The Poems of William Blake

The Poems of William Blake

What have you understood, from reading the poems of William Blake?

William Blake, a late 18th century English Romantic poet uses

traditional forms for his poetry in that he blends the ballad, the

nursery rhyme and the hymn. The meaning he constructs from these forms

however is far from traditional. His style was to express very complex

ideas in very simple language and compressing a lot of deep meaning

into often very short poems. Blake was a rebel and was over enjoyed

when the French revolution liberated the repressed underclass. He

wanted social equality but the industrial revolution just widened the

gap between the rich and the poor. He often criticised the

Establishment, especially the Church, for its hypocrisy and he was

against things that prevented the human spirit from being free,

therefore he disliked the rulings of kings and priests. All that

surrounded him had an influence on his poetry.

His poems are separated into innocence and experience, both opposites

as Innocence has the sounds of laughter and joy the images of

simplicity, children being protected, unthreatening animals like the

birds and the lamb also beauty of nature, the roses and the non scary

daylight, brightness and sunshine reflecting the creator's warm love.

Next, experience which is something which you bring to yourself as

time passes; here we hear sounds of crying, weeping, sighing and

cursing. We see frightening animals like the tiger also the night

which we associate with darkness, evil and sin. Blake compares

innocence and experience by using; happiness and sadness, health and

sickness, day and night, positive and negative emotions, beautiful

nature and scary nature also the peaceful country a...

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...in. I have learnt about the two

opposite natures and the different states of being, it shows you how

the times have changed and today's children have many more rights, but

nature in all its excellence and beauty is still there and will never

change. It portrays realism and the hardship that not only the

children of that time had to face but all the poor, under privileged

people. He captured his time using realism and the drudgery. He shows

us unspoilt innocence and its saddening and moving how innocence can

never last! Although Blake was not very well known throughout his

life, he became a part of history creating some of the most passionate

poetry of all time. He was an artist of great ability creating amazing

pieces of work with profound simplicity encouraging and inspiring

people around the world. Exercising the minds of many of us still to

this day!