2019 Book Reviews

#16 Songs of Innocence and of Experience by

William Blake.

This poetry collection is split into two parts. The Songs of Innocence explore themes of innocence, harmony and vulnerability whilst the Songs of Experience explore more passionate, sensual and serious themes.

I found many of the poems to be excellent and comprehensible (it includes The Tyger! One of my all time favourites), though others I struggled with even after multiple readings. The poems tend to be short and it was lovely to see that when William Blake wrote these 230 years ago he ensured each was accompanied by a handrawn painting and he printed and bound the original works himself. A great testament to someone that was passionate about and believed in his work.

My rating: 7.3/10