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The text addresses radical attacks on institutions, the use of symbols and metaphors, the complexity and ambiguity of the poems, and the contrast between innocence and the structures that generate 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\nThis resource is an explanation of some of the ways Songs of Innocence and of Experience can be considered in relation to the genre of political and social protest writing. This document is intended to provide a starting point for teachers in their thinking and planning in that it gives an introductory overview of how the text can be considered through the lens of the genre. We haven’t covered every element of this genre. It is hoped this will provide a useful starting point and a springboard for thinking about the text in more detail.  \nOverview  \nBlake was a rebel and an outsider, sympathetic to both the American and French Revolutions.  \nHis poetry addresses two key elements of political and social protest writing: he champions the freedom of the individual and he condemns those who wield power. He was a political writer, with a hatred of oppression; he had entrenched and decidedly radical notions about freedom. Blake, politically and ideologically, was a libertarian, whose cherished beliefs about free will and individuality were expressed in his poetry and art. Poems such as London and The Garden of Love in Songs of Innocence and of Experience showcase his libertarian politics, with recurring images of constraint and binding reflecting his antipathy towards hierarchies and power structures that seek to impose their will and ideology on the common man or more specifically on children.  \nBlake had a deep-rooted anti-establishment ethos and he constantly questioned and attacked the actions, motivations and legitimacy of the authorities of his day. The Songs of Innocence and of Experience foreground this element of Blake’s politics too. Poems in the collection contain radical, rebellious attacks on the political systems and institutions (the Church, monarchy and government) of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Songs of Innocence and of Experience can be seen as containing Blake’s political manifesto.  \nHowever, Songs of Innocence and of Experience are complex and full of ambiguity and not all the poems offer a straightforward expression of sympathy for the oppressed or a direct attack on political structures or institutions. Blake uses symbols and metaphors to articulate his complex ideas and views of the world and they work on a number of different levels. He often brings together  \nopposing meanings in single images and competing voices can be heard in his poems. A metaphor, at the same time, can show peace and security but also fear and disquiet. So, reading the poems as examples of political and social protest writing requires careful investigation and an open mind. In whatever way Blake makes his protest, above all he argues for freedom – both physically and mentally. He celebrates both the free and creative imagination and also the lifeforce that exists throughout the natural world.  \nIndeed Blake’s portrayal of the green world is a key aspect of his political writing. Just as he argues that all people should be free from constraints and true to their natures so too does he argue that nature needs to be respected, that human beings should not impose their wills on it since nature is a manifestation of God. Nature, he suggests, should be cherished in whatever form it appears. In Night the angels seem to bless both the hungry wolves and tigers howling for prey and the tender lamb which needs protection.  \nWhere Blake is more typical as a political and social protest writer is the way he challenges the establishment through the act of writing, in particular in a way that is outside of the conventional modes of the day. (Blake rebelled against the style and sentiments of Augustan writers) . Several of the poems are reflexive drawing attention to their own composition and foregrounding the writer as a prophet of sorts: In Introduction the piper must write ‘In a book that all may read’ and in doing so he gives voices to","cbCaiaXRrBbGQOj8","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiaXRrBbGQOj8","pdf",168188,"English","# Overview\n## Blake’s political stance\n## Freedom, nature, and the “green world”\n## Protest through unconventional writing\n## The world of innocence, safety, and security\n## Protesting against government power","[{\"question\":\"What two key elements of political and social protest writing does Blake address in these poems?\",\"answer\":\"He champions the freedom of the individual and condemns those who wield power and oppress others.\"},{\"question\":\"Why is reading the collection as protest writing not straightforward?\",\"answer\":\"The poems are complex and often ambiguous, using symbols and metaphors that operate on multiple levels and may not always express sympathy or attack directly.\"},{\"question\":\"How does Blake present the contrast between innocence and suffering?\",\"answer\":\"He establishes a world of innocence and freedom in many “Innocent” poems, then contrasts it with forces that remove innocence and create suffering in poems such as A Little Boy Lost and The Schoolboy.\"}]","Elements of Political and Social Protest Writing - Songs of Innocence and of Experience | PDF",1792467881,13]