Songs of Innocence and of Experience

Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul are two books of poetry by the English poet and painter, William Blake. Although "Songs of Innocence" was first published by itself in 1789, it is believed that "Songs of Experience" has always been published in conjunction with "Innocence" since its completion in 1794.

"Songs of Innocence" mainly consists of poems describing the innocence and joy of the natural world, advocating free love and a closer relationship with God, and most famously including Blake's poem The Lamb. Its poems have a generally light, upbeat and pastoral feel and are typically written from the perspective of children or written about them.

Directly contrasting this, "Songs of Experience" instead deals with the loss of innocence after exposure to the material world and all of its mortal sin during adult life, including works such as The Tyger. Poems here are darker, concentrating on more political and serious themes. Throughout both books, many poems fall into pairs, so that a similar situation or theme can be seen in both "Innocence" and "Experience".

Many of the poems appearing in "Songs of Innocence" have a counterpart in "Songs of Experience" with opposing perspectives of the world. The disastrous end of the French Revolution caused Blake to lose faith in the goodness of mankind, explaining much of the volume's sense of despair. Blake also believed that children lost their innocence through exploitation and from a religious community which put dogma before mercy. He did not, however, believe that children should be kept from becoming experienced entirely. In truth, he believed that children should indeed become experienced but through their own discoveries, which is reflected in a number of these poems.Blake believed that innocence and experience were "the two contrary states of the human soul", and that true innocence was impossible without experience.

ongs of Innocence

ongs of Experience

's Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Some of the poems, such as "The Little Girl Lost" and "The Little Girl Found" were moved by Blake to "Songs of Innocence", and were frequently moved between the two books.

Musical settings

Poems from both books have been set to music by many composers, including Ralph Vaughan Williams and Benjamin Britten. Individual poems have also been set by, among others, John Tavener, Jah Wobble, Tangerine Dream. More extensive settings have been made by folk musician Greg Brown on his 1987 album "Songs of Innocence and of Experience" [http://www.gregbrown.org/gbdisco.html#blake] and by Finn Coren in his "Blake Project". The composer William Bolcom set the entire collection of poems in 1984.

A recording of this work from 2004 by the University of Michigan on the Naxos label won 3 Grammy Awards for Best Choral Performance, Best Classical Contemporary Composition, and Best Classical Album.

Nmon Ford also recorded a musical setting of the poems.

External links

* [http://www.rarebookroom.org/Control/blkin1/index.html "Songs of Innocence and of Experience"] (1794), from Rare Book Room
* [http://www.rarebookroom.org/Control/blkin2/index.html "Songs of Innocence and of Experience"] (1826), from Rare Book Room
* [http://www.blakearchive.org/exist/blake/archive/work.xq?workid=songsie&java=yes Songs of Innocence and of Experience]