collection of poems entitled 'Songs of Experience' by William Blake, published in 1794. These poems are usually published together with the earlier 'Songs of Innocence' from 1789 and then given the title 'Songs of Innocence and of Experience'. Use this tag with the [william-blake] tag.
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Does Blake appeal to his readers' faith in the last stanza of “Holy Thursday”?
Here is the poem "Holy Thursday" from Songs of Experience by William Blake:
Is this a holy thing to see,
In a rich and fruitful land?
Babes reduced to misery,
Fed with cold and usurious hand.
...
8
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0answers
249 views
What is the deeper meaning of Blake's “The Lily”?
The poem "The Lily" by William Blake must be one of the shortest of his Songs of Innocence and of Experience collection, only four lines long:
The modest Rose puts forth a thorn,
The humble sheep ...
2
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1answer
270 views
Could “mark” in “London” by William Blake be meant as a name?
Stanza 1 of "London" by William Blake is as follows:
I wander thro' each charter'd street,
Near where the charter'd Thames does flow.
And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of ...
6
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0answers
403 views
Is the comparison in “The Clod and the Pebble” between different types of love?
The poem "The Clod and the Pebble" from William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience (which you can read online) is just three verses long and compares two different descriptions of love, ...
4
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1answer
571 views
Is there any significance to Blake's choice of the name Lyca?
The twinned poems "The Little Girl Lost" and "The Little Girl Found" from William Blake's Songs of Experience (available to read online) are about a little girl called Lyca who gets lost from her ...
4
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1answer
3k views
What is the meaning of Blake's poem “The Sick Rose”?
William Blake's very short poem "The Sick Rose", from his Songs of Innocence and of Experience, runs as follows:
O rose, thou art sick!
The invisible worm,
That flies in the night,
In ...
6
votes
2answers
3k views
What are the “mind-forged manacles”?
From "London", a short poem in William Blake's Songs of Experience collection (free to read online):
In every cry of every man,
In every infant’s cry of fear,
In every voice, in every ban,
...
4
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0answers
114 views
Bright or brightly?
A little known fact is that William Blake was a talented musician who would sing his poems. Unfortunately no sheet music of his poems exist, meaning the actual melodies he specifically used are ...
7
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1answer
259 views
Are Songs of Experience and Songs of Innocence actually songs? Or is the word song a metaphor?
William Blake's Songs of Experience and Songs of Innocence have the word "song" in their title. Why is that? Are they actually songs? Or is the word "song" a metaphor for something else.
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2answers
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What does “chartered” mean in Blake's poem “London”?
William Blake's short poem "London", from his Songs of Experience collection (which you can read online), starts as follows:
I wander through each chartered street,
Near where the chartered ...
7
votes
1answer
122 views
Why weren't Blake's poems published in their original painted form?
A little known fact about William Blake is that his poems in Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience were published in a painted form. As the article William Blake and the Music of the Songs ...
4
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1answer
492 views
Why are the U2 CDs named after “Songs of Innocence” and “Songs of Experience” by William Blake?
U2 has an album named "Songs of Innocence" and a second, more recent album named "Songs of Experience". These appear to at least be named after the William Blake poetry. What is the relationship ...
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1answer
2k views
How many of the Songs of Innocence and of Experience come in pairs?
Some years ago I studied many of Blake's Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Many of them are very clearly paired up, an Innocence song and an Experience song deliberately written to compare and ...
12
votes
2answers
4k views
What is the deeper meaning of “The Tyger”?
William Blake's poem "The Tyger" is part of his collection Songs of Innocence and of Experience, an extraordinary set of poems which explores ideas such as spirituality, love, poverty, repression, all ...
