William Blake Research Paper

In 1789 William Blake released a collection of poetry called ‘songs of innocence’. This book included iconic poems such as ‘Holy Thursday,’ ‘The Lamb’ and ‘The Little Black Boy.” Five years later Blake paired these poems alongside another collection titled ‘Songs of Innocence and Experience.’ The first few prints were illustrated by Blake himself and came to prove very popular. The two collections individually stand for two different versions of consciousness “Innocence” and “Experience,” but combined these poems illuminate the contrast between both. The word “Innocence” suggests a childlike state before “Experience” inevitably snatches that innocence, as a person matures and becomes aware of the corruption in the world around him. The corruption

“What hand or eye/ could frame they fearful symmetry?” This question seems to ask why God would create such an innocent soft creature such as the lamb, but with the same hand create a creature, the tiger, who nature is to hunt and kill such animals. “Did he who made the Lamb make thee?” Why on one hand would God create something beautiful, but in the same world create something that can destroy it? “In what distant deeps or skies. Burnt the fire of thine eyes? On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand, dare seize the fire?” Talking about the creator the speaker questions the creature of the tiger and why God felt it necessary to bring this fiery creature to life. “And what shoulder, & what art, Could twist the sinews of thy heart? And when thy heart began to beat, what dread hand? & what dread feet?” It appears as if Blake is perhaps questioning the nature of his God. Why has God created a world full of such undeniable evil? The tiger in the poem originally appears to be a literal form of an actual animal tiger but as the poem progresses it become apparent that the tiger is more so a symbol for evil. “The forging” of the tiger suggests that the creature was created in a very physical, deliberate and kind of way. So why would God, the tiger’s creator, put so much effort into crafting such a physically beautiful creature, but

This is not just a picturesque vision of happiness but perhaps a message of corruption a lies amongst the institutions. The first evidence of this is apparent within the first line, the quote “Their innocent clean faces” could possibly suggest that they are not always clean and they have been polished for this occasion. Why would the cleanliness of their faces be mentioned otherwise? Further evidence of this comes in the innocent form of their numbers and the fact they have supervisors. These children apparently come from some large institution, in the romantic era London orphanages were abundant and many tales of children being abused and ill-treated later emerged. “Illegitimate children were handed over to parish officers for some money, London was late for providing welfare for these children in comparison with other European cities” (Martin,2014) Around this time children in these type of institutions would also be gathered and exploited by factory owners to work in mills for cheap or free labor. These were known as the “Parish apprentice children.” The “clean faces,” and the public display of love and charity perhaps conceals the cruelty to which impoverished children of this time were often subjected. Moreover, the orderliness of the children’s march and the ominous “wands” (or