Verily I say unto you, Whoseover shall not receive the kingdom of God as a
little child shall in no wise enter therein. [S Luke, 18 (17)] The words are
those of Jesus, who was neither unaware of reality, nor indifferent to
suffering. The childlike innocence referred to above is a state of purity and
not of ignorance. Such is the vision of Blake in his childlike Songs of
Innocence. It would be foolish to suppose that the author of ^ÑHoly Thursday^Ò
and ^ÑThe Chimney Sweeper^Ò in Songs of Innocence was insensible to the
contemporary social conditions of orphans or young sweeps, and that therefore
the poems of the same names in Songs of Experience are somehow apologies or
retractions of an earlier misapprehension. For the language and style of Songs
of Innocence are so consistently naïve compared to Songs of Experience, that it
is clear that the earlier poems are a deliberate attempt to capture the state of
grace described in the Biblical quotation above - a celebration of the triumph
of innocence in a world of experience. Often the words of the poem are spoken by
a child. It would be impossible to imagine a modern child using language such
as: Gave thee such a tender voice, Making all the vales rejoice. and it is most
unlikely that children spoke thus even in Blake^Òs day. Yet this is the
language of children^Òs hymns. I was personally acquainted with all the words
in ^ÑThe Lamb^Ò, through Sunday School hymns, long before reaching school age.
By using the vocabulary of the hymnals, Blake emphasises for us the connection
of which the child is instinctively aware: I, a child, and thou a lamb, We are
called by his name. The syntax and tone, however, have the authentic simplicity
of children^Òs speech. The first verse is a series of questions addressed to
the lamb. The second stanza begins with the child^Òs triumph at being able to
answer those questions: Little Lamb, I^Òll tell thee. Typically the questions
are asked purely for the satisfaction it gives the child in answering. There is
a great deal of repetition in all the songs: in ^ÑThe Lamb^Ò this takes the
form of a refrain repeated at the beginning and the end of each stanza, once
more reminiscent of children^Òs hymns. In contrast, ^ÑThe Tyger^Ò has an
incantatory rhythm, far more like a pagan chant than a childish hymn. And the
vocabulary is no longer within the understanding of a child: What immortal hand
or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry? This song also asks questions. But in
the world of experience, unlike the world of innocence, there are no longer any
reassuring answers. The world of Innocence is a world of confident answers; in
Experience the answers remain. Indeed, the questions themselves become more
threatening. The slightly incredulous question above alters subtly during the
progress of the poem until the word ^ÑCould^Ò is finally replaced by the far
more menacing ^ÑDare^Ò. There is no such progression in Songs of Innocence.
Each song captures the ^Ñmoment in each day that Satan cannot find^Ò [Milton,
II, Pl.35, 1.42]. Blake^Òs innocence does not develop: it exists. If we compare
Songs of Innocence with Songs of Experience we see that this pattern is
constantly repeated. The moment that the concept of Experience is introduced the
simplicity of the language disappears. As affirmation gives way to doubt, the
unquestioning faith of innocence becomes the intellectual argument of
experience. In ^ÑInfant Joy^Ò the baby is free even of the bonds of a name. In
^ÑCradle Song^Ò it is the mother who speaks, not with the simplicity of ^ÑInfant
Joy^Ò yet with a naivete emphasised by the repetition of key alliterative words
- sweet/sleep/smile - with their connotations of joy. In Songs of Innocence
moans are ^Ñsweet^Ò and ^Ñdovelike^Ò [Cradle song] whereas in Songs of
Experience the babies cry in ^Ñfear^Ò [London}. In Songs of Innocence the
narrative is as simple as the direct speech. The verbs are straightforward and
unambiguous; God ^Ñappeared^Ò , He ^Ñkissed^Ò the child, ^Ñled^Ò him to
his mother. And although the bleaker side of life is portrayed - poverty and
discrimination for example - the overall vision is positive. 1. Blake believed
that without contraries there could be no progression. In Songs of Experience we
see Blake ^Ñwalking naked^Ò, to use Yeats^Ò phrase, as he shouts angrily
against social evils and religious manacles and hypocrisy. Songs of Innocence
are far more carefully controlled, for all their apparent artlessness. In Songs
of Innocence Blake^Òs voice never falters: the language is consistently naïve,
and when images of a less childlike nature do intrude they are always absorbed
into the security that is innocence. Innocence is a state of faith that must
preclude doubt. Blake^Òs language is naïve and unambiguous. It is deliberately
adopted to suit the subject and discarded later in the prophetic books. He may
have considered experience as a necessary part of life, but Blake remained,
supremely, a poet of Innocence.