"Infant Sorrow"
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/45951 In the poem "Infant Sorrow" by William Blake, the thoughts and feeling of a newborn baby that is not wanted is illustrated. By having the infant as the speaker, Blake is able to show that the parents actions reflect on the child as it is just discovering the world around him or her. As the baby is born, the unhappiness of the parents is immediately expressed by words such as "groand" and "wept," which imply that most likely the baby was not intended. After this the baby goes on to say that he has been put into a "dangerous world" and even describes himself as being "helpless." Moreover, Blake then uses a simile to say that the birth of the baby is like a demon that has been hidden in a cloud, which can only suggest that the pregnancy was unexpected and terrible to the parents. This shift carries into the rest of the poem as the baby then describes how he wants to break free from his father holding him and the constricting feel of being swaddled. This leads him to feel "bound and weary," which may also be a reflection of how the parents are feeling as a result of the recent birth. The poem ends with the baby then going to its mother to lay upon her chest, and most likely to breastfeed. This line shows that even though the parents have made the baby feel unwanted, he still seeks comfort and nourishment from the mother.
2 Comments
Sarah
4/5/2017 05:46:42 am
I think that your analysis was really good! I like how you explained how the baby was unwanted and how he seems like a burden on his family. Do you think that this is based off of William Blake's own birth?
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Cassi
4/5/2017 09:29:58 am
I thought your analysis was good, you transitioned from the hatred towards the child to the eventual acceptance and I thought you thoroughly analyzed the word choice while connecting it to your beliefs on what the poem was about.
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