Blakes’s "Songs of Innocence" and "Songs of Experience": Two Contrary States of the Human Soul. A Study of Selected Poems

The dissertation examines some selected poems written by William Blake, specifically: “The Lamb”, “Holy Thursday”, “The Divine Image” and “The Chimney Sweeper” from the collection "Songs of Innocence". They are compared to their counterparts in "Songs of Experience" and then analysed stanza by stanza. The historical and literary background, as well as Blake’s life, are also illustrated as they are necessary to understand the poems. The first section of the dissertation includes an overview of the historical context – the eighteenth century. Subsequently, Blake’s life is presented as well as an exploration of his poetic writings and the poet’s view regarding Romanticism, politics and religion. Chapters 2 and 3 are characterised by the analysis of the selected poems. The study shows that the Bible was a major source of inspiration for Blake. It can be seen in the message that the poems convey, the inclusion of biblical themes and morality, and the use of biblical language and symbolism. Verses from the Holy Scriptures as well as stories from the Bible have also been quoted and explained to support the analysis.

La dissertazione esamina alcune poesie di William Blake, ovvero: “The Lamb”, “Holy Thursday”, “The Divine Image” e “The Chimney Sweeper” appartenenti al volume "Songs of Innocence". Successivamente, esse sono state confrontate con le loro controparti incluse in "Songs of Experience" per poi essere analizzate strofa per strofa. Vengono, inoltre, illustrati i contesti sia storici che letterari, nonché la vita di Blake, poiché sono necessari per la comprensione delle poesie. La prima sezione della tesi presenta un quadro storico del XVIII secolo. Successivamente, viene illustrata la vita di Blake, i suoi scritti poetici ed il pensiero del poeta riguardo il Romanticismo, la politica e la religione. I capitoli 2 e 3 contengono l’analisi delle poesie scelte. Lo studio mostra come la Bibbia sia stata un’importante fonte di ispirazione per l’autore. Ciò può essere visto nel messaggio che le poesie trasmettono, basato su temi, codice morale, linguaggio e simboli biblici. Sono stati infine riportati e spiegati sia versetti che storie appartenenti alle Sacre Scritture a supporto dell’analisi.