Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul (1789-1794)

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 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, 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.

The relationship between the unity and harmony that’s evident in Innocence is contrasted with a breaking away from unity in Experience.  The resultant fall from grace and abandonment of harmony giving rise to the social inequalities and human injustices of the day.  The contrast is evident not just in the poems’ titles but also in the imagery depicted within them and the illustrations that accompany each one.*  A reader wanting to attempt an understanding of the work needs to appreciate all of those aspects, and be aware that it'll require repeated readings before you're versed enough in the antithetical devices to give a proper critique.

The poet remarks on the things that used to connect us, saying they've become the very tools that others use in order to control us.  In that respect, you can’t fail to notice the political stance he took in regards to work practices of the era, highlighted by his use of children, themselves often cited in literature as an enduring epitome of innocence.   Indeed, the concerns of the first book seem initially childlike, the presentation simplified, but within it are darker moments telling what could happen should the state be abandoned.  Likewise, the second book has moments of beauty reminding us of what we've lost.

You could argue that Innocence is nothing but idealism and self-sustaining naivety; its opposite being Experience, with the woollen blanket pulled back the harsh truth of the world is revealed.  You're free to make that choice.

It seems there are some benefits to being perceived as a madman.  You can give a voice to a way of thinking that others fear to even admit to, lest they attract the attention of the very men responsible for the cruelty that Blake condemns.

4 immortal hands out of 5

*If you want an example, The Ecchoing Green [sic] is positioned third in Innocence, whereas The Clod and the Pebble takes that same spot in Experience.  There are many, many more examples with varying degrees of opacity.  Discovering them for yourself is part of the fun.

Mother, Brother, Lover: Selected Lyrics (2012)

Author: Jarvis Cocker | Page Count: 192

"If nobody's listening you can say whatever you want."

A selection of lyrics (sixty-six in all) penned by Meister Cocker over the span of three decades. They're mostly from his time in Pulp, but his solo work is well-represented, too. Each one is accompanied by notes that act as illumination and commentary on the themes and allusions made in the songs themselves; which will be helpful to people outside the UK or those who were born too late.

Before you get to the main event, there's an introduction from Jarvis that's so beautifully constructed and insightful that it's worth the asking price alone. He speaks of the profound things that occur in everyday life, the things that don't stand out until later, and he speaks of them in common language for (ahem) common people. It's from a point in time that enables experience to lay tender hands on and memory to whittle away anything superfluous. Without meaning to demean anything that comes after, the intro is the highlight of the work.

With regards the lyrics, despite Jarvis' insistence to the contrary, they're intrinsically poetic, and therefore I'm labelling the book as poetry. (He's never going to read this, so I think I'll get away with it.)

They're narrative-based, so work just as well when written on the page as they did when put to music. I could go into depth about why I think that is but I'd need twice the word count I have, and you'd probably not care anyhow. I will say, though, that the lyrics of songs I've not heard sung were more enjoyable to read than the ones I know well. I found myself breaking up the words of the familiar ones into their metre structure, attributing qualitative and quantitative, and because I was hearing the music in my head I was putting pauses in places that a pause would be better left out. It was a very odd experience.

I'm not appraising with blind bias. I'm a Pulp fan, yes, but that fact doesn't influence the score. I only own two Pulp albums and one Jarvis solo album. I'm interested in the others but just haven't got around to purchasing them yet.

4 less obvious places out of 5

Through the Wire: Lyrics & Illuminations (2009)

Author: Kanye West | Illustrator: Bill Plypton | Page Count: 79

Huh? Y'all eat pieces of shit? What's the basis? 

We ain't going nowhere but got suits and cases.

I picked it up for 99p in clearance because it had Bill Plypton art. I left the store feeling like I’d cheated the owners by paying so little. I think we both got lucky and unlucky that day.

I’d heard the name Kanye West but had no idea what he did or didn’t do. He’s a hip-hop ‘artist,’ apparently. That places him very far from the field I normally graze in. I haven’t heard his music and I have no wish to. His lyrics are abysmal; fourth grade poetry has more meaningful content than this fucking drivel. See above quote for a very fine example of Mr West’s poetical talent.

Each song is briefly annotated with an autobiographical anecdote in what most of us call the English language, which is a mercy.

Celebrated artist Bill Plypton illustrates the lyrics of twelve songs that collectively tell the tale of Kanye’s rise from a college drop-out to a college drop-out that learned how to hold a microphone. Plypton illustrates with his usual distinctive style; the sketchy pencil lines, the crosshatched colouring pencils and the dynamic perspectives are are all here. The illustrations are often blackly humorous, full of religious motifs and political musings.

I console myself with the knowledge that I got some cool Plympton art to admire, and pray it won't be long until my ageing brain forgets the Kanye West portion.

0 points for trying out of 5 for Kanye. | 5 wicked grins out of 5 for Bill.

Monday's Troll (1996)

Author: jack Prelutsky | Illustrator: Peter Sis | Page Count: 40

“Monday’s troll is mean and rotten, Tuesday’s troll is misbegotten”

A collection of 17 short poems Monday’s Troll is a wonderful anthology of rhymes detailing the everyday goings on of trolls, wizards, giants, and other magical beasts and ghoulies. The poems themselves are short and sweet, easy enough for the children to read and comprehend but they are all well put together and incite a chuckle out of the grown up reader. Peter Sis’s drawings are fanciful and lively in their depiction of the little story being told but also have some nice little details here and there that don’t have any real importance to the poem’s main narrative. All of the poems are solid but I do wish they would have chosen a different one to end the book with.

I defiantly would get this for any child who likes poetry, fantasy monsters, or just books in general. 

4 snotty kids talking smack to wizards and getting what was coming to ‘em out of 5

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1793)

Author: William Blake | Page Count: approx 48

"As the air to a bird or the sea to a fish, so is contempt to the contemptible."

Marriage… is William Blake’s romantic (in the poetic sense) and satiric attack on orthodox religious beliefs presented as a kind of biblical passage, with a socio-political and historical binding holding it together. It describes the poet’s visit to hell and the knowledge and assumptions he receives whilst there. It's a short book but one of the most complex pieces of literature I've ever read. I've read it three or four times a year for about five years now and I still feel like I've barely scratched the surface of its esoteric, complex and iconoclastic mysteries.

Blake reverses the traditional standings of good and evil and the beauty and hideousness of heaven and hell, blurring the line between what is perceived good and proper and what is believed to be controlling and bad for the individual. It’s the poet-prophet ideal in its most scathing and reverential form, told from a number of perspectives and in more than one voice. He references Dante and even playfully(?) mocks Milton.

The Proverbs of Hell passage is perhaps the most visceral and misunderstood element of the work and is the part that vexes and intrigues me the most.

A number of beautifully crafted full colour illustrations complement the prose; they were etched in relief directly onto plates by Blake himself and initially printed at his own expense.

The work is freely available online to read for free, both from the William Blake Archive and other places if you prefer not to install the required plug-in, but I would urge you to seek out a site that also reproduces the illustrations, because not all of them do.

5 apple trees and tarot totems out of 5

EDIT: The University of Adelaide has an attractive ebook edition that contains the original illustrations followed by an easier to read text. You can see it HERE.