Blake - Nurse's Song

A detailed Summary of Blake - Nurse's Song

We all enter into this life wide-eyed and idealistic. Each day we interact, learn,

and experience what life has to offer. At some point, these experiences seep into our

being and transform us from the innocent babe of childhood into a supposedly "mature"

adult. What causes this theft of innocence? Do we all succumb in the end? These issues

are brought forth in a book of poetry by William Blake. The first section of his work

deals with the idea of our blossoming innocence. Once he has fully developed this theme,

he moves on to critique the idea of "experience" and the benefits or drawbacks contained

within. To juxtaposes these two very contrasting ideas, Blake writes paired poems that

are contained within the separate sections. He is trying to show us each notion through its

opposite and presenting the belief that one's view is dependent solely upon the attitude

with which one perceives the situations surrounding him. The idea that we can only

understand a theme through the eyes of it's opposite is nothing new. Along these lines

we see that innocence can only be viewed when it is lacking and you are in a state of

experience. Our view of experience cannot be seen in this sa

Your spring and your day, are wasted in play (NURSES 6-7)

we see that she is sickened in some way, perhaps by the revelation that she squandered

embodiment of innocence before her eyes. She is bitter more than anything else. It

eyes. What causes this huge contrast involving an identical scene? The answer lies in the

nurse of innocence is describing a beautiful, joyous scene, while the second nurse seems

Book of Innocence. First off, this woman does not disregard the children's actions. She

impossible to directly view "experience" in a state of innocence because we have not yet

Approximate Word count = 1260
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Arts

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