Reviews

Songs of Innocence and of Experience and the Book of Thel by William Blake

sapphicreads64's review against another edition

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Some of these were great, most of them were not. Maybe part of it is the age of the language, but another part is how simple and obvious many of the concepts Blake explores are, along with me not agreeing with his philosophy.

allaboutfrodo's review against another edition

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5.0

Not the edition I have but I can't find it on Goodreads. I have a reproduction, with an introduction and commentary by Sir Geoffrey Keynes, published in 1967 by The Orion Press, New York, in hardback, in a slipcase. The images could be larger but the color is brilliant.

I first read Blake in the early 1980s, and I have heard his voice in my head many times over the last forty years. Powerful poetry and haunting images that have stayed with me.

(I also own 9781854377296.)

thatswhereyourewrong's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5
The Experience part shines a lot brighter than the Innocence section, mostly due to the fact that the latter can sometimes read as a sermon, veering into preachy territory. Blake has some marvelous musicality, and you can really envision the poems being sung alongside a piper. At times I felt the illustrations actually overshadowed the poems in quality, but that is up to personal preference. Definitely a book I will come back to though. My favourite poems were;
On Anothers Sorrow
The Chimney Sweeper
The Little Vagabond
A Little Girl Lost
Ah! Sun-Flower
The Tyger
The Human Abstract

emenibz's review against another edition

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4.0

Brilliant! and...tiring for my little brain

katieburkes's review against another edition

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4.0

songs of experience - favorite half

songs of innocence favorite - on another’s sorrow
songs of experience favorite - the clod and the pebble

sunny1234's review against another edition

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inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

gavros's review against another edition

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challenging dark lighthearted mysterious reflective fast-paced

3.75

roryhankins20's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

livinglifewithhanna's review against another edition

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3.0

This is like my 2nd poetry book, so I a. No expert. And I rate things based on enjoyment. I enjoyed it, a quick read.

emeraldgarnet's review against another edition

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fast-paced

4.0