The Literature Network - Blake's 'Infant Sorrow.' (William Blake)

Blake's 'Infant Sorrow.' (William Blake)

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From: The Explicator
Date: 19940322
Author:Carson, Ricks

William Blake's 'Infant Sorrow' is different from other poems in 'Songs of Innocence and Experience' because of its bleakness and disquieting tone. The newborn infant of the poem is sullen and angry because of disillusionment and cynicism about his future. The sulking infant is an non-stereotypical character succeeds in shocking readers and elicits greater love for infants whose futures are predetermined.

Blake's "Infant Sorrow" is one of the bleakest poems in Songs of Experience because it presents a malignant view of childbirth from the point of view of the newborn. It is impossible to ...

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