William Blake

Not Your Typical Romantic He never travelled He was relatively happily married He and his wife lived in poverty He was very interested in the Bible and

much of his poetry dealt with complex views of Christianity

Blake the Artist Blake is known for his art as much as his

poetry. He was sent to London’s finest drawing

school at ten. He was apprenticed to an engraver at

fourteen. He usually added drawings or engravings to

his poetry himself. He usually published and engraved his own

poems.

Songs of Innocence and Experience “The two contrary states of the human soul” Published in one volume Innocence is “a state of genuine love and

naïve trust toward all humankind, accompanied by unquestioned belief in Christian doctrine.”

Experience “is a profound disillusionment with human nature . . . sees cruelty and hypocrisy only too clearly but is unable to imagine a way out.”