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English Edition

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Songs of Innocence and of Experience

English BooksWhale Edition by William Blake

A visionary poetic cycle joining innocence, experience, spiritual imagination, social criticism, and artistic intensity.

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Songs of Innocence and of Experience

Songs of Innocence and of Experience is one of William Blake’s most influential works, bringing together lyrical simplicity, prophetic imagination, and sharp moral insight. The poems move between childhood vision, suffering, social injustice, and spiritual longing. This BooksWhale edition presents the English original text for online reading, EPUB, and PDF, without relying on copyrighted modern illustrations.

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How this edition was prepared

This edition is based on a public domain text and has been prepared for digital reading by BooksWhale.

Public domain basis

Why this edition can be shared

William Blake died in 1827, and the combined Songs of Innocence and of Experience appeared in 1794. These dates support the public-domain basis for this English original edition.

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Songs of Innocence and of Experience

William Blake

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Songs of Innocence

Songs of Innocence

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Introduction

Piping down the valleys wild,

Piping songs of pleasant glee,

On a cloud I saw a child,

And he laughing said to me:

‘Pipe a song about a Lamb!’

So I piped with merry cheer.

‘Piper, pipe that song again.’

So I piped: he wept to hear.

‘Drop thy pipe, thy happy pipe;

Sing thy songs of happy cheer!’

So I sung the same again,

While he wept with joy to hear.

‘Piper, sit thee down and write

In a book, that all may read.’

So he vanished from my sight;

And I plucked a hollow reed,

And I made a rural pen,

And I stained the water clear,

And I wrote my happy songs

Every child may joy to hear.

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The Shepherd

How sweet is the shepherd’s sweet lot!

From the morn to the evening he strays;

He shall follow his sheep all the day,

And his tongue shall be fillèd with praise.

Table of contents

Inside this edition

  1. 01Full text
  2. 02Songs of Innocence
  3. 03Introduction
  4. 04The Shepherd
  5. 05The Echoing Green
  6. 06The Lamb
  7. 07The Little Black Boy
  8. 08The Blossom
  9. 09The Chimney-Sweeper
  10. 10The Little Boy Lost
  11. 11The Little Boy Found
  12. 12Laughing Song
  13. 13A Cradle Song
  14. 14The Divine Image
  15. 15Holy Thursday
  16. 16Night
  17. 17Spring
  18. 18Nurse’s Song
  19. 19Infant Joy
  20. 20A Dream
  21. 21On Another’s Sorrow
  22. 22Songs of Experience
  23. 23Introduction
  24. 24Earth’s Answer
  25. 25The Clod And the Pebble
  26. 26Holy Thursday
  27. 27The Little Girl Lost
  28. 28The Little Girl Found
  29. 29The Chimney-Sweeper
  30. 30Nurse’s Song
  31. 31The Sick Rose
  32. 32The Fly
  33. 33The Angel
  34. 34The Tiger
  35. 35My Pretty Rose-Tree
  36. 36Ah, Sunflower
  37. 37The Lily
  38. 38The Garden of Love
  39. 39The Little Vagabond
  40. 40London
  41. 41The Human Abstract
  42. 42Infant Sorrow
  43. 43A Poison Tree
  44. 44A Little Boy Lost
  45. 45A Little Girl Lost
  46. 46A Divine Image
  47. 47A Cradle Song
  48. 48To Tirzah
  49. 49The Schoolboy
  50. 50The Voice of the Ancient Bard

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