1. William Blake: Songs of Innocence and Experience Dr. Theresa Thompson English 2130 Fall 2008

2. Irony  the discrepancy between what is said and what is meant,  what is said and what is done,  what is expected or intended and what happens,  Or what is meant or said and what others understand.  Blake uses the visual to emphasize the irony of the verbal. visual

3. Quiz  In Blake’s poem, “The Lamb,” what do you think the lamb symbolizes and why?  In Blake’s poem, “The Tyger,” what do you think the tiger symbolizes and why?  Do the two symbols create an ironic view? Explain your response.

4. William Blake (1757-1827)  Blakean Romanticism: apocalyptic vision, political fervour, revisions of Christian theology, and psychological exploration.  1782: Marries Catherine Boucher  1788: “All Religions Are One” and “There is No Natural Religion”  1789: French Revolution, the Storming of the Bastille, The Book of Thel and Songs of Innocence  1789 - 1804: The Marriage of Heaven and Hell,The French Revolution, America: A Prophecy, Visions of the Daughters of Albion, The Book of Urizen, Songs of Experience, Europe: A Prophecy, The Book of Los, The Four Zoas

5. From Blake’s All Religions Are One  The outward form reflects the inner and arises from the Poetic Genius.  True man is the imagination, the poetic genius.  The genius forms the body & the body gets shaped from the imagination.  All are alike outwardly, but with infinite variety.  One truth revealed with infinite variety.

6.  Innocence (785) –What type of world does an innocent person see? –What type of world can you, as a reader, see? –The difference between the two perspectives creates irony “The Chimney Sweeper” Innocence & Experience: Companion Poems Create Irony.  Experience (788)  What type of world does experience provide?  Difference between innocent & experienced visions creates more irony.

7. Songs of Innocence  “Introduction”: Voice of the Piper (782)  “The Little Black Boy” (783)  African Slavery and Abolition in England. Slavery and AbolitionSlavery and Abolition  Orthodox Christian duality : Viscious dualism  Christian paradox: Black machine of the body contains the white ghost of the soul.  “Holy Thursday” (784)  Key to Blake: Human Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love have power -- momentarily -- to create once again the lost state of childhood.

8. Songs of Experience Takes two songs to introduce this world of oppositions. “Introduction”: male bard. (785) “Earth’s Answer”: female earth. Male/ Female relationships are “sick” in orthodox religious practice & belief. Male/ Female relationships are “sick” in orthodox religious practice & belief. The Sick Rose “O rose, thou art sick! The invisible worm, That flies in the night, In the howling storm, Has found out thy bed Of crimson joy, And his dark secret love Does thy life destroy.” Two Views of God’s intentions. Compare “The Tyger” Tyger to Songs of Innocence’ “The Lamb.”

9. Exams  24 hour rule: DO NOT TALK TO ME ABOUT THE EXAMS FOR 24 HOURS.  Grade Curve: Top grade was 97% correct. Bottom grade, only 3% correct.  Grade Distribution, for two sections:  As=11  Bs=13  Cs=12  Ds=8  Fs=29