Songs of Innocence and of Experience:
Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul (1789-94)
Author: William Blake | Page Count: approx 50
"Love seeketh not itself to please, nor for itself hath any care, but for another gives its ease, and builds a Heaven in Hell's despair."
The book, as it’s collected here, was originally written in two parts: Songs of Innocence was published in 1789, with Songs of Experience following in full five years later. The first part is closely tied with the conventions of Romanticism; the second is dependent upon the same but for very different reasons.
It’s unknown if Blake always planned to have Experience follow Innocence or if it was a result of Innocence failing to sufficiently shake the system as much as he'd hoped it would, heightening his need to push further buttons. Either way, the two books work in tandem to express an opposition to each other and to cement an idea.
