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Introduction (SOI) (Pastoral poem (Ideal, idyllic world of innocence &…
Introduction (SOI)
Pastoral poem
Ideal, idyllic world of innocence & simplicity , a Golden Age before the Fall of humankind.
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Lamb - Jesus Christ identified with lamb, animal commonly used as a sacrifice in Jewish worship rites - Old Testament
Lamb represents what is gentle, meek & tender in life, but also provides a reminder of vulnerability that goes along with it.
Sacrificial victim.
Associated with human violence & treachery, with consequences of evil.
Process of poetic composition, moves from free music to read in a book.
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Innocence here is presented as a state of happiness & obedience, Piper is happy to do whatever he is told.
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Piping - In rural setting - Greek god Pan (god of rustic music) = reinforces idea of simple, unsophisticated songs.
However, behind Pan lies the image of great Greek god of music, Orpheus , charm nature with power of music. This imagery enables Blake to suggest his poems are work of divinely inspired imagination.
Child - symbols of the imagination & artistic creativity, also an image of innocence & gentleness. Child motif emphasises suggestions of simplicity & lack of sophistication
Like the lamb, the child represents gentleness & innocence, together with vulnerability & openness to exploitation.
Narrator - Piper, Child on cloud - tells him to pipe a song about a lamb. Child weeps on hearing it. Asks Piper to sing, sings same song & child cries with joy. Child tells narrator to write a book & disappears. Piper takes a reed = pen. He writes happy songs for children to bring joy.
Poet as a visionary who is divinely inspired. Voice of poems as being that of a child / accessible to children.
Vocabulary is restricted & simple.Simplicity is heightened by repetition of a few words. All suggests an experience of simple, unalloyed happiness. Nothing negative is allowed to darken atmosphere. Establishes voice of the poem as that of a child.