Nurse's Song (Innocence): Poet & Context
Nurse’s Song (Innocence): Poet & Context
“Nurse’s Song (Experience): Plot”
- Twisted version of its innocent counterpart, showing the darkness that can accompany experience.
- The once comforting nurse figure is now bitter, the laughter that warmed her in the previous poem annoys her.
- The children are no longer carefree; they are whispering in fear and the hills provide no joy.
“Nurse’s Song (Experience): Structure & Language Techniques”
- Utilizes quatrains, each one giving the song a rhythm and melody.
- Contrast between dark content and upbeat rhythm, highlighting the falsity of the nurse’s cheer.
- Repeated use of exclamation marks for emphasis and to reflect the nurse’s frantic efforts to control.
“Nurse’s Song (Experience): Themes & Linking Poems”
- Commentary on the loss of innocence and the stifling of joy often linked with adulthood.
- Connects with poems like ‘London’ and ‘The Chimney Sweeper’ (Experience), that comment on society’s corruption.
- Central theme of observation and control, correlating with ‘The Garden of Love’.
“Nurse’s Song (Experience): Key Quotes”
- “Your spring & your day are wasted in play”: illustrates the nurse’s view that play is a waste, contrasting with the innocent version.
- “And your winter and night in disguise”: ominous reference to the darkness and deceit in experience.
“Nurse’s Song (Experience): Poet & Context”
- Reflects Blake’s critique of the church and state and how they suppress joy and freedom.
- Serves as an illustration of Blake’s belief in the importance of childhood joy and the destructive effects of its suppression.
- A part of the ‘experience’ poems of Blake: these generally showcase the cruelty and corruption of adult society.