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Introduction (Innocence)
THEMES: nature, youth, religion
CONTENT/MEANING: the poem depicts a piper meeting a young child who instructs him to play his instrument + to write a book of songs
the powem sets the tone for every powm in songs of innocence + frames them to be directed at children
the inclusion of a piper portrays songs of innocence as being simple and unsophisticated
KEY QUOTES: "Piping down the valleys wild"
"Pipe a song about a lamb"
"So i piped: he wept to hear"
"Sing thy songs of happy cheer"
"In a book, that all may read"
"So he vanished from my sight"
"And I stained the water clear"
"Every child may joy to hear"
LANGUAGE: the poem uses a semmantic field of glee + happiness to represent innocence and youth
the poem details natural imagry to represent both an idillic view of the world without corruption + heaven itself
The powm may include an undertone of corruption and taint, since the pure water of the lake becomes stained
FORM + STRUCTURE: the poem is comprised of 5 stanzas with 4 lines each
the rhyming scheme of the poem is ABAB and uses truchaic metre
the structure of the poem is uniqueue as the piper (adult) follows the commands of a child, signifying a reversal in roles
COMPARE TO: London (E), The Garden of Love (E), The Echoing Green (I), The Lamb, Nurse's Song (E + I)
The Echoing Green (Innocence)
THEMES: childhood, adulthood, nature
CONTENT/MEANING: poem details the coming of spring as the elderly watch children play
poem adresses the innocent of children + connection betewen the youth + god
poem symbalises the cylcle of the seasons, as well as the cycle of life in humanity + nature
KEY QUOTES: "The Sun does arise"
"To welcome the Spring"
"on the echoing green"
"old John, with white hair"
"Such, such were the joys"
"The sun does descend"
"And our sports have an end"
"On the darkening green"
LANGUAGE: semantic fields of positivity, nature + youth
old age is described with the same positivity as youth, synbolising a closeness with God
Metaphors used throughout the powm to synbolise the cycles of life + seasons
FORM + STRUCTURE: powm is formed of enclosed rhyming couplets
stanzas are 10 linkes, with a rhyming scheme of AABBCCDDEE
poem is make up of a mix of Iambic + anapestic feet which allude to the energy of the youth
Comparative Poems: London (E), The Garden of Love (E), Nurse's song (I+ E), Introduction
The Lamb (innocence)
Themes: Creation, nature, religion
CONTENT/MEANING: poem is the perspective of someone questioning a lamb on who their creator is
the personal of the powm questions the lamb as they are in awe of the lambs purity + innocence
poem possibly details the perspective of God/jesus telling the land of its creator
KEY QUOTES: "little lamb, who made thee?"
"Gave thee life, and bid thee feed"
"softest clothing, wolly, bright"
"making all the vales rejoice"
"little lamb, i'll tell thee"
"for he calls himself a lamb"
"we are called by his name"
"little lamb, god bless thee!"
LANGUAGE: powm is comprised of a variety of rhetorical q's that are repeated
the poem uses a large amount of natural imagry to portray the idilicness of the natural world
semantic field of positivity is vividly conveyed to emphasise the lambs innocence + youth
FORM/STRUCTURE: poem is formed of several rhyming couplets using predominantly the rhyming pattern of AABBCCDDEE
poem has 2 stanzas with 10 lines each + uses a meter of trochaic tetrameter
poem is a catechism- a series of questions + answers
COMPARATIVE POEMS: The Tiger (E), Introduction (I), The Echoing Green (I), Nurses song (I+E)
The Chimney Sweeper (Innocence)
Themes: Religion, poverty, latw 18th cent eng, london + authority
CONTENT/MEANING: the persona of the poem is a chimney sweeper who lost hos mother + was sold by his father
the persona tells of another child (Tom Dacre) that he comforted
Tom is described as having a dream where an angel frees the chimney sweepers- before it ends they leave for work
KEY QUOTES: "could scarcely cry 'weep! weep! weep! weep!'"
"that curled like a lambs back"
"all of them locked up in coffins of black"
"and by came an angel who had a bright key"
"and wash in a river, and shine in the sun"
"He's have God as his father and never want joy"
"though the mornign was cold, Tom was happy and warm"
LANGUAGE: The poem comtains a mix of sinister lang (in reality) that is contracter to postive lang (in the dream)
ther is externsive use of metaphor through the powm that conveys a child like narrative
the words weep is an illision of sweep
FORM/STRUCTURE: the poem is comprised of 6 stanzas wich each contain 4 lines- two rhyming couplets
powm is made up mainly of alternating iambic + aupastic feet
shift between 1st + 3rd person between reality + dream
COMPARATIVE POEMS: Chimney Sweeper (E), London (E), Holy thursday (E+I)
The Divine Image (Innocence)
Themes: Religion, Humanity, virtue
CONTENT/MEANING: The poem explains that when people pray to god, they pray to one of the four beatitudes (blessings)
these four qualities also form the basis of human characteristics
the powm also details that even those who arent christian deserve equality and the bless or the four beatitudes
KEY QUOTES: "To Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love"
"All pray in their distress"
"and love, the human form divine"
"and peace, the human dress"
"then every man, of every climb"
"prays to the human form divine"
"and all must love the human form"
"in heathen, turk or jew"
LANGUAGE: the poem comtains contains lots of repitition of mercy, pity, peace, love" which emphasie their importance to humanity
semantic fielf of purity is also present which shoes the prescence of god
the indefinite pronoun "all" displays the theme of equality
FORM + STRUCTURE: the poem is compromised of 5 stanzas each containing 4 lines + using an alternating rhyme of ABCB
the poem is formed of quatrains + uses the metre of iambic tetrameter
the perspective of the poem appears of shift between god and human
COMPARATIVE POEMS: The Human Abstract (E) Holy Thursday (I + E) The Garden of Love (E)
Holy Thursday (Innocence)
Themes: religion, youth,nature
CONTENT/MEANING: the poem describes the procession of thousands of children going to St Pauls to sing on Ascenscion day
the poem ends by urging the reason to think of the poor children + that not being charitable is the equivelant of sin
the poem also focuses ont he relationship between innocent children + nature
KEY QUOTES: "Their innocent faces clean"
"walking two and two, in red and blue and green"
"they like Thames Waters flow"
"these flowers of London town"
"multitudes of lambs"
"raising their innocent hands"
"wise guardians of the poor"
"lest you dive an angel from your door"
LANGUAGE: the poem exstensively uses metaphor, similies and synbolism to convey a deeper feeling of beauty + innocence
the town of london is described with a positive semantic field, not fitting with Blakes view of society
an under current of corruption is evident throughout the poem
FORM/STRUCTURE: the poem contains 3 stanzas, with 4 lines each and a rhyming patter of AABB
the poem uses a meter of almost entirely iambic heptameter
the first stanza is a single sentence, synbolising the length of the line of children
the change in meter in some lines could symbolise the corruption of innocence
COMPARATIVE POEMS: Holy Thursday (E), Nurse's Song (I+E), London (E)
Nurse's Song (Innocence)
THEMES: youth, authority, nature
CONTENT/PURPOSE: the poem is from the perspective of a nurse watching children play, which then switches to the dialogue of the children not wanting to stop playing
the children compare themselves to the animals who are still awake
the nurse allows the children to play until nightfall
KEY QUOTES: "when voices of children are heard on the green"
"my heart is at rest within my breast"
"and the dews of night arise"
"till the morning appears in the skies"
"no,no, lets us play, for it is yesterday"
"and the hills are all covered with sheep"
"well, well, go and play till the light fades away"
"and all the hills echoed"
LANGUAGE: the poem uses a very prominant semantic field of nature and positivity
the poem uses a very prominent semantic field of nature + positivity
the poem portrays the adult of the nurse as positive and uses positive because of her dedication to children
although the poem is positive and uses positive imagery, there is a subliminal tone of warning + trepidation
the poem is compised of 4 stanzas that are 4 lines each, with a rhyming scheme of ABCB
the majority of the powm is made up of dialogue between the nurse + children which alternates between stanzas
the metre of the poem changes between iambic + anapestic feet
COMPARATIVE POEM: nurses song (E), Holy Thursday (I)
The Clod and the Pebble (experience)
THEMES: love, religion, corruption
CONTENT/MEANING: the poem depicts an argument between a lump of clay, who argues that love is selfless and a pebble, who argues that love is selfish
the poem gives the reader a dilemma where they must either accept that love is superficial and costly or tha love i selfish + sinful
THE QUOTES: "love seeketh not itself to please"
"nor for itself hath any care"
"and builds a heaven in hells despair"
"so sung a little clod of clay"
"warbled out these metres meet"
"love seeketh only self to please"
"to bind another to its delight"
"and builds a hell in heavens despite"
LANGUAGE: the poem extensively uses contrasts between the first and last stanza e.g "not" "only" "heaven" "hell" "sung" "warbled"
the entire poem uses personification to give an indentity to both the clod of clay and the pebble
the use of binding could be a reference to institutionalised marriage
FORM/STRUCUTURE: the poem is compromised of 3 stanzas that each contain 4 lines of rhyming couplets
the rhyming scheme of the poem is ABAB, with a meter of iambic tetrameter
the shift from iambic to trochaic meter in some lines could symbolise the trodding of the clay
COMPARATIVE POEM: the divine image (I), the human abstract (E)
Holy Thursday (Experience)
THEMES: poverty, youth, religion
CONTENT/MEANING: the powm details the dire situation that large amounts of children in london are forced to live in
the poem also references the idyllic nature of heaven
the poem, although not explicitly detailing the precession of childre into st pauls but does implicitly convey this
KEY QUOTES: "Is this a holy thing to see"
"babes reduced to misery"
"can it be a song of joy"
"it is a land of poverty"
"and their sun does never shine"
"it is eternal winter there"
"babe can never hunger there"
"nor poverty the mind appal"
LANGUAGE: the poem contains semantic field of desperation and corruption to portray a loss of innocence
the poem uses several rhetorical questions to evoke a feeling of horror at the idea of children being mistreated
biblical imagrey is used to portray the perfection of heaven
FORM/STRUCTURE: poem containd 4 stanzas with 4 lines each with a rhyming scheme that alternates between ABAB/ABCB
the poem begins with a metre of iambic, with then alternates to anapestic to represent the breakdown of society
the third/fourth stanza directly contrasts with each othe
The Chimney Sweeper (Experience)
THEMES: youth, authority, religion
CONTENT/MEANING: the poem depicts a speaer asking a child where his parents are who replies that they have gone to church + caused him pain
the child of the poem explains that the reason for their mistreatment is because they shared childlike happiness
the child portrays instituonalised religion as being corrupted by social heirachy
KEY QUOTES: "a little black thing among the snow"
"crying 'weep!' weep!' in notes of woe"
"they are both gone up to the church to pray"
"and smiled among the winters snow"
"they clothed me in the clothes of death"
"and because I am happy and dance and sing"
"and are gone to praise God and his priest and king"
"who made up a heaven of our misery"
LANGUAGE: semantic field of sorrow + cold are present throughout the poem to convey corruption of innocence
pathetic fallacy is used several times to convey how deeply poverty is ingrained in society
tripiling is used in the final stanza to show the corruptive nature of authority
FORM/STRUCURE: the poem is compromised of 3 stanzas, with 4 lines each that use an AABB and then a ABAB rhyme scheme
the poem uses a mix of iambic and anapestic feet
assunance is used throughout the poem to reinforce the nursery rhyme strucure the poem creates
COMPARATIVE POEMS: the chimney sweeper (I), London (E), Holy Thursday (I+E)
Nurse's Song (Experience)
THEMES: youth, authority, corruption
CONTENT/MEANING: the poem depicts a nurse watching children play and hearing their joy where upon she reflects on her own childhood and feels sick + jealous
the nurse instructs the children to go inside + stop playing, to protect them from danfer but in reality is to serve her own contempt of youth
KEY QUOTES: "when the voices of children are heard on the green"
"and whisperings are in the Dale"
"the days of my youth rise fresh in my mind"
"my face turns green and pale"
"then come home, my children, the sun is gone down"
"and the dews of the night arise"
"your sping and your day are wasted in play"
"and your winter and night in disguise"
FORM/STRUCTURE: the poem contains 2 stanzas with 4 lines each with a rhyming scheme of ABCB
the poem uses a mix of iambic and anapestic feet, which undercut the positive tone in the first stanza
the iambic feet of the poem also stress key indicators and are used to put emphasis on certain words
COMPARATIVE POEMS: nurses song (I), both holy thursdays and chimney sweepers , London (e)
The Tiger (Experience)
THEMES: creation, religion, nature
CONTENT/MEANING: the poem depicts a persona marvelling at the power + ferocity of a tiger, before beginning to question why god would introduce such terror to the world
the persona of the poem also wonders if the same god who created such innocent beings as the lamb would be capable of creating a tiger
KEY QUOTES: "tiger, tiger, burning bright"
"what immortal hand or eye"
"what the hand dare seize the fire?"
"what dread hand and what dread feet?"
"In what furnace was thy the brain?"
"did he smile his work to see?"
"did he who made the lamb, make thee?"
"dare frame thy fearful symmetry"
LANGUAGE: the powm is majory comprised of interogatives, which emphasise the idea of creation
alliteration is also repeatably used to enhand the rhythm of the poem, while also sounding like a chant
a semantic field of fire runs through the poem showing untameibility
COMPARATIVE POEMS: the lamb (I), introduction (I) the divine image (I)
The Garden of Love (Experience)
THEMES: Religion, nature and Corruption
CONTENT/MEANING: the poem details a persona entering a garden they used to play on, only to find that a chapel has been build in its place alongside a graveyard
the poem could symbolise adam being cast out of returnin to the garden of eden only to find it corrupted due to the sin of humanity
KEY QUOTES: "i went to the garden of love"
"a chapel was built in the midst"
"where i used to play on the green"
"and the gates of this chapel were shut"
"and 'thou shalt not' writ over the door"
"and tombstones were flowers should be"
"and priests in black growns were walking their rounds"
"and binding with briars, my joys and desires"
LANGUAGE: metaphors are consistantly used to portray religious imagrey of institutions
the quote tho shalt not emphasises the power + limitations of religion
FORM/STRUCTURE: the poem is comprised of 3 stanzas with 4 lines
the first 2 stanzas have a thyme scheme of ABCB which shifts to ABCD
the quotes thou shalt not haults the anapestic trimeter which symbolises the how instituonalised religion break social structure
COMPARATIVE POEMS: the echoing green (I), human abstract (E), the divine image (I), london (E)
The Human Abstract (Experience)
THEMES: virtue, religion, humanity
CONTENT/MEANING: the persona of the poem argues that the 4 virtues mercy, pity, peace + love could not exist without sin + darkness
the fourth virtue of love has a notable lack of emphasis, which could suggest humanity's corruption of love
the poem also suggesting that humans are the cause of poverty
KEY QUOTES: "if we did not make somebody poor"
"then cruelty knits a snare"
"and spreads his baits with care"
"he sits down with his holy fears"
"of mystery over his head"
"and it bears the fruit of deceit"
"but their search was all in vain"
"there grows one in the human brain"
LANGUAGE: the language of the poem creates a dichotomy as it details that good can only exist with bad
sin is personified in the poem which further emphasises the ide that humanity is corrupt
the abstract noun phrase of the title presents a shift from an image to a distortion
FORM/STRUCTURE: The poem is comprised of 6 stanzas with 4 lines each and uses an AABB rhyme scheme
the metre of the poem constantly shifts, possible to symbolise the breakdown of humanity
the simplicity of the rhyming couplets could further emphasise corruption
COMPARATIVE POEM: the divine image (i) holy thursdays and the garden of love
London (Experience)
THEMES: poverty, religion, nature
CONTENT/MEANING: the poem depicts a persons wandering through the streets of london and remarking on the amount of poverty
the poem explains that those in power + other powerful positions are responsible for poverty
the poem also details the universality of the corrupting nature of institutions
KEY QUOTES: "i wander through each chartered street"
"marks of weakness, marks of woe"
"in every cry of every man"
"in every voice, in every ban"
"every blackening church appals"
"runs in blood down palace walls"
"how the youthful harlots curse"
"and blrights with plagues the marriage hearse"
LANGUAGE: oxymoron and juxtaposition are used to display how the city of london has been corrupted
the repetition of several words also portrays the idea of universal suffering
a semantic field of sorrow runs through the entire poem
FORM/STRUCTURE: The poem is comprised of 4 stanzas that contains 4 lines each and uses an ABAB rhyme scheme
the poem uses iambic tetrameter which convents the same rhythm as footsteps walking on the street
the shift in meter to anapaestic bimeter in stanza 3 emphasises the churches corruption
COMPARATIVE POEMS: the echoing green (I) both holy thursdays and both chimney sweepers
Key Poems Innocence
The Divine Image
Nurse's Song
The Echoing Green
Holy Thursday
The Chimney Sweeper
Key Poems Experience
The Human Abstract
Nurse's Song
London
The Garden of Love
Holy Thursday
The Chimney Sweeper
