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Title
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Songs of Innocence (1927)
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Original Date:
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1789
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Facsimile Date:
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1927
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Publisher:
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Bernard Quaritch
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Physical Description:
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27 leaves ; 30 cm.
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Background Information:
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Songs of Innocence, composed in 1789, has a complex publication history, especially after Blake began combining it with Songs of Experience five years later. The order of poems within it, and the number selected for publication or reproduction, varies considerably. Thus not all of the poems in the series are included in all versions. The ink used for printing and the watercolors (or lack thereof) also vary from copy to copy. The 1927 facsimile, made by Joseph Patrick Trumble, Sophia Elizabeth Muir, and William Muir, was a further printing of reproductions that the Muir team had made in the late 19th century from a combination of copies in the British Museum. Its coloring is most similar to copy A of The Songs of Innocence and of Experience held by that institution. The Muirs also did a companion reproduction of Songs of Experience in 1927. That volume is also held by the Union College library.
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Student Commentary:
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Overview: Songs of Innocence is a collection of short poems by William Blake that share pastoral and childlike images or perspectives. Though some of the subject matter is more mature in nature, touching on poverty or religion, those themes are dealt with in a way that is relatable even for young children. In some poems, for example, religion is offered as a safety net for one’s problems. In 1794, Blake combined Songs of Innocence with his later anthology of lyrics, Songs of Experience, addressing those themes in a darker vein. The two works together offer alternate views that comment upon each other in myriad ways. The combined collection is titled, appropriately, Songs of Innocence and of Experience. – Jessica Rosenthal ‘18
