WILLIAM BLAKE
A cradle song
1 Sweet dreams form a shade,A
2 O’er my lovely infants
head.A
3 Sweet dreams of pleasant streams,B
4 By happy silent moony beamsB
5 Sweet sleep
with soft down.C
6 Weave thy brows an infant crown.C
7 Sweet sleep Angel mild,D
8 Hover o’er my happy child.D
9 Sweet smiles in the night,E
10 Hover over my delight,E
11 Sweet smiles Mothers smiles,F
12 All the livelong night beguiles.F
13 Sweet moans, dovelike sighs,F
14 Chase not slumber from thy eyes,F
15 Sweet moans, sweeter smiles,F
16 All the dovelike moans beguiles,F
17 Sleep sleep happy child,D
18 All creation slept and smil’d. D
19 Sleep sleep, happy sleepG
20 While o’er thee thy mother weepG
21 Sweet babe
in thy face, H
22 Holy image
I can trace H
23 Sweet babe
once like thee I
24 Thy maker lay and wept for me I
25 Wept for me for thee for all J
26 When he was an infant small J
27 Thou his image ever see K
28 Heavenly face that smiles on thee
K
29Smiles on thee on me on all J
30 Who became an infant small J
31 Infant smiles are His own smiles F
32 Heaven and earth to peace beguiles F
Analysis
This poem, which is called A cradle song is talking about the purity and innocence of a
baby. This description let us imagine a holy picture, peace and happiness which
takes place in Betlem. A mother with
her new born child, who is singing this lullaby at night, when everything is
quiet, even heaven and earth. Blake doesn´t need to mention who he is
talking about, so we can imagine the baby is Jesus, and his mother is The
Virgin. However, this poem can be seen from a universal point of view. This
situation is not just particular in Jesus and his mother. Every mother who has
just given birth to a baby can be perfectly identified as The Virgin, because
they all have the same feelings. The difference is that we don’t have a crown
upon our head.
This poem is a stanza, formed by
eight strophes. Each one has four lines and the rhythm is quite irregular. If
we analyze the poem we realize that:
-
In
the first line of the first strophe
we have 5 syllables
-
In
the second we have 8 syllables
-
In
the third there are 6 syllables
-
In
the fourth line there are 8 syllables again
-
In
the first line of the second strophe
we have 5 syllables
-
In
the second line of the second strophe we have 7 syllables
-
In
the third line of the second strophe we find 5 syllables again
-
In
the fourth line of the second strophe we have 8 syllables
-
In
the first line of the third strophe
we have 5 syllables
-
In
the second line of the third strophe we have 7 syllables
-
In
the third line of the third strophe we have 5 syllables
-
In
the fourth line of the third strophe we find 7 syllables
-
In
the first line of the fourth strophe
we have 5 syllables
-
In
the second line of the fourth strophe we have 7 syllables
-
In
the third line of the fourth strophe we have 5 syllables
-
In
the fourth line of the fourth strophe we have 7 syllables
-
In
the first line of the fifth strophe
we have 5 syllables
-
In
the second line of the fifth strophe we have 7 syllables
-
In
the third line of the fifth strophe we have 5 syllables
-
In
the fourth line of the fifth strophe we have 8 syllables
-
In
the first line of the sixth strophe
we have 5 syllables
-
In
the second line of the sixth strophe we have 7 syllables
-
In
the third line of the sixth strophe we have 5 syllables
-
In
the fourth line of the sixth strophe we have 8 syllables
-
In
the first line of the seventh strophe
we have 7 syllables
-
In
the second line of the seventh strophe we have 7 syllables
-
In
the third line of the seventh strophe we have 7 syllables
-
In
the fourth line of the seventh strophe we have 8 syllables
-
In
the first line of the eighth strophe
we have 7 syllables
-
In
the second line of the eighth strophe we have 7 syllables
-
In
the third line of the eighth strophe we have 7 syllables
-
In
the fourth line of the eighth strophe we have 8 syllables
As we can see, the most repeated
sequences of syllables are 5, 7 and 8, and the rhyme is a mixture of consonant
and assonant. The first, the second and
third quatrain has a consonant rhyme. In the fourth quatrain we have a mixture of both. The first two lines have
an assonant rhyme whereas the other ones have a consonant rhyme.
In the fifth quatrain the rhyme is also consonant in all the lines. In the sixth quatrain we have a mixture again of both rhymes. The
first three lines are of consonant rhyme, and the last one is of assonant
rhyme.
In the seventh quatrain the first two lines are of consonant rhyme, and
the other ones of assonant rhyme.
And finally, the last quatrain, the eighth one is of consonant rhyme.
Historical context
William Blake was a romantic poet.
He was born in
But what really influenced Blake and
his poems was the Industrial Revolution, as we have already said before. He was
very concerned and worried about the situation women and children were living
in. This can be felt in the poems which belong to Songs of
innocence and Songs of experience. The first one, as the title can let us
think, is written from an innocent perspective in which we can see a little
hope to change the world and the catastrophe that was taking place at that
time, whereas in the Songs of experience he is completely hopeless and devastated.
Relation to the poet’s life
This is a very significant poem if
we take into account that he never had children and he has always loved them. Furthermore,
the death of his brothers and his sister affected him too. Many times children
are the main characters in Blake´s poems. The baby can be seen as the author
himself, but there is another interpretation. Since Blake was a very religious
man, the baby could be Jesus, and his mother, The Virgin. The poem is a lullaby
and The Virgin is singing to her son, Jesus. Therefore the poem is full of
religious references. His mother is sad, because she knows how cruel is the
world and the people, a reflection of the Industrial Revolution, and she
already knows his destiny. He was born to die, to save us. We can glimpse a
shadow of sadness in this poem. His mother is crying. Crying of joy or of
sadness?? There are also references to God, when The Virgin says: Infant smiles
are HIS own smiles. There is another reference to the Genesis. I think this
poem nowadays has two different interpretations. On the one hand we have the
religious one. Every religious person will like this poem just because it talks
about The Virgin and Jesus. On the other hand is the other interpretation which
I agree with. It´s wonderful how there is explained the feeling of motherhood.
How a mother feels when is singing to her baby, how
she looks after him, and how the baby, not Jesus, means everything to her. Heaven and earth.
Personal opinion
I found the romantic poetry very
interesting, but I´d have liked to study it in a deeper way. I think William
Blake captured in his poetry everything that was taking place at his time.
However nobody could understand him. It is a common thing in genius people. We
have to wait for a long time to decipher their works, their meaning, etc. I
think he was a bit unhappy because he and his wife didn´t have offspring, that is why he is somehow obsessed with children,
in the good sense of the word. It is interesting and amazing how he can create
a gorgeous poem just in three or four lines. How he can reflect darkness in
Songs of experience, a mature point of view of life, whereas in songs of
innocence everything is pure, whitish and hopeful.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_of_Experience
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_blake
http://www.spanisharts.com/history/del_neoclasic_romant/romant_blake.html
http://www.spanisharts.com/history/del_neoclasic_romant/romanticismo.html