Fleeting Innocence in William Blake’s Songs of Innocence

   Upon first glance in class, I was very taken by William Blake’s delicate and moving cover art for his book of poems, Songs of Innocence, published in 1789. I loved the fact that Blake created these books of both his art and his poetry. When you combine art and poetry with something like childhood, as Blake did, you are set for a particularly emotional experience. I have always been moved by children’s abilities to process the world through untouched, untainted, innocent eyes. Blake capitalizes on this notion and makes it the focal point of his book.