Blake - Nurse's Song
We all enter into this life wide-eyed and idealistic. Each day we interact, learn,and experience what life has to offer. At some point, these experiences seep into ourbeing and transform us from the innocent babe of childhood into a supposedly "mature"adult. What causes this theft of innocence? Do we all succumb in the end? These issuesare brought forth in a book of poetry by William Blake. The first section of his workdeals with the idea of our blossoming innocence. Once he has fully developed this theme,he moves on to critique the idea of "experience" and the benefits or drawbacks containedwithin. To juxtaposes these two very contrasting ideas, Blake writes paired poems thatare contained within the separate sections. He is trying to show us each notion through itsopposite and presenting the belief that one's view is dependent solely upon the attitudewith which one perceives the situations surrounding him. The idea that we can onlyunderstand a theme through the eyes of it's opposite is nothing new. Along these lineswe see that innocence can only be viewed when it is lacking and you are in a state ofexperience. Our view of experience cannot be seen in this sa
We also see that both speakers are nurses observing the children'sgames from a distance. She watches these children in the distance and is envious of their currentinnocence and ability to play in the field without care. Itappears that the nurse of experience has yet to realize that what she has endured wasnecessary for her being. After this though, the differences begin to emerge. Shedoesn't say that they have wasted their day, just that the night is coming and it is time toretreat into the house: Then come home my children, the sun is gone down. " The laughter of the first scene issupposed to be shared with those all around while the "whisprings" are concealingsomething that lies beneath. It isimpossible to directly view "experience" in a state of innocence because we have not yetentered into this realm of being; therefore, we can only view and judge our new foundexperience through the memories we hold onto of our original innocence. She proceeds by saying that their play is awaste of time. By becoming "pale" (NURSES 4)we see that she is sickened in some way, perhaps by the revelation that she squanderedthe precious time of innocence she held so long ago. This difference continues in the next line, "My heart is atrest within my breast" (Nurse's 3). Directly opposed to this idea are the next twolines from the "NURSES Song:" The days of my youth rise fresh in my mind, My face turns green and pale. To understand thisdifference, we must abstract the children and "light" (Nurse's 13) in a certain way. These similarities concrete the connection between the two opening scenes ofchildren at play.
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Acceptance Essays
