With reference to at least four poems, show how they are representative of themes and styles in Songs of Experience.

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Aaron Justin Tan     05A23

With reference to at least four poems, show how they are representative of themes and styles in Songs of Experience.

In the Songs of Experience “Innocence” has progressed towards “Experience”, but it is important to remember that Blake's vision is essentially dialectical: “Innocence” and “Experience” are co-related as the road to “experience” begins from “innocence”. The poems in Songs of Experience are darker in tone and outlook, affirming a bleaker (or more realistic) view of creation than their “Innocent” counterparts. Blake manifests the themes of cynicism, corruption, oppression, disillusionment and cruelty through the use of stylistic devices such as mirroring, juxtapositions, archetypes and imagery.

In “The clod and the pebble”, the poem provides two contrasting attitudes, one of selfless love for others, and the second, of Love as self-absorption and possessiveness. The first stanza seems to belong to the Songs of Innocence sequence, and the final stanza to Songs of Experience, and perhaps it is left to the reader to adjudicate between the two attitudes. However, as a poem in the Songs of Experience sequence, it is important that the final words are given to the selfish Pebble rather than to the down-trodden Clod, perhaps suggesting that it is the former's attitude which is seen to be the most insightful. Blake uses imagery such as the clod of clay to represent something insignificant, like mud, downtrodden. Blake also uses alliteration on the phrase “clod of clay” to emphasize its worthlessness. This imagery also creates an impression that the clay is malleable and unformed, implying youth, ignorance, naiveté and innocence. However, this spineless clay is “trodden with the cattle’s feet” implying that it is absolutely and totally humbled, powerless and worthless. It is as though Blake is mocking this sort of selfless love- that it is like a doormat, and this innocence is only an illusion, that it can be walked all over. Despite all this, the “clod of clay” is still a stoic and innocent in the sense that it remains optimistic through its pain. Blake also uses imagery to illustrate the “pebble of the brook”. He gives the readers the impression that the pebble is weathered, worn and impermeable. The themes of cynicism and disillusionment are highlighted in the poem. The “pebble of the brook” is implied to be hardened and cold.  Blake also personifies the archetypes of the clod and the pebble. Both the clod and the pebble are mouth pieces that voice the contrasting extreme views on love.

Blake also uses the technique of mirroring stanzas. At first, this seems to the reader as a common identity and similarity between the two halves of the poem. However, it really highlights the vast differences between the two qualities of love described. The structure also imitates the literal position of Heaven and Hell. In the first stanza, the love described is one that is great enough to “build a heaven in hell’s despair”, and in the last stanza love is describes as so selfish that it could “build a hell in heaven’s despite”. Perhaps Blake by splitting the middle stanza into exactly half for “the clod” and half for “the pebble”, he is implying that a balance between the two needs to be reached. He could also be implying that the middle stanza represents Earth as it is in between the stanzas representing heaven and hell. He could be showing us the extreme qualities of love on earth and how one affects the other. The poem has twelve lines, and is evenly split into halves. Blake uses mirroring and juxtaposition to suggest that both views are extreme yet valid, but Blake reserves the final half of the poem for the Pebble. Perhaps this suggest that the pebble has the final say and thus is a more realistic depiction of love, such that the Clods optimism becomes unconvincing and it appears ignorant of the terrible knowledge that everyone will eventually realize. Perhaps he could even be mocking the selfless love- no matter how selfless and pure the love is, it will still be “trodden” over. Thus, Blake has used the structure to reflect the changing quality of love through life’s progression from ignorance to experience. Blake also uses cross referencing to the bible and some of his other poems. The God of the ‘”Chimney Sweeper” who ‘”makes up a heaven of our misery’” can be compared to the Clod. There are also parallels with the Bible. The Clod is a martyr, and its death after preaching its philosophy is similar to both Jesus’ Crucifixion and the stoning to death of martyrs of the Church. However, Jesus’ teachings did not end; perhaps the Clod will be resurrected, and he – not the Pebble – will have the last word. The themes of disillusionment and cynicism are emphasized in this poem, and are common throughout the poems in the Songs of Experience.

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