William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience presents a profound exploration of the human soul. He subtitled the collection “Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul.” These states, Innocence and Experience, offer contrasting visions of life, God, and humanity. Indeed, no theme illustrates this duality more powerfully than love. In Innocence, love is a pure, selfless, and divine force. However, in Experience, it becomes a complex emotion, often warped by jealousy, possession, and societal rules. By examining these portrayals, we can understand Blake’s vision of human spiritual development.
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The Unspoiled Love of Innocence
In Songs of Innocence, love flows freely and naturally. It is the connective tissue of the universe, linking child, nature, and God in perfect harmony. The speakers, often children, express love without selfishness or expectation. For example, in “The Divine Image,” the virtues of Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love are not abstract concepts. Instead, they are God, and they are also Man. This poem suggests that divine love is inherent within every person. Love is an act of giving that unites all of creation.
Furthermore, poems like “The Lamb” show a gentle, nurturing love. The child speaker asks the lamb, “Dost thou know who made thee?” The answer reveals a creator who is also a lamb—a figure of gentle, innocent love. This world is safe and protected by a benevolent divine presence. Consequently, love in Innocence is instinctual and unquestioning. It does not need to be earned or proven; it simply exists as the foundation of being. It is a state of pure, unreflective joy. William Blake Archive – Songs …
The Troubled Love of Experience
Transitioning to Songs of Experience feels like entering a fallen world. Here, love is rarely simple or pure. It is a battleground of conflicting emotions and restrictive forces. Blake shows how institutions like the Church and societal norms corrupt natural human feelings. Love becomes something to be controlled, bought, or hidden away in shame. This shift creates a world filled with suffering and frustration, where genuine connection is difficult to achieve.
The Selfishness of Earthly Love
Perhaps no poem captures this shift better than “The Clod and the Pebble.” The poem presents two starkly different views on love. The Clod of Clay, soft and trodden upon, sings a song of innocent love. It believes that love “seeketh not Itself to please” and finds its joy in giving to others, even if it means its own destruction. This perspective echoes the selfless love found in Songs of Innocence.
In stark contrast, the Pebble, hardened by the harsh currents of the brook, offers a cynical view. It sings that love “seeketh only Self to please.” This version of love binds another person for its own delight and finds joy in the other’s loss of freedom. The Pebble represents the voice of Experience—a love that has become selfish, possessive, and ultimately destructive. Blake powerfully contrasts these two states to show what happens when love is twisted by hardship and self-interest.
Love Corrupted and Destroyed
Other poems in Experience explore this theme of corrupted love. In “The Sick Rose,” a beautiful rose is destroyed by a hidden “invisible worm.” This worm symbolizes forces like jealousy, secrecy, and shame that infect and kill love. The love that should be vibrant and open becomes sick and dark. Similarly, in “London,” Blake describes “mind-forg’d manacles” and the cry of the harlot, which “blights with plagues the Marriage hearse.” Here, institutionalized love (marriage) is linked directly with death and disease, a tragic outcome of a repressive society.
A Journey Toward Higher Innocence
So, does William Blake: The Complete Poems leave us with a completely cynical view of love? Not entirely. He does not suggest that we should return to the naive, unknowing state of Innocence. Instead, the journey through Experience, while painful, is necessary for true spiritual growth. Blake’s work is widely seen as a critique of the limitations of both states when viewed in isolation. Source
The ultimate goal is to reach a state of “organized innocence” or “higher innocence.” This is a state where one understands the world’s pain, selfishness, and corruption but still consciously chooses the selfless, giving love of the Clod. It is a love that is not naive but wise. Therefore, the suffering of Experience serves a purpose: it strips away illusion and forces a deeper understanding of what true love requires. It is an informed, resilient love that has weathered the storms of life and emerged stronger.