During his lifetime all the revolution of ht e world happened: the American revolutionary war; the French revolution and the Industrial revolution.

Although he was agree with the ideal of the first two ones, he didn't appreciate all the consequences of the third one.

As a matter of fact he wrote his bad sensations belonging to the industrial revolution in the poem "London", from the "Songs of experience", and he was a liberal thinker too.

To conclude I can say that, as the romantic ideal asks for, he was not only was against industrialisation but also anti-science, anti-reason and anti-civilisation.

He thought that reason doesn't permit to every man to express his own feelings through fantasy and imagination; moreover civilisation restricts political and social freedom.

Blake isn't only a socio-political thinker, but is also a visionary.

Most of his works belonging to his visions or his imaginary dialogues with famous deceased people.

Moreover the poems of his first lifetime are difficult to understand because he began to elaborate his personal system of mythology and his mystic vision that he will only complete in his the latter works.

Works

His first work that he published on his own in 1783 is "Political Sketches", followed by "Songs of Innocence" in 1789. Of the year 1794 is "Songs of experience" and in the last part of his life he published "Prophetic Books".

"Songs of Innocence" & "Songs of Experience"

This two works are composed during the French revolution; the first while this revolution going well, the second when it turned into tyranny.

The first work is work during a period of optimism and so it expressed feelings of love, beauty and purity.

The symbol of these poems is the Lamb (Childhood), free from sin, corruption and evil.

"The lamb"

Little lamb, who made thee?

Dost thou know who made thee?

Gave the life, and bid the feed,

by the stream and o'er the mead;

Gave the clothing of delight,

Softest clothing, woolly, bright;

Gave thee such a tender voice,

Making all the vales rejoice?

Little lamb, who made thee?

Little lamb. I'll tell thee;

He is called by thy name.

For He calls Himself a lamb.

He is meek, and He is mild;

He became a little child.

I a child, and thou a lamb,

We are called by His name.

Little lamb, God Bless thee

Little lamb, God Bless thee

"Introduction to Songs of Innocence"

Piping down the valleys wild,
Piping songs of pleasant glee,
On a cloud I saw a child,
And he laughing said to me:

"Pipe a song about a Lamb!"
So I piped with merry cheer.
"Piper, pipe that song again;"
So I piped: he wept to hear.

"Drop thy pipe, thy happy pipe;
Sing thy songs of happy cheer!"
So I sung the same again,
While he wept with joy to hear.

"Piper, sit thee down and write
In a book, that all may read."
So he vanished from my sight,
And I plucked a hollow reed,

And I made a rural pen,
And I stained the water clear,
And I wrote my happy songs
Every child may joy to hear.

In the introduction he tells that wrote this poems under the advice of a child appeared to him.

This child wept hearing a simple song about a lamb, symbolising the simplicity and the free emotions of the children,

In the "Songs of Experience" the style is more serious and the atmosphere is darker.

This is connected to the dualism between Good and the inevitable Evil; we have the alternance of good and bad themes.

Moreover the symbol of these poems is the tiger: the child became an adult and losts his pure feelings of the childhood.

I've spoke about the poem

"London"

I wander thro' each charter'd street,

Near where the charter'd Thames does flow,

And mark in every face I meet

Marks of weakness, marks of woe.

In every cry of every Man,

In every Infant's cry of fear, in every voice, in every ban,

The mind-forg'd manacles I hear.

How the Chimmey Sweeper's cry

Every blackning Church appals;

And the hapless Soldier's sigh

Runs in blood down Palace walls.

But most thro' midnight streets I hear

How the youthful Harlot's curse

Blasts the newborn Infant's tear,

And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse.

What other poems better represent the Blake's vision of an industrialised London?

Of a dark atmosphere? Of the evil work?

All in this poem is gloom, full of "woe", of terrifying cry.

"The garden of love"

I went to the Garden of Love,
And saw what I never had seen:
A Chapel was built in the midst,
Where I used to play on the green.

And the gates of this Chapel were shut
And "Thou shalt not" writ over the door;
So I turned to the Garden of Love,
That so many sweet flowers bore;

And I saw it was filled with graves,
And tombstones where flowers should be;
And Priests in black gowns were walking their rounds,
And binding with briers my joys and desires.

From the beginning the poet seems to be against the religion, in fact the Chapel was built in the middle of the garden, so it limits the space where the poet, in his childhood, used to play.

The images of the Chapel, of the Garden of Love and of green are allegorical and give a medieval taste to the poem.

The initial "I" pronoun connects this poem with "London", in fact the poet is a sort of prophet who can see two images placed one on top of the other: that of the Garden of Love, connected with his childhood, and that of the Chapel, which represents the real world of Experience.

The manacles of the institutions, in particular the Church, are indicated through the expression "Thou shalt not", which is the beginning of each commandment; it is in contrast with the image of sweet flowers, which express the purity of human soul; on the other hand they are also in conflict with the image of the "tomb-stones", which show the harsh reality.

The contrast between good and evil is explained by the flowers and the graves.

The rhythm is particular because there is a "crescendo" from the first to the last stanza, increased through the presence and the repetition of the word "and". So the rhythm becomes hammering, and gives an idea of anxiety: it is a metaphor of the meaning and is hallucinating because it reproduces the sensation of spinning round. As regard the space plain, this idea is given by the presence of the Chapel in the middle of the Garden.