week 5 literature entry
Nurse's Song
03
When the voices of children are heard on the green
04
And laughing is heard on the hill,
05
My heart is at rest within my breast
06
And everything else is still
07
Then come home my children the sun is gone down
08
And the dews of night arise
09
Come leave off play, and let us away
10
Till the morning appears in the skies
11
No let us play, for it is yet day
12
And we cannot go to sleep
13
Besides in the sky, the little birds fly
14
And the hills are all coverd with sheep
15
Well well go & play till the light fades away
16
And then go home to bed
17
The little ones leaped & shouted & laugh'd
18
And all the hills echoed
Today in the lecture we explored the ‘Nurse’s song’ in Blake’s The songs of innocence and the songs of innocence and experience. I absolutely loved it! Especially the one in the songs of innocence. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the in depth discussion that our class had and the different interpretations that different members from the class expressed. This version has a much more positive attitude overall and in terms of what Blake is telling us about the Nurse’s condition, I think he implies that the Nurse is truly at peace when she is with the children. Blake embraces the innocent nature and mind of children throughout all of his work. In this poem the form and rhythmic pattern connects to the emotions that Blake is depicting.
In the second stanza Blake draws the reader’s attention to the bad things that can happen to children if they are not nurtured in a particular manner. He draws out attention to this idea by saying: “Then come home my children the sun is gone down/ And the dews of night arise”. This idea relates to the nanny’s emotions as she is torn between the children and their freedom and her duty in the face of danger. One of my favourite parts of this poem in the natural imagery used to parallel the innocent spirits of children who are so open to new ideas but also so free. The birds are an outward sign and symbol of the children and their free spirits. At the end of the poem the children’s laughs echoing over the hills is so important as it indicates that the hope of freedom is spread through the world!