![]() The blue and golden colours are often associated with heaven. Some of the letters of the title are sprouting leaves, indicating life and growth. The words ‘Songs of Innocence’ are intertwined with a fruitful apple tree. The innocent world is a place of beauty and wonder, but we must be drawn into experience, its contrary, to truly appreciate either state. ![]() The sheep themselves are an image of innocence, but the shepherd-piper has stepped through the gate of the two framing trees into the world of experience, and we are expected to follow. The pipe indicates his role as poet-piper, and his role as a shepherd suggests he is leading his sheep (his readers). The cherub’s wide arms indicate the breadth of the imaginative world that the piper can guide the reader towards. ![]() His eyes are looking directly into the eyes of the cherubic boy, indicating his divine, imaginative inspiration. The shepherd-piper possibly bears some physical resemblance to Blake himself. The blue of ‘SONGS’ also contrasts with the red of most of the plate. ![]() The bird flies upwards, however, suggesting innocence. The figures of Adam and Eve bend downward (as do many of the figures in the Songs of Experience ). ![]()
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