Infant Joy, written by William Blake, is a poem that celebrates the joy and innocence of a newborn child. The poem is written in the voice of the child, who describes their experience of being born and entering the world.
The poem begins with the child declaring, "I have no name," suggesting their newfound existence and lack of identity. The child then describes the sensations of being held and cuddled by their mother, saying "I am the softest thing/ That ever was born." This description conveys the child's vulnerability and dependence on their mother for love and care.
Throughout the poem, the child expresses a sense of wonder and awe at the world around them. They describe the sights, sounds, and feelings of their surroundings, saying "I am the joy of the tender-aged/ I am the primeval glory." The child's use of words like "tender-aged" and "primeval" suggest their naivety and lack of understanding, but also their pure, untainted perspective on the world.
The poem ends with the child's mother kissing them, and the child saying "I joy, I grow." This line captures the essence of the poem, as it highlights the child's sense of joy and their potential for growth and development.
Infant Joy is a poignant and uplifting celebration of the beauty and wonder of new life. Through the voice of the newborn child, Blake captures the innocence and purity of this special time, reminding readers of the joy and potential that exists within every new generation.
Infant Sorrow by William Blake
He is fond of the quatrain form and short lines usually tetrameter, i. In letters and accounts recorded by his earliest biographers, Blake and his acquaintances spoke of visions from an early age, such as when he saw God putting his head to the window of the family home, or angels in the trees at Peckham Rye. Struggling in my fathers hands: Striving against my swaddling bands: Bound and weary I thought best To sulk upon my mothers breast. Autonomy and selfhood center the relationship of the poem's 2 speakers, taking up Blake's common thematic emphasis on the nature of the "self". But his imagery and symbolism are often dense and complex, requiring deeper analysis to penetrate and unravel their manifold meanings.
William Blake
Nor did his parents discourage his more unusual perceptions of the world around him. Thisis one of the best examples. Ruderman, The Idea of Infancy in Nineteenth-Century British Poetry London: Routledge, 2016. Mothers and babies died in childbirth, and a surviving child might have meant just another mouth to feed and another burden on an anaemic from repeated childbirth , exhausted and poverty-stricken mother. Religious Instruction was popular and influential, running into at least ten editions before 1824. Wicksteed suggests that the infant may be only two days past conception rather than birth, thus making the joy the joy of generation 123; 124n.
Infant Joy Poem Summary and Analysis
In 1760, George III was crowned as King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, his accession being acclaimed by politicians of all parties, although political tensions and a perceived preference for the Tories would soon end that period of accord. An idea from the literature that you can contrast. I propose a simpler reading. Later in his life, he would call such distant attitudes Deism and, as we saw in the introduction, it very much affected his vision of Urizen, the tyrant god of reason. The two poems present opposing ideas of childbirth and new life, as one should expect from Blake.
Blakeâs âInfant Joyâ: An Explanation of Age
Sun-Flowerâ The Lilyâ The Little Vagabondâ Londonâ The Human Abstractâ A Little Boy lostâ A Little Girl Lostâ The School Boyâ The Voice of the Ancient Bard. That terrace house was demolished in 1965 to make way for high-rise accommodation and the street renamed: a plaque notes his birth at this location in Soho, and some of the old buildings that survive on Broadwick Street give an idea of what the family home, where he lived until 1782, would have looked like. Post your introductory paragraph below. Vision and Disenchantment: Blake's Songs and Wordsworth's Lyrical Ballads. He is sometimes grouped with the Romantics, such as William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, although much of his work stands apart from them and he worked separately from the Lake Poets.
Analysis of Infant Joy and Infant Sorrow Poems Free Essay Example
Another idea you can contrast. Into the dangerous world I leapt: Helpless, naked, piping loud; Like a fiend hid in a cloud. The crucial lines in the poem are the first stanza: I have no name I am but two days old. New York: Anchor, 1988. Thus, the child is happy because it is completely innocent in the Blakean sense since it is free from all experienceâall human institutions and limitations. Thechurch had been built after the parish of St George was established in 1724 to accommodate the growing population in the city, in an area that included some of the most fashionable parts of London such as Belgravia and Mayfair.
Infant Joy / Blake
Sweet joy but two days old, Sweet joy I call thee; Thou dost smile. The two stanzas and their contrasting speakers, use repetition with variation link many of the other 'Songs of Innocence' poems, demonstrating what critic Heather Glen called the "difference yet harmony between the two speakers. In: Domines Veliki, M. The young William was given an allowance by his father to build up a collection of prints and books, developing an appreciation of literature as well as art what was to have a lasting effect upon him. Stanza Two Struggling in my fathers hands: Striving against my swaddling bands: Bound and weary I thought best To sulk upon my mothers breast. E 16 The first and second lines and the fourth and fifth lines seem to belong to the infant speaker, while the third and sixth lines as well as the whole second stanza belong to another voice, a respondent.
