Infant Sorrow

Infant Sorrow

William Blake

This poem was first published in 1794 and was one of the series of poems in Songs of Experience. These short poems explore the harsh realities of late 18th and early 19th Century life during the time of King George III, known — ironically given the terrible social conditions of the time — as the Romantic Era. Each poem in the “Songs of Experience” category is matched by an idealistic portrayal in Songs of Innocence. The contrast is Blake’s method of social protest.

Blake was fully aware of the terrible lives endured by poor people; disease, hunger and squalor. In this poem he presents the world from the point of view of a new-born baby. From his first breath his life will be one of hardship and grief.

It is worth comparing this poem with Blake’s The Shepherd, which portrays an idyll of lambs protected by their mothers — a metaphor for humans — and by the shepherd.

Structure
The poem comprises two quatrains, that is, four-lined stanzas, each made up of two rhyming couplets. The effect is succinct and uncompromising.

Language and Imagery
Though simple, this is meticulously composed. The voice is that of the new-born infant. Words like ‘dangerous’, ‘struggling’, ‘striving’, ‘fiend’ etc depict the grim world into which this baby has been born.