“Love seeketh not itself to please,
William Blake
Nor for itself hath any care,
But for another gives its ease,
And builds a heaven in hell’s despair”
Songs of Experience (Primary source)
William Blake’s Songs of Experience, published in 1794 as a companion to Songs of Innocence, presents a stark and often unsettling exploration of the complexities, contradictions, and hardships of adult life. Through poems such as The Tyger, London, and The Sick Rose, Blake confronts themes of oppression, suffering, and the loss of innocence, revealing the darker realities of human existence and societal injustice.
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“Think in the morning, act in the noon, eat in the evening, sleep in the night.”
— William Blake Primary source“If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.”
— William Blake Primary source“The true method of knowledge is experiment.”
— William Blake Primary sourceTo see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.
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“Love the day.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Primary source“Adventure is worthwhile in itself.”
— Amelia Earhart Disputed“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time; for that’s the stuff life is made of.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“If Jack’s in love, he’s no judge of Jill’s beauty.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source