William Blake, Songs of Experience

David Punter (University of Bristol)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.06: English Writing and Culture of the Romantic Period, 1789-1837.
Vol. editors: Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Daniel Robinson (Widener University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1794

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poem collection

Resources

The Songs of Innocence and of Experience is probably Blake's most famous work. The Songs of Innocence were originally published in 1789, and the two sets of poems together appeared in 1794. But when we say “published” we have to be, as always with Blake, aware that they were not published in any conventional sense; rather Blake himself prepared a number of copies, each consisting of Plates on which words and visual images mingle and intertwine. No two copies are identical; furthermore there are variations in the arrangement of the poems and even occasional differences as to which sequence a poem belongs to.

Songs of Innocence have often been described as exemplary poems of childhood, and this was very m…

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1632 words

Citation: Punter, David. "Songs of Experience". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 July 2001 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2004, accessed 25 November 2024.]

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