The Blossom

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The Blossom, Songs of Innocence and of Experience, copy C, 1789, 1794 (Library of Congress) object 10

"The Blossom" is a poem by William Blake, published in Songs of Innocence in 1789.

Analysis

This poem is full of cheerful images of life, such as the "leaves so green", and "happy blossom". The poem tells the tale of two different birds - a sparrow and a robin. The former is clearly content with its existence; whereas the latter is distraught with it, meaning the second stanza becomes full of negative, depressing images. This could be an attempt by Blake to portray the opinions of different groups of society - with one class (assumedly the ruling classes) content with maintaining the Status Quo, and the other class unfair with the changes required - as Robins traditionally appear during the Winter, one could assume that it is upset at having the miss the exciting, lively critiques that occur with summer - such as Blossoms.

Another possible interpretation is a sexual one, where the poem represents the joy that can be found through innocent sexual love. The sparrow, seeking his cradle 'swift as an arrow' has been interpreted in a phallic sense, and demonstrates the innocence and joy of free love. The 'happy blossom' in this sense is therefore the female sexual organs, which is happy upon seeing the arrival of the sparrow. The 'sobbing, sobbing' robin has been interpreted in several different ways. Either it is the opposite to the sparrow's open love, a creature who has been harmed through love or possibly violated, or it is another creature rejoicing in the joy of sexual love, in which case its sobbing could be orgasmic. Whilst this does sound a rather strange interpretation for a poem in 'The Songs of Innocence', Blake himself believed greatly in the joys of free love. Many of his poems, such as 'The Little Girl Lost and Found', 'The Lilly' or 'The Angel' also follow this theme of giving in to desires and sexual love.

Gallery

Scholars agree that "The Blossom" is the 11th object in the order of the original printings of the Songs of Innocence and of Experience. The following, represents a comparison of several of the extant copies of the poem, their print date, their order in that particular printing of the poems, and their holding institution:^[1]

Songs of Innocence, copy B, 1789 (Library of Congress), object 28
Songs of Innocence, copy G, 1789 (Yale Center for British Art) object 9
Songs of Innocence, copy U, 1789 (The Houghton Library) object 8
Songs of Innocence and of Experience, copy Y, 1825 (Metropolitan Museum of Art) object 11
Songs of Innocence and of Experience, copy Z, 1826 (Library of Congress) object 11
Songs of Innocence and of Experience, copy AA, 1826 (The Fitzwilliam Museum) object 11

References

↑ Morris Eaves, Robert N. Essick, and Joseph Viscomi (ed.). "Comparison of Songs of Innocence's "The Blossom"". William Blake Archive. Retrieved January 31, 2014.

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

The Blossom (Blake)

William Blake

Literary works

Early writings

Songs of Innocence
and of Experience

Songs of Innocence	Introduction The Shepherd The Ecchoing Green The Lamb The Little Black Boy The Blossom The Chimney Sweeper The Little Boy Lost The Little Boy Found Laughing Song A Cradle Song The Divine Image Holy Thursday Night Spring Nurse's Song Infant Joy A Dream On Another's Sorrow

Songs of Experience	Introduction Earth's Answer The Clod and the Pebble Holy Thursday The Little Girl Lost The Little Girl Found The Chimney Sweeper Nurse's Song The Sick Rose The Fly The Angel The Tyger My Pretty Rose Tree Ah! Sun-flower The Lily The Garden of Love The Little Vagabond London The Human Abstract Infant Sorrow A Poison Tree A Little Boy lost A Little Girl Lost To Tirzah The School Boy The Voice of the Ancient Bard "A Divine Image" (found only in Copy BB)

Prophetic
Books

The continental prophecies	America a Prophecy Europe a Prophecy The Song of Los

Other	Tiriel The Book of Thel The Marriage of Heaven and Hell The French Revolution Visions of the Daughters of Albion The Book of Urizen The Book of Ahania The Book of Los The Four Zoas Milton Jerusalem The Emanation of the Giant Albion

The Pickering
Manuscript

Auguries of Innocence
The Mental Traveller
The Crystal Cabinet
Mary
The Smile
The Golden Net
The Land of Dreams
The Grey Monk
Long John Brown and Little Mary Bell
William Bond

The Rossetti
Manuscript

Never seek to tell thy love

Mythology

Ahania Albion Bromion Enion Enitharmon Fuzon Grodna Har Leutha Los Luvah Orc Palamabron Spectre Tharmas Thiriel Tiriel Urizen Urthona Utha Vala

Art

Paintings and prints	Relief etching Engravings for Original Stories from Real Life The Ancient of Days The Night of Enitharmon's Joy Newton Nebuchadnezzar Illustrations for Night-Thoughts Illustrations of The Grave The Four and Twenty Elders Casting their Crowns before the Divine Throne Illustrations of Paradise Lost A Vision of the Last Judgment Descriptive Catalogue The Great Red Dragon Paintings Pity The Ghost of a Flea Agony in the Garden Illustrations of On the Morning of Christ's Nativity The Wood of the Self-Murderers: The Harpies and the Suicides Illustrations of the Book of Job Illustrations of The Divine Comedy

Sketches	Visionary Heads

The Ancients	Edward Calvert John Linnell Samuel Palmer George Richmond Arthur Tatham Frederick Tatham

Criticism and scholarship

Scholars and critics	Peter Ackroyd Donald Ault Harold Bloom Nancy Bogen Jacob Bronowski S. Foster Damon David V. Erdman Northrop Frye Alexander Gilchrist Geoffrey Keynes Alicia Ostriker Kathleen Raine E. P. Thompson W. B. Yeats

Scholarly works	Life of William Blake Fearful Symmetry A Blake Dictionary: The Ideas and Symbols of William Blake Blake: Prophet Against Empire Witness Against the Beast

Archives and Collections	William Blake Archive

Wikimedia

Commons Wikibooks Wikiquote Wikisource Wiktionary

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