Songs of Innocence and of Experience
Blake pairs his Songs of Innocence with the darker Songs of Experience to show ‘the two contrary states of the human soul’—childlike joy and wonder set against a world of cruelty, poverty, and repression. Deceptively simple lyrics like ‘The Lamb,’ ‘The Tyger,’ and ‘London’ carry profound spiritual and social meaning, and Blake originally engraved and hand-colored each page as a fusion of poetry and visionary art. Radiant, mysterious, and endlessly interpreted, these poems are among the most beloved in English and reveal one of literature’s most original imaginations. A cornerstone of Romantic poetry, they reward a lifetime of rereading.
Listen to Songs of Innocence and of Experience Audiobook Free
Listen to Songs of Innocence and of Experience by William Blake free online. The full audiobook (1 hr 22 min, 47 chapters, read by volunteer narrators) streams free on this page.
Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1794) is a public domain work.
| # | Chapter | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction (Innocence) | 1:29 | |
| 2 | Shepherd, The (Innocence) | 0:59 | |
| 3 | Echoing Green, The (Innocence) | 1:34 | |
| 4 | Lamb, The (Innocence) | 1:27 | |
| 5 | Little Black Boy, The (Innocence) | 2:56 | |
| 6 | Blossom, The (Innocence) | 1:06 | |
| 7 | Chimney-Sweeper, The (Innocence) | 2:43 | |
| 8 | Little Boy Lost, The (Innocence) | 0:52 | |
| 9 | Little Boy Found, The (Innocence) | 0:50 | |
| 10 | Laughing Song (Innocence) | 1:09 | |
| 11 | Cradle Song, A (Innocence) | 2:18 | |
| 12 | Divine Image, The (Innocence) | 1:40 | |
| 13 | Holy Thursday (Innocence) | 2:10 | |
| 14 | Night (Innocence) | 2:52 | |
| 15 | Spring (Innocence) | 1:22 | |
| 16 | Nurse’s Song (Innocence) | 1:39 | |
| 17 | Infant Joy (Innocence) | 1:08 | |
| 18 | Dream, A (Innocence) | 1:37 | |
| 19 | On Another’s Sorrow (Innocence) | 2:32 | |
| 20 | Introduction (Experience) | 1:33 | |
| 21 | Earth’s Answer (Experience) | 1:54 | |
| 22 | Clod and the Pebble, The (Experience) | 1:36 | |
| 23 | Holy Thursday (Experience) | 1:54 | |
| 24 | Little Girl Lost, The (Experience) | 3:06 | |
| 25 | Little Girl Found, The (Experience) | 3:06 | |
| 26 | Chimney-Sweeper, The (Experience) | 1:48 | |
| 27 | Nurse’s Song (Experience) | 1:32 | |
| 28 | Sick Rose, The (Experience) | 0:58 | |
| 29 | Fly, The (Experience) | 1:30 | |
| 30 | Angel, The (Experience) | 1:38 | |
| 31 | Tiger, The (Experience) | 2:37 | |
| 32 | My Pretty Rose Tree (Experience) | 1:02 | |
| 33 | Ah, Sunflower (Experience) | 1:18 | |
| 34 | Lily, The (Experience) | 1:11 | |
| 35 | Garden of Love, The (Experience) | 1:44 | |
| 36 | Little Vagabond, The (Experience) | 1:49 | |
| 37 | London (Experience) | 2:02 | |
| 38 | Human Abstract, The (Experience) | 2:26 | |
| 39 | Infant Sorrow (Experience) | 1:27 | |
| 40 | Poison Tree, A (Experience) | 2:03 | |
| 41 | Little Boy Lost, A (Experience) | 2:03 | |
| 42 | Little Girl Lost, A (Experience) | 2:14 | |
| 43 | Divine Image, A (Experience) | 1:00 | |
| 44 | Cradle Song, A (Experience) | 1:19 | |
| 45 | Schoolboy, The (Experience) | 1:59 | |
| 46 | To Tirzah (Experience) | 1:26 | |
| 47 | Voice of the Ancient Bard, The (Experience) | 1:16 |
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