Listen & Learn: Songs of Innocence and of Experience

Learn about William Blake’s famous illustrated poetry

Pre-listening vocabulary

• perspective: a person’s point of view
• pair: to connect two things
• contrast: to show differences between two or more things
• folk ballad: a song that people in a certain culture know, especially one that tells a story or myth
• critic: someone who analyzes and comments on art or literature
• symbolic: representing a certain idea
• Romantic era: an artistic period in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries, when artists and writers took interest in imagination, nature, and strong emotions

Listening activity

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Gapfill exercise

Songs of Innocence and of Experience is a 1794 book of by English writer and artist William Blake. The Songs were originally published in two books. Songs of Innocence contained 19 poems, and Songs of Experience contained 28. Most of the poems are told from the perspectives of different . Blake paired many poems in Songs of Innocence with poems with the same title in Songs of Experience. The pairs of poems often contrast an adult’s perspective with a child’s. The poems in the Songs have a style inspired by popular folk ballads. Blake’s work was because he printed and bound all of his books by hand. He etched his words and illustrations on sheets of copper, which he used to make multiple copies. He called this technique “illuminated printing.” Blake was never famous when he was alive, but critics eventually began to his writing and art as symbolic works of the Romantic era.

Comprehension questions

See answers below

1. Songs of Innocence and of Experience is
   a. an epic
   b. a play
   c. a book of poems
   
2. The book is told from
   a. Blake’s perspective
   b. a child’s perspective
   c. many characters’ perspectives
   
3. The term Blake used for his printing technique was
   a. illustrated printing
   b. illuminated printing
   c. illusionary printing

Discussion/essay questions

1. Do you know any folk ballads? Where did you first hear them? Why do you think so many cultures like to tell stories through music?

Transcript

Songs of Innocence and of Experience is a 1794 book of poetry by English writer and artist William Blake. The Songs were originally published in two books. Songs of Innocence contained 19 poems, and Songs of Experience contained 28. Most of the poems are told from the perspectives of different characters. Blake paired many poems in Songs of Innocence with poems with the same title in Songs of Experience. The pairs of poems often contrast an adult’s perspective with a child’s. The poems in the Songs have a musical style inspired by popular folk ballads. Blake’s work was unique because he printed and bound all of his books by hand. He etched his words and illustrations on sheets of copper, which he used to make multiple copies. He called this technique “illuminated printing.” Blake was never famous when he was alive, but critics eventually began to recognize his writing and art as symbolic works of the Romantic era.

Answers to comprehension questions

1c 2c 3b