NURSES SONG (INNOCENCE)

Question 1

What is the poem about?

Answer 1

• The nurse calls out to the children to come home.
• But they are restless on this summer’s evening (like nature)

Question 2

Describe the structure of the poem

Answer 2

• ABCB DEFE
• Simple rhyme scheme
• Ballad stanzas (simplicity, regularity)
• Internal rhyme
• Broadly anapaestic (gentle rhythmic quality)
• 4 quatrains

Question 3

Symbolic Interpretation
of the poem

Answer 3

1. Idealised, romanticised image of childhood and innocence, where children are liberated from any form of repression or exploitation.
2. Celebration of the value of childhood and innocence and the perhaps imperceptible visons of nature and divinity that children can access.
3. Reimaging of orthodox child-adult relationships into a respectful, emotionally healthy and communicative perception.
4. Depicts a harmonious relationship between man and nature, reflecting Blake’s belief in the interconnectedness of all living things. Perhaps in a rejection of the rapid industrialisation of late 18th and 17th England.

Question 4

What is panethism?

Answer 4

• A philosophical and religious belief system
• Views the universe or nature as synonymous with the divine or God.
• The entire cosmos is considered sacred and imbued with divine presence.

Question 5

Context- Nurse’ song

Answer 5

• Idealized- The reality was much different

Question 6

Language of the poem

Answer 6

• Auditory images
• Pastoral images (prelapsarian state)
• Euphonic lexis
• Symbolism