Modern psychology has gained much information from Blake's understanding on how man deals with the warring contraries in his mind (Natoli 248). Natoli notes that contraries are mental opposites, which exist together in a regenerated state (249). A regenerated state occurs when the contraries exist together creating immense power and perception. Blake has depicted this process to regeneration based on the conflict between contraries (Natoli 249). He focuses primarily on the inner states of man who was whole once, but became divided when reason began to dominate his mind (Natoli 249). Songs of Innocence and Experience reveals the journey from innocence to experience and man's potential when his mind has been opened and he has reached a regenerated state.
Songs of Innocence and Experience was once two separate books: Songs of Experience and Songs of Innocence (Cronin 17). Ashe comments that Blake's books are so difficult to understand that it has been said it is not "what they say," but "what you believe the poems mean after a sustained effort to understand the poems."
William Blake's portrait in profile, added later t...
William Blake's frontispiece for Songs of Innocenc...
Blake's title plate (No.29) for Songs of Experienc...The reasoning process is much easier when aided by critics who have made the same effort. Blake's central idea is that man was formerly creative, wise, united and then humanity became divided after a fall into error, spiritual blindness, and disorganization. This fall created false religions, wars, false ideologies, and other evils. However, the ever-present creative imagination will eventually triumph bringing a rebirth. All that was lost will be restored and integrity will return (34). The poems displays concern for individual human life, particularly the journey to experience. It also gives a glimpse of what man can be if he rightly frees himself from repressed energies and limited perception (Natoli 251). Religious apocalypses have been associated with fallen bodies and their contraries. Blake's apocalypse involves the...