Songs of Innocence and of Experience and the Book of Thel

by William Blake

This large print title is set in Tiresias 16pt font as recommended by the RNIB

Genres: Poetry, English Literature

84 pages, Paperback

First published July 25, 2007

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

[P.E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Review to come]

[Maryam]

I studied William Blake’s poetry in around 4 classes or more, but reading it for pure pleasure is a whole different experience. His poetry accompanied me for a while, and honestly, there’s not much more to say except that it’s been really good company. Blake’s words make you appreciate the little things and, most of all remind you that nothing lasts forever. Yet, he also deals with huge themes and social issues with such simplicity and emotion that it really shows how crucial it is to discuss these topics through art. Give him any subject and he’ll treat it with a tender of a true lover. His words linger in my thoughts, it’s going to be hard to set the book back on the shelf and part ways.

[Pepca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This edition of Poems of William Blake consists of three parts.

Songs of Innocence are cheesy, cliched, religion-inspired material.

Songs of Experience, including the infamous 'The Tyger', 'The Garden of Love', 'The Human Abstract', and others are reflective pieces inviting contemplation.

The Book of Thel was too symbolic for my current state of mind, so I turned to Wikipedia to grasp the gist of it.

So, 3 stars are medium rating for the whole, but I think I will revisit some individual poems from the Songs of Experience section in the future.

[Tait Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

These poems represent the more coherent and comprehensible of the man's enormous corpus of work, although they remain replete with his ordinary dynamism, imagery, and infinitude of interpretation.

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Songs of Innocence: 1 star
Songs of Experience: 4 stars
Book of Thel: 4 stars

[Brett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am almost completely ignorant when it comes to poetry. I generally don't understand it, but I appreciate it. I want to understand it. So I listened to William Blake's poems on audiobook (free at www.librivox.org). I really enjoyed it. I am no literary critic, nor can I compare this to other poets really, but I found it simple and accessible.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. However, I'm reading from a Project Gutenburg copy of this book and I suspect it may not have the complete works attributed to this book.