Songs of Innocence and Experience
Songs of Innocence and Experience
Songs of Innocence and Experience
2) Songs of Innocence and Experience: please make sure to have read the remaining
pieces not dwelled upon in class (be at least familiar with their contents/plotline).
As posted on the VU at the start of the course, you should please have read the
entire collection of Songs of Innocence and Experience (since Blake's writings form
an organic whole, a fact strongly emphasized in class).
3) The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: please make sure to have read and be familiar
with the contents of
[ SONGS4 ]
Introduction
1. Piping down the valleys wild
2. Piping songs of pleasant glee
3. On a cloud I saw a child.
4. And he laughing said to me.
« Introduction »
[ SONGS5 ]
The Shepherd.
1. How sweet is the Shepherds sweet lot,
2. From the morn to the evening he strays:
3. He shall follow his sheep all the day
4. And his tongue shall be filled with praise.
« Le Berger »
[ SONGS6 ]
[ SONGS7 ]
Le soleil se lève,
Et emplit de joie les cieux,
Les cloches sonnent, heureuses
D’accueillir le Printemps,
L’alouette et la grive,
Les oiseaux des bois,
Chantent haut à l’entour
Au son joyeux des cloches,
Tandis qu’on l’on nous voit s’ébattre
Dans l’écho de la verdure.
Le vieux John, les cheveux blancs,
Ne cesse de rire
Assis sous le chêne,
Parmi ses amis.
[ SONGS8 ]
The Lamb
1. Little Lamb who made thee
2. Dost thou know who made thee
3. Gave thee life & bid thee feed.
4. By the stream & o'er the mead;
5. Gave thee clothing of delight,5
6. Softest clothing wooly bright;
7. Gave thee such a tender voice,
8. Making all the vales rejoice!
9. Little Lamb who made thee
10. Dost thou know who made thee10
« L’Agneau »
[ SONGS9 ]
[ SONGS10 ]
[ SONGS12 ]
« Le Ramoneur »
Puis Tom s’est éveillé, et nous nous sommes levés dans le noir,
Avec nos sacs et nos balais pour s’en aller travailler.
Si l’aube était glacée, Tom était heureux et comme rassuré :
Ainsi, que tous soient à la tâche sans craindre de souffrir.
[ SONGS15 ]
Laughing Song, t
1. When the green woods laugh, with the voice of joy t
2. And the dimpling stream runs laughing by,
3. When the air does laugh with our merry wit, t
4. And the green hill laughs with the noise of it.
[ SONGS19 ]
HOLY THURSDAY t
1. Twas on a Holy Thursday their innocent faces clean
2. The children walking two & two in red & blue & green
3. Grey headed beadles walkd before with wands as white as snow
4. Till into the high dome of Pauls they like Thames waters flow
1. Now like a mighty wind they raise to heaven the voice of song
2. Or like harmonious thunderings the seats of heaven among10
3. Beneath them sit the aged men wise guardians of the poor
4. Then cherish pity, lest you drive an angel from your door
[ SONGS20 ]
Night
1. The sun descending in the west.
2. The evening star does shine.
3. The birds are silent in their nest,
4. And I must seek for mine,
5. The moon like a flower,5
6. In heavens high bower;
7. With silent delight,
8. Sits and smiles on the night.
1. Farewell green fields and happy groves,
2. Where flocks have took delight;10
3. Where lambs have nibbled, silent moves
4. The feet of angels bright;
5. Unseen they pour blessing,
6. And joy without ceasing,
[ SONGS21 ]
« Nuit »
Le soleil descend dans l’ouest,
Les étoiles du soir brillent,
Les oiseaux font silence dans leur nid,
Et moi je recherche le mien.
[ SONGS24 ]
Nurse's Song t
1. When the voices of children are heard on the green
2. And laughing is heard on the hill,
3. My heart is at rest within my breast
4. And every thing else is still
« Chanson de la nourrice »
[ SONGS30 ]
Introduction.
1. Hear the voice of the Bard!
2. Who Present, Past, & Future sees
3. Whose ears have heard,
4. The Holy Word,
5. That walk'd among the ancient trees.5
« Introduction »
[ SONGS31 ]
EARTH'S Answer. t
1. Earth rais'd up her head,
2. From the darkness dread & drear.
3. Her light fled: t
4. Stony dread!
5. And her locks cover'd with grey despair.5
19
1. Chain'd in night t
2. The virgins of youth and morning bear.15
[ SONGS33 ]
HOLY THURSDAY t
1. Is this a holy thing to see,
2. In a rich and fruitful land,
3. Babes reduced to misery,
4. Fed with cold and usurous hand?
20
[ SONGS37 ]
23
[ SONGS38 ]
NURSES Song t
1. When the voices of children, are heard on the green
2. And whisprings are in the dale:
3. The days of my youth rise fresh in my mind, t
4. My face turns green and pale.
O Rose, tu es malade !
L’invisible ver
Qui vole dans la nuit
Dans les hurlements de la tempête
[ SONGS42 ]
The Tyger. t
1. Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
2. In the forests of the night;
3. What immortal hand or eye, t
4. Could frame thy fearful symmetry? t
25
« Le Tigre »
[ SONGS43 ]
AH! SUN-FLOWER
1. Ah Sun-flower! weary of time,
AH ! TOURNESOL
[ SONGS46 ]
LONDON t
1. I wander thro' each charter'd street, t
2. Near where the charter'd Thames does flow.
3. And mark in every face I meet t
4. Marks of weakness, marks of woe.
27
Londre
**
**
**
[ SONGS53 ]
L’écolier
La voix du Diable
Toutes les Bibles ou les livres sacrés ont été la cause des
Erreurs suivantes :
1. Que l’Homme a deux principes d’existence réels : A savoir,
un Corps et une Âme.
2. Que seule l’Énergie, appelée le Mal, est du Corps ; et que
seule la Raison, appelée le Bien, est de l’Âme.
3. Que Dieu tourmentera l’Homme dans l’Éternité pour avoir
suivi ses Énergies.
Mais les Propositions Contraires, qui suivent, sont Vraies.
1. L’Homme n’a pas de Corps distinct de son Âme ; car ce qui
est appelé Corps est une partie de l’Âme discernée par les
cinq Sens, en notre âge les principales entrées de l’Âme.
2. L’Énergie seule est la vie et elle est du Corps ; et la Raison
est la limite ou la circonférence extérieure de l’Énergie.
3. L’Énergie est la joie Éternelle.
[ PLATE7 ]
Proverbs of Hell. t
1. In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.
1. Drive your cart and your plow over the bones of the dead.
1. A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees.
36
3. The hours of folly are measur'd by the clock, but of wisdom: no clock can measure.
[ PLATE8 ]
1. Prisons are built with stones of Law, Brothels with bricks of Religion.
2. The pride of the peacock is the glory of God.
3. The lust of the goat is the bounty of God.
4. The wrath of the lion is the wisdom of God.
5. The nakedness of woman is the work of God.25
1. The roaring of lions, the howling of wolves, the raging of the stormy sea, and the
destructive sword. are portions of eternity too great for the eye of man.
1. Let man wear the fell of the lion. woman the fleece of the sheep.30
1. The selfish smiling fool. & the sullen frowning fool. shall be both thought wise. that
they may be a rod.
37
1. The eagle never lost so much time, as when he submitted to learn of the crow.
[ PLATE9 ]
1. The fox provides for himself. but God provides for the lion.40
2. Think in the morning, Act in the noon, Eat in the evening, Sleep in the night.
3. He who has sufferd you to impose on him knows you.
4. As the plow follows words, so God rewards prayers.
1. You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough.
1. Listen to the fools reproach! it is a kingly title!
1. The eyes of fire, the nostrils of air, the mouth of water, the beard of earth.
1. When thou seest an Eagle, thou seest a portion of Genius. lift up thy head!
1. As the catterpiller chooses the fairest leaves to lay her eggs on, so the priest lays his
curse on the fairest joys.55
1. The best wine is the oldest. the best water the newest.
2. Prayers plow not! Praises reap not!
3. Joys laugh not! Sorrows weep not!60
[ PLATE10 ]
1. The head Sublime, the heart Pathos, the genitals Beauty, the hands & feet Proportion.
38
1. Exuberance is Beauty.
1. Improvement makes strait roads, but the crooked roads without Improvement, are
roads of Genius. t
Proverbes de l’Enfer
La Prudence est une vieille fille riche et laide que l’Incapacité courtise
Les heures de folie, l’horloge les mesure ; mais les heures de sagesse, il n’est
Nul oiseau ne vole trop haut s’il vole de ses propres ailes.
Les Prisons se construisent avec les pierres de la Loi, les Bordels avec les
furie et l’épée destructrice sont des fragments d’éternité trop vastes pour
deux tenus pour sages en sorte qu’ils fassent office de verge.
corbeau.
Les tigres de la colère sont plus sages que les chevaux de l’instruction.
Les yeux, de feu ; les narines, d’air ; la bouche, d’eau ; la barbe, de terre.
De même que la chenille choisit les plus belles feuilles pour y poser ses œufs,
de même le prêtre pose ses malédictions sur les plus belles joies.
Le corbeau aurait voulu que tout fût noir, la chouette que tout fût blanc.
Le Progrès trace des routes droites ; mais les routes sinueuses intouchées du
La Vérité ne peut jamais être dite de telle sorte qu’elle soit comprise et qu’elle
Assez ! ou Trop.
[ PLATE14 ]
A Memorable Fancy.
The ancient tradition that the world will be consumed in fire at the end of six thousand years is
true. as I have heard from Hell.
For the cherub with his flaming sword is hereby commanded to leave his guard at the tree of life,
and when he does, the whole t creation will be consumed, and appear infinite. and holy whereas
it now appears finite & corrupt.
This will come to pass by an improvement of sensual enjoyment.
But first the notion that man has a body distinct from his soul, is to be expunged; this I shall do, by
printing in the infernal method, by corrosives, which in Hell are salutary and medicinal, melting
apparent surfaces away, and displaying the infinite which was hid.
If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is: infinite.
For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro' narrow chinks of his cavern.
L'ancienne tradition selon laquelle le monde sera consumé par le feu à la fin de six mille ans est
vraie, comme je l'ai entendu de l'enfer.
Car le chérubin à l'épée flamboyante a reçu l'ordre de laisser sa garde à l'arbre de vie, et lorsqu'il
le fera, la création entière sera consumée, et apparaîtra infinie et sainte, alors qu'elle apparaît
maintenant finie et corrompue.
Mais d'abord il faut expulser la notion que l'homme a un corps distinct de son âme ; ce que je
ferai, en imprimant selon la méthode infernale, avec des corrosifs, qui en enfer sont salutaires et
médicinaux, en faisant fondre les surfaces apparentes, et en montrant l'infini qui était caché.
Si les portes de la perception étaient nettoyées, chaque chose apparaîtrait à l'homme telle qu'elle
est : infinie.
Car l'homme s'est refermé sur lui-même, jusqu'à ce qu'il voie tout à travers les étroites fentes de
sa caverne.
[PLATEAU7]
Il écrivit la phrase suivante, qui est maintenant perçue par l'esprit des hommes, et lue par eux sur
la terre.