High Quality Songs Of Innocence And Of Experience By William Blake (UK Edition, Hardcover)

Review QuoteMy mind and my body reacted to certain lines from the Songs of Innocence and of Experience . . . with the joyful immediacy of a flame leaping to meet a gas jet.Review QuoteAs a poet, Blake's greatest works are the short ones, his Songs of Innocence and Experience.A beautiful colour illustrated edition of William Blakes most famous poems, with a foreword by Peter Harness.William Blakes Songs of Innocence and of Experience includes some of the visionary poets finest and best-loved poems such as The Lamb, The Chimney-Sweeper and The Tiger. Part of the Macmillan Collectors Library, a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold-foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition has a foreword by Peter Harness. Blakes work is instantly recognizable by its flamboyance and inventiveness. This gorgeous edition contains stunning reproductions of the fifty-four plates of the poems and illustrations together, which Blake etched himself and coloured by hand. Each has the poem printed on the facing page. Whilst Songs of Innocence captures the innocence of childhood, Songs of Experience is its contrasting sequel.Biographical NoteWilliam Blake was born in London in 1757. He was apprenticed to a master engraver and then studied at the Royal Academy under the guidance of Joshua Reynolds. In 1789 he engraved and published Songs of Innocence andthe contrasting Songs of Experience came later in 1794. A poet, painter and printmaker of great originality and imagination, his work was largely unrecognized during his lifetime and he struggled to make a living. Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age. He died in 1827.