Due Apr 24
The Dialectic of Innocence and Experience
William Blake published his Songs of Experience in 1794, five years after The Songs of Innocence—and five years into the French Revolution. Like many young intellectuals in England and Germany, Blake had sympathized with the revolutionary cause in France, but by 1794 the Reign of Terror was in full swing. It’s hard not to see a connection between the disappointment of political idealism in France and Blake’s poetic dialectic in layering experience atop innocence—but is it just a historical coincidence? We’ll explore this possible correlation in class.
Reading/Viewing: William Blake, Songs of Innocence and of Experience, selections (Blake.pdf, on Blackboard). You can also view the images from Blake’s book here on the course website.
Writing: Respond to ONE of the following prompts. Keep your response short, posting as a reply under the appropriate heading in the comments section:
- The Poetry of Sentiment: Blake often prioritizes emotion over reason, sensibility over sense. Highlight a moment that arouses an emotional response and comment on the specific emotion he evokes: joy? sorrow? pity? outrage?
- Appeals to Social Reform: highlight a moment where Blake advocates for social change and comment on his rhetorical appeal.
- Appeals to Heaven: highlight a moment where Blake looks to God to redress social ills. Does looking to God preclude social reform?
- Blake’s Dialectic: highlight a moment where poems from the second volume engage with the themes from the first one. What relationship do you see: natural maturation? disillusionment? bitter irony?
The Poetry of Sentiment
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Appeals to Social Reform
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Appeals to Heaven
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Blake’s Dialectic
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One of the most clear examples of Blakes dialect between songs of innocence and Songs of Appearance is in The Chimney Sweeper. The speaker processes his suffering through imagination and hope, believing that if he is good then god will reward him. However, in the experience version of the story the illusion is stripped away. The speaker condemns his parents and society, revealing maturity and a sense of disillusionment.