“Infant
Sorrow” by William Blake is an
illustrated poem from his Songs of
Experience collection. The Songs of
Experience are a collection of poems that are not only more experienced
pieces of work, but also represent life in a more experienced manor. In “Infant
Sorrow”, an unwanted baby is born into the world. However, in contrast to its
counterpart “Infant Joy” from the Songs
of Innocence, the poem portrays the negative and uncensored perspective of
life. Despite the poem creating a sense
of sorrow as the title would suggest, the painting is bright, vibrant and full
of life. One possible explanation for this color choice is to depict the
allusion of innocence, the desire for love and care, and an appearance of a
non-existent utopia.
Blake’s
color choice could be depicting an allusion of innocence. When a baby is born,
they are completely oblivious to everything that is happening around them. The
baby does not know that its parents do not want them or that the world they
were born into approves of child labor. Blake may have wanted to represent this
sense of reality in the painting to supplement as well as contrast the poem. Due
to this plate being part of the Songs of
Experience and not the Songs of
Innocence, it portrays a more well-rounded perspective due to the duality
of the perspectives. Another possible benefit of depicting this allusion of
innocence is to confuse the reader of the poem. At first confusing the reader
may not seem like something an author or artist would want to do, but in this
case it could be Blake’s way of forcing the reader to not only understand the
innocence of a baby, but also to reevaluate the world around them.
Blake’s
color choice also depicts a desire for love and care. Although realistically
the baby is oblivious to the fact that its parents do now want it, it does have
a desire for love and care. Babies do not have the benefit, or in some cases
the misfortune, of knowing what is happening, but they do have the capability
to tell when something is wrong or different. When a baby soils its diaper, it
can tell that something is different and cries. When a baby hears an unknown
noise, it can sense something could be wrong and lets you know. A baby wants to
be loved and cared for. Blake could be using this depiction for a greater
purpose, to make people cherish children enough to demolish child labor. In
today’s society, it’s morally disturbing to ponder child labor, but in the
eighteenth century, this was a normal practice that Blake did not agree with.
Another
purpose for the color choice could be to represent a non-existent utopia. This
could be Blake’s depiction for the utopia that he is trying to portray
throughout both the Songs of Innocence
and the Songs of Experience. By
looking at several of the poems and paintings, it is apparently that Blake does
not approve of child labor or any form of life where a child is not cherished.
In this painting, the baby appears to be happy and the mother appears to be
caring for her child. In other poems such as the “Chimney Sweeper”, the boy is
sold into child labor and is questioning why his parents and the church are
allowing this happen. For the infant of this poem, it is very likely that
either they will be forced into child labor or an orphanage since the parents
do not want it. Like with the depiction of innocence and the desire of love and
care, this could be trying to revoke the innocence of society and form a better
place for their children to live in.
Blake’s
color choice could be depicting an allusion of innocence, desire for love and
care, and a portrayal of a non-existent utopia. All three reasons can be focused
into a greater purpose. The duality and contrast of the poem and poetry force
the reader to reevaluate the world around them, or more specifically the
treatment of children. The poem represents where the world currently stands,
whereas the painting represents where the world should be according to Blake.
I liked the section about color contrasting the poem. Where you talked about how the reader would reevaluate the passage for innocence and the not so innocent. Doubt it is confusing the reader but more of making them interpret it differently. There was a little bit of disconnect for the utopia section. The chimney sweeper is described and it never really came back to the Infant of Sorrow enough to make a solid claim. Further explanation would probably complete the argument.
ReplyDeleteAllusion and illusion are totally different words!
ReplyDeleteIs the baby unwanted in "Infant Sorrow"? That's not at all obvious to me. "Blake could be using this depiction for a greater purpose, to make people cherish children enough to demolish child labor" -- this seems like a stretch, since infants can't labor in any case. In any case it would require further elaboration. And while it's clearly true in some sense that in general babies want to be loved, is that the case within the confines of this poem? You generalize a great deal, but focus on the poem itself very little.
I'm not saying that your interpretation of the colors are totally off base, but you depend an awful lot on the general observation that it's a colorful image, rather than dwelling, for instance, on the mother being dressed in red (surely that matters!) and almost everything else being green. In fact, you wrote an essay about Blake's use of color without ever mentioning the name of a specific color - that can't possibly be right! Why is the mother's dress red? Why are the curtains, etc., green? How do you interpret the colors of the baby? Etc.
Generalize only carefully. Begin always with specifics. Avoid speculation (e.g., it's really hard to see how you get to child labor here, when we're dealing with a family which is obviously middle class or above, based on the furnishings).