When we think of great poets and writers there are so many names that we hear mentioned over and over, one of those being that of William Blake. Blake was not only a lover of fine arts such as painting, sketching, engraving, and poetry; he was a creator of these things as well. Blake's poetry, although it has been widely recognized over the years is only a portion of his enormous talent. Blake is most known for his poems Songs of Innocence and Experience, among the non-literary world. Songs of Innocence and Experience deals with the contrast between innocence and experience in the human soul. Blake was, like most poets, was an enemy of dualism. Dualism is a belief that everything has an exact opposite such as head and heart, body and spirit and so forth. He believed that the tendency to place absolute judgment on these opposites was wrong. By subtitling Songs of innocence and Experience 'Showing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul' he shows his belief that there should be no absolute choice between the two contrary states of being, but that we should know that innocent joy is preferable to the sorrows of experience.
             Blake sets the tone for his comparison for each state of the Human soul by opening each set of songs with an introduction. Although they are so similar 'Introduction' from Songs of Innocence gives us a sense of happiness and peacefulness. Because the characters are innocent, they are happy and joyous. While 'Introduction' from Songs of Experience is less jovial, in many ways it could even be considered depressing. Blake is no longer telling of the wonders of innocence and happiness, but now he is talking of living in eternal darkness, without fun and happiness. He speaks of the night, and how dark it may seem which can be considered symbolic of hardships. He also begs for the morning to come, which would be symbolic of the depression being lifted and happiness ...