Songs of Innocence and of Experience - Wikipedia Songs of Innocence and of Experience From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia   (Redirected from Songs of Innocence) Jump to navigation Jump to search This article is about William Blake's poems. For albums by this name, see Songs of Innocence and of Experience (disambiguation). This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (May 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Songs of Innocence and of Experience" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Songs of Innocence and of Experience Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul title page Songs of Innocence and of Experience[1] is a collection of illustrated poems by William Blake. It appeared in two phases: a few first copies were printed and illuminated by Blake himself in 1789; five years later he bound these poems with a set of new poems in a volume titled Songs of Innocence and of Experience Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul. Blake was also a painter before the creation of Songs of Innocence and Experience and had painted such subjects as Oberon, Titania, and Puck dancing with fairies. "Innocence" and "Experience" are definitions of consciousness that rethink Milton's existential-mythic states of "Paradise" and "Fall". Often, interpretations of this collection centre around a mythical dualism, where "Innocence" represents the "unfallen world" and "Experience" represents the "fallen world".[2] Blake categorizes our modes of perception that tend to coordinate with a chronology that would become standard in Romanticism: childhood is a state of protected innocence rather than original sin, but not immune to the fallen world and its institutions. This world sometimes impinges on childhood itself, and in any event becomes known through "experience", a state of being marked by the loss of childhood vitality, by fear and inhibition, by social and political corruption and by the manifold oppression of Church, State and the ruling classes. The volume's "Contrary States" are sometimes signalled by patently repeated or contrasted titles: in Innocence, Infant Joy, in Experience, Infant Sorrow; in Innocence, The Lamb, in Experience, The Fly and The Tyger. The stark simplicity of poems such as The Chimney Sweeper and The Little Black Boy display Blake's acute sensibility to the realities of poverty and exploitation that accompanied the "Dark Satanic Mills" of the Industrial Revolution.[3] Contents 1 Songs of Innocence 2 Songs of Experience 3 Musical settings 4 Facsimile editions 5 Notes 6 References 7 External links Songs of Innocence[edit] "Songs of Innocence" redirects here. For other uses, see Songs of Innocence (disambiguation). Songs of Innocence was originally a complete work first printed in 1789. It is a conceptual collection of 19 poems, engraved with artwork. This collection mainly shows happy, innocent perception in pastoral harmony, but at times, such as in "The Chimney Sweeper" and "The Little Black Boy", subtly shows the dangers of this naïve and vulnerable state. The poems are each listed below: Introduction The Shepherd The Echoing Green The Lamb The Little Black Boy The Blossom The Chimney Sweeper The Little Boy Lost The Little Boy Found Laughing Song A Cradle Song The Divine Image Holy Thursday Night Spring Nurse's Song Infant Joy A Dream On Another's Sorrow Songs of Experience[edit] "Songs of Experience" redirects here. For other uses, see Songs of Experience (disambiguation). Songs of Experience is a poetry collection of 26 poems forming the second part of William Blake's Songs of Innocence and of Experience. The poems were published in 1794 (see 1794 in poetry). Some of the poems, such as "The Little Girl Lost" and "The Little Girl Found", were moved by Blake to Songs of Innocence and were frequently moved between the two books.[note 1] The poems are listed below: Introduction Earth's Answer The Clod and the Pebble Holy Thursday The Little Girl Lost The Little Girl Found A Dream Nurse's Song The Sick Rose The Fly The Angel The Tyger My Pretty Rose Tree Ah! Sun-flower The Lilly The Garden of Love The Little Vagabond London The Human Abstract Infant Sorrow A Poison Tree A Little Boy Lost A Little Girl Lost To Tirzah The School Boy The Voice of the Ancient Bard Musical settings[edit] See also: William Blake in popular culture This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Blake's title plate (No. 29) for Songs of Experience Poems from both books have been set to music by many composers, including Ralph Vaughan Williams, Joseph Holbrooke, John Frandsen, Per Drud Nielsen, Sven-David Sandström, Benjamin Britten, and Jacob ter Veldhuis. Individual poems have also been set by, among others, John Tavener, Victoria Poleva, Jah Wobble, Tangerine Dream, Jeff Johnson, and Daniel Amos. A modified version of the poem "The Little Black Boy" was set to music in the song "My Mother Bore Me" from Maury Yeston's musical Phantom. The folk musician Greg Brown recorded sixteen of the poems on his 1987 album Songs of Innocence and of Experience[4] and by Finn Coren in his Blake Project. The poet Allen Ginsberg believed the poems were originally intended to be sung, and that through study of the rhyme and metre of the works, a Blakean performance could be approximately replicated. In 1969, he conceived, arranged, directed, sang on, and played piano and harmonium for an album of songs entitled Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake, tuned by Allen Ginsberg (1970).[5] American composer and producer David Axelrod produced two solo albums, Song of Innocence (1968) and Songs of Experience (1969) which were homages to the mystical poetry and paintings of William Blake. The composer William Bolcom completed a setting of the entire collection of poems in 1984. In 2005, a recording of Bolcom's work by Leonard Slatkin, the Michigan State Children's Choir, and the University of Michigan on the Naxos label won four Grammy Awards: Best Choral Performance, Best Classical Contemporary Composition, Best Classical Album, and Best Producer of the Year (classical).[6] The composer Victoria Poleva completed "Songs of Innocence and of Experience" in 2002, a chamber cycle on the verses by Blake for soprano, clarinet and accordion. It was first performed by the ensemble Accroche-Note of France. The Swedish composer David Unger[7] completed "Night songs op. 24", a setting of five poems from Songs of Innocence for solo voice and piano in 2013. It was first performed by baritone Anthony Schneider and pianist Rosemary Barnes in Vienna, Austria the same year. Popular group Tangerine Dream based their album Tyger on lyrics by William Blake. Popular rock group U2 released an album called Songs of Innocence in 2014, and followed it in 2017 with Songs of Experience. Karl Jenkins' Motets includes a setting of The Shepherd. The fictional rock band Infant Sorrow, as featured in the 2008 film Forgetting Sarah Marshall, appears to be named after the Blake poem. Facsimile editions[edit] The Huntington Library and Art Gallery in San Marino, California, published a small facsimile edition in 1975 that included sixteen plates reproduced from two copies of Songs of Innocence and of Experience in their collection, with an introduction by James Thorpe. The songs reproduced were Introduction, Infant Joy, The Lamb, Laughing Song and Nurse's Song from Songs of Innocence, and Introduction, The Clod & the Pebble, The Tyger, The Sick Rose, Nurses Song and Infant Sorrow from Songs of Experience. Tate Publishing, in collaboration with The William Blake Trust, produced a folio edition containing all of the songs of Innocence and Experience in 2006. A colour plate of each poem is accompanied by a literal transcription, and the volume is introduced by critic and historian Richard Holmes.[citation needed] William Blake, Songs of Innocence and of Experience edited with an introduction and notes by Andrew Lincoln, and select plates from other copies. Blake's Illuminated Books, vol. 2. William Blake Trust / Princeton University Press, 1991. Based on King's College, Cambridge, copy, 1825 or later. Songs of Innocence Dover Publications, 1971. Based on copy of Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection, Library of Congress, Copy B, ca. 1790. Songs of Experience Dover Publications, 1984. Based on "a rare 1826 etched edition," per back cover. Notes[edit] ^ See the various extent editions republished in their original publication order Archived 2013-11-13 at the Wayback Machine at the William Blake Archive. References[edit] ^ "Songs of Innocence and of Experience, copy C, 1789, 1794 (Library of Congress): electronic edition". www.blakearchive.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-11-05. ^ Frye, Northrop (1969). Fearful Symmetry. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. 42. ISBN 0-691-01291-1. ^ The Broadview Anthology of British Literature: The Age of Romanticism. Broadview Press. 2010. ISBN 978-1-55111-404-0. ^ "Greg Brown Discography". Gregbrown.org. Archived from the original on 2012-12-01. Retrieved 2012-11-07. ^ "PennSound: Ginsberg/Blake". writing.upenn.edu. Archived from the original on 2012-11-12. Retrieved 2012-11-07. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2011-02-21. Retrieved 2010-12-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) ^ "David Unger, sångare, sångpedagog, kompositör, m.m." www.davidunger.n.nu. Archived from the original on 3 May 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2018. External links[edit] Wikisource has original text related to this article: Songs of Experience Multiple digital copies of Blake's illustrated versions of the Songs of Innocence and of Experience at the William Blake Archive Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1794), from Rare Book Room Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1826), from Rare Book Room Link to Ginsberg recordings of the poems Songs of Innocence and of Experience public domain audiobook at LibriVox v t e William Blake Literary works Early writings Poetical Sketches An Island in the Moon All Religions are One There is No Natural Religion Songs of Innocence and of Experience Songs of Innocence The Shepherd The Ecchoing Green The Lamb The Little Black Boy The Blossom The Chimney Sweeper The Little Boy Lost The Little Boy Found Laughing Song A Cradle Song The Divine Image Holy Thursday Night Spring Nurse's Song Infant Joy A Dream On Another's Sorrow Songs of Experience Introduction Earth's Answer The Clod and the Pebble Holy Thursday The Little Girl Lost The Little Girl Found The Chimney Sweeper Nurse's Song The Sick Rose The Fly The Angel The Tyger My Pretty Rose Tree Ah! Sun-flower The Lilly The Garden of Love The Little Vagabond London The Human Abstract Infant Sorrow A Poison Tree A Little Boy Lost A Little Girl Lost To Tirzah The School Boy The Voice of the Ancient Bard A Divine Image (found only in Copy BB) Prophetic books The continental prophecies America a Prophecy Europe a Prophecy The Song of Los Other Tiriel The Book of Thel The Marriage of Heaven and Hell The French Revolution Visions of the Daughters of Albion The Book of Urizen The Book of Ahania The Book of Los The Four Zoas Milton Jerusalem The Emanation of the Giant Albion The Pickering Manuscript "Auguries of Innocence" "The Mental Traveller" The Rossetti Manuscript "Never pain to tell thy love" Mythology Ahania Albion Beulah Bromion Enion Enitharmon Fuzon Golgonooza Grodna Har Leutha Los Luvah Orc Palamabron Spectre Tharmas Thiriel Tiriel Urizen Urthona Utha Vala Art Paintings and prints Relief etching Engravings for Original Stories from Real Life The Ancient of Days Europe Supported by Africa and America The Night of Enitharmon's Joy Newton Nebuchadnezzar Illustrations for Night-Thoughts Illustrations of The Grave The Four and Twenty Elders Casting their Crowns before the Divine Throne Illustrations of Paradise Lost A Vision of the Last Judgement Descriptive Catalogue The Great Red Dragon Paintings Pity The Ghost of a Flea Agony in the Garden Illustrations of On the Morning of Christ's Nativity The Wood of the Self-Murderers: The Harpies and the Suicides Illustrations of the Book of Job Sketches Visionary Heads Criticism, scholarship, and in popular culture Scholarly works Life of William Blake The Works of William Blake: Poetic, Symbolic and Critical Fearful Symmetry Blake: Prophet Against Empire Witness Against the Beast Musical Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings (1943) Ten Blake Songs (1958) Songs and Proverbs of William Blake (1965) The Lamb (1982) Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1998) Related William Blake in popular culture William Blake Archive Blake (1983 monologue) In Lambeth (1989 play) Catherine Blake (wife) Ancients v t e Artists' Books Early precursors Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry Songs of Innocence and of Experience Expressionism and Cubism Du "Cubisme", Albert Gleizes and Jean Metzinger, Edition Figuière, Paris, 1912 (First English edition: Cubism, Unwin, London, 1913) The Cubist Painters, Aesthetic Meditations, Guillaume Apollinaire, published by Eugène Figuière Éditeurs, Collection "Tous les Arts", Paris, 1913 La Peinture et ses lois, ce qui devait sortir du Cubisme (Painting and its Laws), Albert Gleizes, Paris, 1924 (published in English in 2000) Klänge La prose du Transsibérien et de la Petite Jehanne de France Futurism, Vorticism and Dada Zang Tumb Tumb Tango With Cows BLAST BÏF§ZF+18 Universal War Jedermann sein eigner Fussball An Anna Blume Russian Ballet Constructivism, Surrealism and Modernism Une semaine de bonté Jazz Lettrism, Situationism, Nouveau réalisme and Arte Povera Yves Peintures Fin de Copenhague Mémoires Zone de Sensibilité Picturale Immatérielle Linee Dimanche Pop Art 25 Cats Name Sam and One Blue Pussy Twentysix Gasoline Stations A Humument Fluxus and Conceptual art Literaturwurst Art-Language The Journal of conceptual art Topographie Anécdotée du Hasard Water Yam Grapefruit Fluxus 1 Un Coup de Dés Jamais N'Abolira Le Hasard Artists' books since 1980 Die-Cut Plug Wiring Diagram Book Authority control MBW work: 2268421f-e727-4907-8a79-2391ef9af968 Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Songs_of_Innocence_and_of_Experience&oldid=996219238#Songs_of_Innocence" Categories: Songs of Innocence and of Experience English poetry collections Artists' books English art Self-published books 1789 poetry books 1794 poetry books Books about cats Hidden categories: Webarchive template wayback links CS1 maint: archived copy as title Articles that may contain original research from May 2015 All articles that may contain original research Articles 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