William Blake - Songs of Innocence and Experience

Language

• 'valleys wild' nature the muse of the romantics
• 'on a cloud' angelic, cherub?
• 'and he laughing said to me' inverted syntax, typical of the time? sounds more musical, stress on laughing
• imperitives 'pipe', 'drop', 'sit' children have importance (original state of innocence), commanding adults
• 'lamb', representation of Jesus, gentle and childlike
• personification 'happy pipe', 'happy cheer'
• 'all may read' inclusive, not many children in 1700s reading
• 'joy to hear' listen as opposed to read
• 'stained the water clear' paradox, ambiguous idea. Water dirty then purified? Religious imagery (baptism)

Structure

• simple quatrains
• ABAB
• trochaic
• happy lines reflected in the meter (leaping like a child/lamb)

Language

• could be read as caring or sexual? prelapsarian

• 'sleep', 'deep' everlasting or gravely important, assonance, lyrical sounds

• 'garden mild' life before, the age of innocence

• 'Lovely Lyca lay' alliteration, fairytale, sweet sounding, lyrical

• 'mother weep' Lyca in a innocent world, doesn't cry as innocent and believes they are safe? parents experienced so would

• rhyming couplet 'sleep...weep' mother and daughter in harmony (moods link)

• 'frowning frowning night' personification, wildness of world, aware of danger?

• 'prey' usually eaten, ominous quality of animals

• 'kingly' nature manipulated by humans, king of the beasts, proud creature

• 'gambolled' spring like lambs, unlikely behaviour

• 'virgin' female lion, anthrapomorphism

Structure

• 13 short quatrains
• short steccato lines
• trimeters