Opostion

Question 1

What does songs of innocence and experience profess to show?

Answer 1

The contrary states of the soul.

Question 2

What does Blake say about opposition in The Marriage of Heaven and
Hell (1793)

Answer 2

Without contraries is no progression. Attraction
and repulsion, reason and energy, love and hate,
are necessary to human existence.
Opposition is true friendship.
-Blake has a positive outlook on opposition.

Question 3

How does Blake consider oppostion?

Answer 3

Positive.
-not antagonism or warring opposition.
-Opposition as something we are dependent on for progression and friendship.

Question 4

How is opposition used in Songs of I & E?

Answer 4

-Structural (Innocence vs experiene)

Question 5

Are Innocence and experience complete opposites?

Answer 5

Perhaps relationship between two is progressive?
History: songs of innocence published 1789, issued separately - songs of innocence had a freestanding, understandable alone.
Experience published 5 years later – uneven opposition, a contrary, not evenly matched.
-a few songs changed from innocence to experience.
-Pairings of one poem in innocence and one in experience - juxtaposes contrary states of human soul - however shows similarity.
-Some innocent poems - signs of experience.
-Blake disables attempt to categories images and themes that belong to innocence and images and themes that belong to experience.

Progressive relationship between innocence and experience.