Songs of Innocence and of Experience

[super_maz]

Hey peeps,

To all those who have read William Blake's "Songs of Innocence and of Experience", what was your favourite poem and why? (and to those who have not read the poems, they are fantastic and you so totally should if you get the chance!)

Mine is probably "The Tyger" because of its rhythm, it reads so well, and Blake's choice of diction in the poem expresses the ferocity of the tiger really well.

Would love to hear any opinions on Blake! :)

[Yogi]

I like he Divine Image for it is the essence of Divine. William Blake is a realised soul which means he has realised the truth which is beyond the normal human perception. Through his work he tried his best to convey his vision of a different awareness.

[Charles Darnay]

I prefer A Poison Tree and The Chimney Sweep. I really like the rhythm in A Poison tree. As for The Chimney Sweep, I think it has a great style and is a model of a great Romantic poem.

[raptor]

My favourites are probably "London" and "The Sick Rose".
"London" is so well made, just the structure and the imagery and how everything fits in perfectly, and "The Sick Rose" is so short (about 34 words long) and apparently simple, but incredibly complex at the same time.

[holograph]

I like Blake an dhis Songs. My favorites (though they change) would have to be "The Clod and the Pebble" and "The Fly." he first for it's clever (and true) juxtaposition, and the latter for it's humorous wisdom.

[perish]

Love's Secret....!

[Kymzii]

Definitely 'The Tyger' and 'The Rose'. But I would never say that these poems are fantastic, or exceptional. They are at best simplistic, which is often a virtue. They do explore the nature of the world presented at it's time well, but I suppose I prefer the more lyrical, complex of language of writings.

[Nirome]

I'm with super_maz on this one. "The Tyger" has a wonderful rhythm to it--bold, savage, cunning, deadly-- that mirrors the great animal Blake describes. Looking at "The Lamb" and "The Tyger" together provides a rich treasure of contrasts that draw one into the realm of divinity and elicit interesting questions about the paradoxical Creator of both predator and prey.

[blazeofglory]

Of course the tiger is the most interesting poem I have ever read of him, and he was in point of fact a poet of mystery, magnanimity, valor and vigor. There is a lot of intensity and depth in his poems.

Not that Blake wrote something different that we have unheard of or unthought of as a matter of fact. He immersed himself in day today's subjects.

The tiger is for instance a poem that is so simple and even a child can enjoy it. The deeper thought the poem underlies absorbs us in point of fact.

Mysticism is what he cashes in on and there were too many poets who already wrote too many mystic poems and he is different from the rest is in that he could conflate mysticism and poetry into such beautiful lines that we simply get moved and startled.

He is matchless and incomparable when it comes to stylizing his works and nobody approximated him or could dig deep into a realm that remain completely unexplored.

[Gareth mann]

hello
would have to agree with you The Tiger is for me the best poem in experience. the fact that a reader can come back to it and find more meaning to it is amazing. The Clod and The Pebble is also great if understood.

[phillipgr]

My favorites are the Little Girl poems. Being, A Little and, The Little Girl Lost and of course The Little Girl found. I find them quite enchanting and beautiful.

[mjh]

The Lamb. John Tavener set the poem to music and it's probably my favourite piece of music. His interpretation shed a whole new light on the poem.