Songs of Innocence and Experience: Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul, 1789-1794 (Oxford Paperbacks) by William Blake published by Oxford University Press

by William Blake

Excellent Book

Genres: Poetry

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake's work is today considered seminal and significant in the history of both poetry and the visual arts.

Blake's prophetic poetry has been said to form "what is in proportion to its merits the least read body of poetry in the language". His visual artistry has led one modern critic to proclaim him "far and away the greatest artist Britain has ever produced." Although he only once travelled any further than a day's walk outside London over the course of his life, his creative vision engendered a diverse and symbolically rich corpus, which embraced 'imagination' as "the body of God", or "Human existence itself".

Once considered mad for his idiosyncratic views, Blake is highly regarded today for his expressiveness and creativity, and the philosophical and mystical currents that underlie his work. His work has been characterized as part of the Romantic movement, or even "Pre-Romantic", for its largely having appeared in the 18th century. Reverent of the Bible but hostile to the established Church, Blake was influenced by the ideals and ambitions of the French and American revolutions, as well as by such thinkers as Emanuel Swedenborg.

Despite these known influences, the originality and singularity of Blake's work make it difficult to classify. One 19th century scholar characterised Blake as a "glorious luminary", "a man not forestalled by predecessors, nor to be classed with contemporaries, nor to be replaced by known or readily surmisable successors."

Reviews

[Ionela · Rating 5 out of 5]

fuente de inspiración verdadera

[Rahma Djebbari · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's just beautiful ! Beautiful poems suggesting ironic contrasts as the child matures and learns of such concepts as fear and envy.
I really wonder why they said Blake was labeled an eccentric or insane !
I just love it and recommend it to those who appreciate such thing.

[Sarah Main · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t know William Blake was an artist as well as a poet. It’s amazing how much detail and intentionality he put into each illustration in this collection.
When I first heard of these two connected groups of poems, I didn’t like the idea. I thought it was something like the songs of experience nullify the songs of innocence. I prefer the songs of innocence as far as enjoyability goes. After reading them together (trying and mostly failing to find the companion poems and read them back to back) I have more of an appreciation for the work as a whole. They don’t cancel out each other, nor is one more important than the other. They’re two sides of the same coin.
Although I do still prefer the Songs of Innocence for the most part.

[Annamaria Iannuzzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful poems, with incredible insight into the Romantic, Industrialised Great Britain.