“Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry? “
– William Blake
Songs of Experience – William Blake
Songs of Experience were first published in 1793. A year later they were included with the Songs of Innocence. As might be expected, the poems in Experience are different to the poems in Songs of Innocence. In the Songs of Experience we find poems that are more realistic, cynical and aware of the more pessimistic aspects of life. However, there are poems in Songs of Experience that suggest there is hope for transformation enabling a more rewarding “experience” of life.
Poems from Songs of Experience
- A Cradle Song
- A Divine Image
- A Little Boy Lost by
- A Little Girl Lost
- A Poison Tree
- Ah, Sunflower
- Earth’s Answer
- Holy Thursday
- Infant Sorrow
- Introduction
- London
- My Pretty Rose Tree
- Nurse’s Song
- The Angel
- The Chimney Sweeper
- The Clod and The Pebble
- The Fly
- The Garden of Love
- The Human Abstract
- The Lily
- The Little Girl Lost
- The Little Vagabond
- The Schoolboy
- The Sick Rose
- The Tyger
- The Voice Of The Ancient
- To Tirzah
Blake Links
- Songs of Innocence
- Songs of Experience
- Europe A Prophecy
- British Poets– List of British Poets