Τα τραγούδια της αθωότητας

by William Blake, Γιώργος Μπλάνας (Translator)

Ένας βοσκός, ένας μικρός καπνοδοχοκαθαριστής, ένα αραπάκι, ένα ζηλιάρικο σπουργίτι, ένα αρνάκι με αγγελική ψυχή, ένα λιοντάρι με ψυχή αθώου αρνιού, μια τρυφερή νταντά, μια μητέρα που μοιάζει με άγγελο, ένας πατέρας που μοιάζει με το Θεό, ένας παππούς που παίζει ακόμη σαν παιδί, ένα χαμένο έντομο, πουλιά, λουλούδια, δέντρα σκιερά και δροσερά ποτάμια, αναλαμβάνουν να μας αποκαλύψουν το αληθινό και αθώο πρόσωπο του κόσμου, με τραγούδια, γεμάτα αισιοδοξία και αγάπη για τη ζωή. Πρέπει, λένε, να ξαναγίνουμε παιδιά, να τραγουδήσουμε για τις απλές χαρές της ζωής. Τότε το καλό και το κακό θα ξαναγυρίσουν στην πηγή τους που είναι η φαντασία και θα γίνουν μια μοναδική δύναμη, η δύναμη να μοιραζόμαστε τη ζωή μας σ' έναν κοινό αγώνα δημιουργίας για το δίκαιο, τη λογική και την ομορφιά.

Τα τραγούδια της Αθωότητας του μεγάλου ρομαντικού ποιητή Ουίλιαμ Μπλαίηκ [1757-1827] κυκλοφορούν για πρώτη φορά στην Ελλάδα, σε ολοκληρωμένη και εικονογραφημένη από τον ίδιο τον ποιητή μετάφραση, κατάλληλη να διαβαστεί και από μικρά παιδιά.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Art, 18th Century, Literature, Fiction, British Literature

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1789

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

[هدى يحيى · Rating 5 out of 5]

When my mother died I was very young,
And my father sold me while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!
So your chimneys I sweep, and in soot I sleep.

There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head,
That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved: so I said,
"Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare,
You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."

And so he was quiet; and that very night,
As Tom was a-sleeping, he had such a sight, -
That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack,
Were all of them locked up in coffins of black.

And by came an angel who had a bright key,
And he opened the coffins and set them all free;
Then down a green plain leaping, laughing, they run,
And wash in a river, and shine in the sun.

Then naked and white, all their bags left behind,
They rise upon clouds and sport in the wind;
And the angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,
He'd have God for his father, and never want joy.

And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark,
And got with our bags and our brushes to work.
Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm;
So if all do their duty they need not fear harm.

[Olga · Rating 4 out of 5]

A period of innocence is our childhood. It is Paradise on earth. It is the happiest and the most carefree period of human life. It is the time when children are in unity with the nature and free of sin. God is near and the angels are seen and heard.

A DREAM

Once a dream did weave a shade,
O'er my Angel-guarded bed,
That an Emmet lost it's way
Where on grass methought I lay.

Troubled wilderd and forlorn
Dark benighted travel-worn,
Over many a tangled spray
All heart-broke I heard her say.

O my children! do they cry
Do they hear their father sigh.
Now they look abroad to see,
Now return and weep for me.

Pitying I dropp'd a tear:
But I saw a glow-worm near:
Who replied. What wailing wight
Calls the watchman of the night.

I am set to light the ground,
While the beetle goes his round:
Follow now the beetles hum,
Little wanderer hie thee home

[Kenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

For Mercy has a human heart
Pity, a human face:
And Love, the human form divine,
And Peace, the human dress.
Songs of Innocence ~~~ William Blake


The need to read was strong today. I needed to silence the voices of Mrs. Dalloway and her guests. Songs of Innocence did so beautifully.



Blake's Songs of Innocence juxtapose the innocent, pastoral world of childhood against an adult world of corruption and repression; while such poems as "The Lamb" represent a meek virtue, poems like "The Tyger" exhibit opposing, darker forces. The collection explores the value and limitations of two different perspectives on the world. This was a beautiful read.

[Manny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Celebrity Death Match Special: Auguries of Innocence versus Inside Out

Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine.
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine.
It is right, it should be so;
Man was made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know,
We will off to Pixar go.

Match abandoned after players discover their true nature and just want to hug each other

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this isn’t U2’s best album, and I appreciate they really cheesed some people off by auto-downloading it to their iPhones a while back, I really feel that Bono and the boys gave their…

Sorry? What’s that?

This joke is too crappy even by my standards?

Fine…

William Blake serves up some really wonderful poetry and illustrations in this collection, works that were really very progressive for the time in which they were written and are genuinely very moving.

While it’s a bit like comparing oranges and apples, I think it’s fair to say this book is better than the U2 album that’s named after it.

I’m sorry; I can’t help it; it’s a medical condition.

The Little Boy Lost

‘Father! father! where are you going?
O do not walk so fast.
Speak, father, speak to your little boy,
Or else I shall be lost.’

The night was dark, no father was there;
The child was wet with dew;
The mire was deep, and the child did weep,
And away the vapour flew.

My next book: The Book of Thel

[Χαρά Ζ. · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4,5

Blake seemed like a weirdo, and at the same time, seemed like the coolest dude ever. Beautifully written. This felt majestic.
Damn, i really love reading poetry and Blake reminded me why.

[Eliasdgian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Θέλοντας να γράψω δυο λόγια για τα 'Τραγούδια της αθωότητας', μοιραία θα επιχειρήσω μια αναδρομή, ένα σύντομο ταξίδι στο χρόνο. Είναι η επιστροφή στο έτος 1997, στα δικά μου χρόνια της αθωότητας, όταν η μοίρα το θέλησε και απέκτησα το πιο εμβληματικό έργο του William Blake, τους 'Γάμους του Ουρανού και της Κόλασης' (εκδ.: Νεφέλη, μετ.: Χάρης Βλαβιανός). Θυμάμαι το φυλλομέτρημα των σελίδων του, τις εικονογραφήσεις των ποιημάτων (που σχεδίασε, χάραξε και χρωμάτισε ο ίδιος ο W. Blake), την κατάδυση στην κοσμολογία του πιο μεγάλου ρομαντικού ποιητή.

Τα 'Τραγούδια της αθωότητας' υμνούν την πλάση και τον Δημιουργό της. Είναι ωδές στη χαρά και τον άνθρωπο, μουσικές μιας φλογέρας που άλλοτε παίζει και άλλοτε σωπαίνει, παιδικές φωνές και χάχανα, ελλεγείες και όνειρα. Ο ίδιος ο ποιητής εισάγει τον αναγνώστη του στο ποιητικό σύμπαν των δεκαοκτώ 'τραγουδιών', καταλήγοντας στην Εισαγωγή του: "And I made a rural pen/And I stain'd the water clear/And I wrote my happy songs/Every child may joy to hear''.

Ακολουθώντας τις υποδείξεις του, θα διαβάσω όλα του τα τραγούδια στο γιο μου και είμαι σίγουρος ότι, όπως η πυγολαμπίδα φώτισε το σκοτεινό χορτάρι για να βρει ξανά το δρόμο του το ξεστρατισμένο μερμύγκι ('A dream'), έτσι κι η δική του 'ποιητική' αντίληψη των πραγμάτων θα ακολουθήσει με χαρά το μονοπάτι που υποδεικνύει ο ποιητής.

Ας διαφυλάξουμε για το τέλος τρία τετράστιχα σπάνιας ομορφιάς, μια πραγματεία στη λύπη του άλλου ('On Another's Sorrow'): "Can I see another's woe,/And not be in sorrow too?/Can I see another's grief,/And not seek for kind relief?/Can I see a falling tear,/And not feel my sorrow's share?/Can a father see his child/Weep, nor be with sorrow fill'd?/Can a mother sit and hear/An infant groan an infant fear?/No, no! never can it be!/Never, never can it be!

[Οδυσσέας Μουζίλης · Rating 5 out of 5]

Μείον πέντε αστέρια για την μετάφραση!

https://pepperlines.blogspot.gr/2017/...

[Helga چـو ایـران نباشد تن من مـباد · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

How can the bird that is born for joy
Sit in a cage and sing?


This is a collection of poems by William Blake with the notion of studying innocence versus experience.

THE ANGEL
I dreamt a dream! What can it mean?
And that I was a maiden Queen
Guarded by an Angel mild:
Witless woe was ne’er beguiled!
And I wept both night and day,
And he wiped my tears away;
And I wept both day and night,
And hid from him my heart’s delight.
So he took his wings, and fled;
Then the morn blushed rosy red.
I dried my tears, and armed my fears
With ten thousand shields and spears.
Soon my Angel came again;
I was armed, he came in vain;
For the time of youth was fled,
And grey hairs were on my head.

[Noah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too innocent.

[Kitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love reading this illustrated version. These are poems I read when my spirit is flagging and I've lost my inner child. It's good to take one on a walk, memorize some lines, then return home, with a "rural pen", imagine sitting inside a flower, reflect on another's sorrow, or the Chimney Sweeper, on infant's joy, listen for laughter in the woods, say a prayer to Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love, say out loud the poem "Night" to the lost little boy and girl. This and Songs of Experience were given to me by a friend 40 years ago, when we were seniors in high school. I pulled it out, today after memorizing "Tyger" . Tomorrow I'll memorize "Night".

[Daniel Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, but I have it in confidence from a friend that it is not so reliable when it comes to the matter of chimney sweeps.

[Descending Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first part of Blake's 2 volume poetry collection. 19 poems. While being the weaker volume, it is a solid collection. Highlights ~ "the ecchoing green" "the divine image" "night" and "on another's sorrow"

[Logan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Zero bars

[M]

Despite William Blake believing in the ideal self as separate from the world, I think there's a lot about modern people that makes Blake incomprehensible to us. I usually hate the practice of positioning artists in time and place. It feels a bit like keeping butterflies, pinned and preserved, organized with labels in drawers and lording over them. The most remarkable artists were always not of their time and place, really. Something about them rose above the fray, yet we study them as examples of a type.

The imagery in Blake's poems is distinctively rural ideal as also presented in literature prior to it, including the Bible. Blake did not like dogma. He was an individualist with a personally constructed mythology. All of the figures and images in Blake's poems are available to us in real life or literature, but competing with what they would have meant to him in his time is the artifice of more than 100 years of cinematic history that has somewhat destroyed our ability to connect with how someone of his time would have understood them. Thankfully we have his illustrations as guides to the poetry, but even they have been stylistically robbed from by many artists since (Maurice Sendak, for one). I am saying that William Blake feels like an incomprehensible mystery to me at some level, even though I recognize plenty as familiar. Not every writer/artist of his time feels prohibitively remote, though, far from it.

[Kai Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It feels like cheating doing this separate from Songs of Experience but we just happen two separate books instead of the 2 in 1. This really lives up to its name, being mostly about children and being very sweet and wholesome. Definitely some mid poems but also some great ones and ofc the format of having the illustrations interwoven is just so impressive. I particularly loved The Little Black Boy, The Divine Image, Little Girl Lost / Little Girl Found . This was before a lot of Blake's mysticism comes out but we get the seeds of it especially in The Divine Image , this idea that god is actually what is present in us, not something outside of us. It was also very interesting to see Blake's abolitionist side shown in The Little Black Boy (he was a relatively early adopter of the political stance). Anyway this was very wholesome and sweet but not mind blowing or anything. 3.5

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

"For he hears the lambs’ innocent call.
And he hears the ewes' tender reply;
He is watchful while they are in peace.
For they know when their shepherd is nigh."
—
“And can He who smiles on all
Hear the wren with sorrows small,
Hear the small bird's grief and care.
Hear the woes that infants bear—

And not sit beside the nest,
Pouring pity in their breast,
And not sit the cradle near,
Weeping tear on infant's tear?

[...]

He doth give His joy to all:
He becomes an infant small.
He becomes a man of woe,
He doth feel the sorrow too.

Think not thou canst sigh a sigh.
And thy Maker is not by:
Think not thou canst weep a tear,
And thy Maker is not near.

O He gives to us His joy.
That our grief He may destroy:
Till our grief is fled and gone
He doth sit by us and moan."

[Kaleb Hargous · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poems that stood out:
The Little Black Boy
The Chimney Sweeper
The Divine Image
On Another’s Sorrow

Definitely enjoyed seeing the parallels between this art form during the Romanticism period in England and the Transcendental period back in the US.

A lot of finding Mercy, Pity, Love, and Peace through the changing English landscape of industrialization against the former agriculture - Blake touches on the new audience of the poor farmers who are losing themselves in this new world of censorship and the imperialism of goods.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had forgotten how lovely Blake's poems are--it's been more than a decade since I've read him. The girls enjoyed the imagery the language, and I appreciated the inclusion of the reproductions of the original illustrations and text. I have a few quibbles about the organization of the book, but overall, a delightful Morning Time read.

[Ulysses · Rating 4 out of 5]

When my mother died I was very young,
And my father sold me while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!
So your chimneys I sweep, and in soot I sleep.
There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head,
That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved: so I said,
"Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare,
You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."
And so he was quiet; and that very night,
As Tom was a-sleeping, he had such a sight, -
That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack,
Were all of them locked up in coffins of black.
And by came an angel who had a bright key,
And he opened the coffins and set them all free;
Then down a green plain leaping, laughing, they run,
And wash in a river, and shine in the sun.
Then naked and white, all their bags left behind,
They rise upon clouds and sport in the wind;
And the angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,
He'd have God for his father, and never want joy.
And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark,
And got with our bags and our brushes to work.
Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm;
So if all do their duty they need not fear harm.

[Alexandria · Rating 5 out of 5]

"How can the bird that is born for joy
Sit in a cage and sing?
How can a child, when fears annoy,
But droop his tender wing,
And forget his youthful spring?"

[Jenn Avery · Rating 4 out of 5]

William Blake, in many ways, polarizes innocence and experience in his book of poems Songs of Innocence and of Experience. His exploration of these are literally separated by a frontispiece and title page. Moreover, he marks the primary differences between innocence and experience by showing the evolution of poems — “Infant Joy” in the first half becomes “Infant Sorrow” in the second, for example.

For Blake, there is, I think, a too-clean cut between the states of innocence and of experience. But then again, such dichotomy reflects the nature of each enterprise well. Innocence is an extremely isolated state, as it is pure and even natural (if you’re a Romantic). Experience, on the other hand, is dredged in the muck of “reality:” labor, questions of faith, and urbanization.

What strikes me most as I read Songs is Blake’s moderate suggestion that innocence and experience should be considered as separate but also inseparable. They are, like husband and wife, clearly bound to each other. A colleague of mine argued that they are actually the same thing (based on his analysis of Blake’s “call and answer” style — I was very nearly convinced but refuse to be completely convinced about anything).

Experience comes from innocence.

But can innocence come from experience?

The voice of almost every poem in Songs is one of searching for a leader. The chosen leader, however, appears to be one that brings the child — literal and figurative — out of innocence and into experience. As the last plate (sometimes considered the penultimate plate) relays: we, readers, have followed leaders who “wish to lead others when they should be led.”

In “The Little Boy Lost,” the child searches for his “father” who can’t be found. He is led, instead, to his mother in “The Little Boy Found.” But does she lead him astray?

Is the missing “father” and substitute mother what leads the child to the Tygers and, as a result, toward experience?

[Ⰰⱃⰿⰰⱀⰴ Ⱆⰾⰴⰵⱃⰻⰽⱁ Ⱅⰵⱄⰾⰰ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Konzor
Zagreb, 2001.
Preveo i priredio Luko Paljetak
U ediciji "Vrhovi svjetske književnosti".
Omanja zbirka od devetnaest pjesama uz Blakeove crteže.
Jezik je pripovjedački, ako se uzme u obzir da se radi o poeziji, unutar pjesme često postoji "pripovjedno ja", čak se gdjegdje javlja i dijalog. Time se stvara epski ugođaj, no epskost ne postoji u samoj formi pjesme.
Pjesme su lirske forme s epskim ugođajem.
Tematika je idilično-biblijska. Topos locusa amoenusa je učestal. Životinje su česta tema pjesama, ponajviše ovca i lav.
Izrazito naivan pristup bivstvovanju. Bez ikakve dijalektike. Toliko naivan da je na razini libtarda. Blake upozorava na patnju kao takvu, čak i patnju životinja. Ponekad zvuči podosta patetično i licemjerno, zasigurno postoje razine virtue signalinga.
Čitajući ove pjesme izvorno objavljene 1789. imate dojam kao da su objavljene jučer. Sigurno postoji razina svevremenosti jezika i u originalu, no znajući da je ovo vrckasti Paljetak preveo, ne smije se smetnuti s uma da je on jezik prijevoda ludizirao. Ne navodim ovo kao kritiku ili neki odraz nestručnosti prijevoda. A opet, pa Blake pripada romantizmu, nije Blake bio neki klasicistički serator.
Nisam nikada bio fan poezije. Radi toga, a i virtue signalinga, je bačena trojka.
Pročitah ovo kao istinski šišmiš romantizma.
Svatko tko cijeni romantizam treba ovo pročitati!
Hasta luego!

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple and full of joy. These poems are the perfect blend of weird, bizarre, beautiful, and artistic. The artwork that accompanies them is equally bizarre. They are almost disturbing. Disturbing, maybe more intriguing than disturbing. No a mix of both. A great mix of both, one that had me whispering the poems as I read. Very good. It only reassures my growing love for 19th century art and poetry.

[Shane Moore · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was interesting to see the earlier work of a famous poet, especially reproduced with all the original art and settings. Unfortunately, there's a good reason that I encountered Blake's later in school and not his early stuff. Some of the entries were stronger than others, but none of them made me want to memorize them.

[Cleah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Can we *please* keep this hyper-Christian crap *away* from secondary school students instead of encouraging them to read it? I mean, I'll enjoy tearing it to shreds during their final exams but, ye gods. Also, this contains some of the dullest nature imagery I've read in a while. Yes, I know it's the period - but come on, not *all* Romantics are *this* obnoxious!

[Andy Hickman · Rating 4 out of 5]

• Songs of Innocence

Introduction (to Songs of Innocence), William Blake *** - A Piper charms both child and cloud, e.g. “And I made a rural pen, / And I stained the water clear, / And I wrote my happy songs / Every child may joy to hear.”

The Shepherd *** - Delightful and idealistic. "How sweet is the Shepherds sweet lot, / From the morn to the evening he strays: / He shall follow his sheep all the day / And his tongue shall be filled with praise.", etc

The Echoing Green **** – Sweet memories of childhood, e.g. “The Sun does arise, / And make happy the skies” … “While our sports shall be seen / On the Ecchoing Green” … “And sport no more seen / On the darkening Green.”

The Lamb *** - There is a tenderness in Blake’s observations and writings, and the suggestion of the Divine, e.g. “Little Lamb, who made thee?”

The Little Black Boy **** - This is actually rather intense and I suspect it is a genuine early attempt at class equality. Beautiful in its imagery, e.g. “But I am black as if bereav’d of light.”

The Blossom *** - a splash of merriment.

The Chimney Sweeper ***** - Wow! 5 stars simply out of respect for that generation of young people who were so badly treated by a society lacking discernment and empathy. “When my mother died I was very young, / And my father sold me while yet my tongue / Could scarcely cry 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! / So your chimneys I sweep, and in soot I sleep..”

The Little Boy Lost **** - This poem (THE Little Boy Lost, from Songs of Innocence) is often mistaken for its corresponding one “(A Little Boy Lost, from Songs of Experience). The description on this Goodreads entry is wrong, the quote “Nought loves..” is from the other poem.
This poem (“THE..”) is heartfelt and opens with, “Father, father, where are you going?”

The Little Boy Found *** - A sequel to The Little Boy Lost, it opens with "The little boy lost in the lonely fen, / Led by the wandering light..."

Laughing Song *** - Delighting in nature, e.g. “Come live, and be merry, and join with me, / To sing the sweet chorus of 'Ha ha he!'”

A Cradle Song *** - As in The Shepherd, The Lamb, and The Laughing Song, there is a tenderness in Blake’s observations and writings, e.g. "Sleep, sleep, beauty bright, / Dreaming in the joys of night; / Sleep, sleep; in thy sleep / Little sorrows sit and weep.”

The Divine Image *** - Blake had an authentic love for God, humanity and all creation, e.g. “For all must love the human form, / In heathen, Turk, or Jew; / Where Mercy, Love, and Pity dwell / There God is dwelling too.”

Holy Thursday *** - Observing the attendees of Maundy Thursday church service in London, “.. It is eternal winter there.”

Night **** - This is an emotive and evocative poem utilising Isaiah 11:6-8. At first reading I imagine a powerful lion acting in non-conformity as a guardian angel. How about that opening stanza? “The sun descending in the West, / The evening star does shine; / The birds are silent in their nest, / And I must seek for mine…” Also, “Farewell green fields and happy groves, / Where flocks have took delight...”

Spring *** - Blake loves lambs and the gentle aspects of nature! "Merrily, merrily to welcome in the year."

Nurse’s Song *** - Blake is a complete romantic idealist! Love it! “When voices of children are heard on the green, / And laughing is heard on the hill, / My heart is at rest within my breast, / And everything else is still.”

Infant Joy *** - Blake is not as dark and melancholy as the other Romantics. There is a simple gratitude in his writings, e.g.
“'I have no name; / I am but two days old.' / What shall I call thee? / 'I happy am, / Joy is my name. / Sweet joy befall thee! … ”

A Dream **** - Blake’s tenderness is combined with lament in this beautiful poem of longing, e.g. “'I am set to light the ground, / While the beetle goes his round: / Follow now the beetle's hum / Little wanderer, hie thee home!’”

On Another's Sorrow *** - Empathy that is both human and divine are revealed in this tender poem, e.g. “Can I see another's woe, / And not be in sorrow too? / Can I see another's grief, / And not seek for kind relief?"

The Little Girl Lost *** - Lyca goes wandering, “In futurity / I prophesy / That the earth from sleep / (Grave the sentence deep)…”

The Little Girl Found *** - Part 2 of ‘The Little Girl Lost’. “All the night in woe / Lyca's parents go / Over valleys deep, / While the deserts weep.”

The Schoolboy **** - Tender with longing and joy, e.g. “I love to rise in a summer morn, / When the birds sing on every tree; / The distant huntsman winds his horn, / And the skylark sings with me: / O what sweet company!”
Is this where Maya Angelou got the concept of “How can the bird that is born for joy / Sit in a cage and sing?”?


The Voice of the Ancient Bard *** - This poem flows delightfully and almost comes across like an expanded proverb of admonition to young people contrasting wisdom and folly.
“Youth of delight, come hither,
And see the opening morn,
Image of truth new born.
Doubt is fled, & clouds of reason,
Dark disputes & artful teazing.
Folly is an endless maze,
Tangled roots perplex her ways.
How many have fallen there!
They stumble all night over bones of the dead,
And feel they know not what but care,
And wish to lead others, when they should be led.”

[Mary Tuley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find Blake difficult and ornery, yet I admire this collection.

[Eslam الغني · Rating 5 out of 5]

لو لم تدرس الشعر الانجليزى فعليك بقراءة أغانى بليك,ولو كنت درست الشعر الانجليزى,ولم تعرف أصلا من هو بليك,فابالتأكيد كان مدرسك لهذه المادة,شخص يدعى أمير شبل الكومى,بس كده:)))

[Michael A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

strange meter, bizarre punctuation, obscure & cryptic meanings, the aesthetic i prefer