William Blake and Coming of Age Stories

William Blake’s “Songs of Innocence” (1789) and “Songs of Experience” (1794) describe the differences between childhood and adulthood.  The poems from “Songs of Innocence” are very joyful and kind, whereas the poems from “Songs of Experience” are generally dark and dismal.  Many of the poems in “Songs of Innocence” and “Songs of Experience” match up with each other to display two different perspectives on the same subject.  In “The Chimney Sweeper” from “Songs of Experience,” the young chimney sweeper is “crying ‘weep, ‘weep, in notes of woe” and says that God and his parents “make up a heaven of our misery” (Blake 128).  In “The Chimney Sweeper” from “Songs of Innocence,” however, the boy sooths another crying child and dreams of meeting angels.  He later says that “if all do their duty, they need not fear harm” (Blake 122).  The boys from these poems are both experiencing the same terrible situation, but the child from “Songs of Experience” has a much clearer idea of how awful his situation truly is and has lost all hope because of it. 

This contrast between “Songs of Innocence” and “Songs of Experience” displays a stark change between childhood and adulthood that can also be observed in many different coming of age stories in literature today.  One modern example of a coming of age story is Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis (2000).  Persepolis is a graphic novel about the life of a young girl named Marji living with her family in Iran in the 1980s.  This was near the beginning of a time of extreme religious and political turmoil in this area and it forced Marji to learn some harsh truths about the world at a young age.  She experiences poverty, bombings, the execution of her uncle, and homelessness that all completely change her view of the world.  As the story progresses, we see Marji slowly learn more about herself and the world around her as she changes from the innocent, somewhat naïve girl that we meet at the beginning of the story into a strong young woman and social activist.  Through these changes in perspective between childhood and adulthood we can learn a lot about the people and situations surrounding us.  

This video from the Persepolis movie shows a part of Marji's childhood.

Source: Blake, William. “Songs of Innocence and Experience.” The Norton Anthology English Literature: The Romantic Period. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: Norton, 2012. 118-135. Print.