Songs of Innocence and of Experience (Selections, 1964)

This selection of reproductions of representative pages from Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience is included in Geoffrey Keynes’ Study of the Illuminated Books, published by the Trianon Press in 1964. Unlike the representation of pages from The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, this selection consists of pages with no text other than the titles written on two of the pages. These images are rich in color but dark at the same time. The dark color that is being evoked in the images may relate to Keynes’ observation that the Songs of Experience in particular are a “summing up for Blake all the bitterness and disappointment of adult reality.” The choices of these images was likely done strategically, to show Blake’s style as an artist, instead of presenting bits of his writings out of context.

Not available in this form at the William Blake Archive; consult the book in the library for more information.