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Title
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Title Page: Songs of Experience (2016)
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Student Commentary:
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In the title page for Songs of Experience, included in the combined edition of Songs of Innocence and of Experience (2016 facsimile), an elderly couple appears to have died recently. They lie side by side in a bed with their arms stretched out flat at their sides. At the foot of the bed, on either side, is a woman. Both women appear to be distressed and have their hands in front of them in grief or prayer. The words that comprise the title are surrounded by delicate flowers, as well as two figures with legs extended in a sort of dance pose. The picture juxtaposes joy and agony - surely two key components of ‘experience’.
The coloring and impact of this image should be compared to that of other reproductions in the library’s collections, made by different hands or from different original copies. Michael Phillips’s black and white impression of this plate, for example, allows some details to emerge that are easier to see without color, such as the date of 1794 on the bedpost and some of the leaves that are hugging the title. Not available at the William Blake Archive; consult the book in Schaffer Library for a detailed view of the image.
