{"product_id":"songs-of-innocence-and-of-experience","title":"Songs of Innocence and of Experience","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFirst published together in 1794, William Blake’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSongs of Innocence and of Experience\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e brings two contrasting visions of human life into a single, intricately imagined poetic world. The \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSongs of Innocence\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e evoke childhood, pastoral beauty and the possibility of divine protection, while the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSongs of Experience\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e confront suffering, oppression, hypocrisy and the loss of innocence. Through deceptively simple lyrics, memorable figures such as the lamb and the tiger, and the contrasting voices of children, labourers and prophetic observers, Blake questions how society shapes the human spirit.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSubtitled “Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul”, the collection is central to Blake’s distinctive fusion of poetry, painting and spiritual philosophy. His illuminated books unite words and images in works of extraordinary imaginative freedom, challenging the institutions of church, state and industrial society while searching for a vision of human liberation. Both tender and unsettling, these poems invite readers to look beyond appearances and recognise the contradictions that exist within individuals and the world they inhabit.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFrom the book\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“To see a World in a Grain of Sand\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAnd a Heaven in a Wild Flower”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e— William Blake, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAuguries of Innocence\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOn \u003cem\u003eSongs of Innocence and of Experience\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Blake’s innocence has a quality that makes it poignant – its capacity to be blighted by society.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e— Jean H. Hagstrum, literary critic\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardner's EU","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":64072896086346,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1028\/0389\/8698\/files\/songs-of-innocence-and-of-experience-william-blake-english-bookstore-paris.png?v=1792947970","url":"https:\/\/thelamppostparis.com\/products\/songs-of-innocence-and-of-experience","provider":"The Lamp-Post Library \u0026 Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}