A Cradle Song
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"A Cradle Song" is a poem written by
William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...
in 1789, as part of his book ''
Songs of Innocence ''Songs of Innocence and of Experience'' is a collection of illustrated poems by William Blake. It appeared in two phases: a few first copies were printed and Illuminated manuscript, illuminated by Blake himself in 1789; five years later, he b ...
''.


Structure

The 32-line poem is divided into 8 stanzas of 4 lines each. Each stanza follows an "AABB" rhyme scheme. “A Cradle Song” follows a couplet structure where each pair of lines
rhyme A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually, the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of perfect rhyming is consciously used for a musical or aesthetic ...
. This lends the poem a graceful sound and makes it easy to sing. While writing this poem, Blake drew from the image of a mother sitting over her infant while the baby is in her crib falling sleep.


Background

Blake was born in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
on November 28, 1757. He died on August 12, 1827.
"Cradle Song." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2015.
He claimed that in a dream his brother Robert taught him the printing method that he used in ''Songs of Innocence'' and other illuminated works. ''Songs of Innocence'' includes poems about children and the clash between the corruption of the world and the innocence of youth. He uses
imagery Imagery is visual symbolism, or figurative language that evokes a mental image or other kinds of sense impressions, especially in a literary work, but also in other activities such as psychotherapy. Forms There are five major types of sensory im ...
throughout ''Songs of Innocence''.


Paraphrase

In “A Cradle Song”, a mother sings to her child, asking the infant to stay asleep. The mother asks her child to sleep through the night. While she looks at her infant's face, the mother sees
Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
. When she sees the infant smiling, she sees Jesus smiling at her and the world. At the end of the poem, she states how heaven and earth are at peace and have harmony when she sees her baby smile.


Analysis

A key theme in “A Cradle Song” is the mother's love for her child. The mother uses the word “sweet” ten times in the poem. She makes the infant seem angelic by the way she describes the child. The mother claims her child is “dovelike”, using the dove as a symbol for holiness and love. The woman ties the spiritual world to the physical. She notes how she can trace His (Christ's) holy image on her baby. The mother tells the baby to sleep as she cries, representing how the mother is aware of the sinful world her baby will grow up and eventually die in. She claims how Jesus wept for all and wept for her. The mother has faith that her infant will be okay even when she can no longer protect her, but it still saddens her to not be able to shield her from the world.


In music

There are famous artists that have claimed that they were inspired by William Blake, including
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
,
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
, and
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
,
Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...
and U2,
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
, and many more.Burch, Michael R

"William Blake: Influence and References in Popular Culture." William Blake: Influence and References in Popular Culture. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2015.
Some have even used Blake's poems in the creation of their music. In '' A Charm of Lullabies,''
Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...
sets "A Cradle Song" to music alongside four other poems.


References


Further reading

*Davies, Keri

"Blake Set to Music." Zoamorphosis.com. N.p., 08 Aug. 2010. Web. *

Synopsis and Commentary." » Songs of Innocence and Experience Study Guide from Crossref-it.info. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2015. *Vines, Timothy

ANALYSIS OF WILLIAM BLAKE’S SONGS OF INNOCENCE (n.d.): n. pag. Web. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cradle Song, A Songs about parenthood 1789 poems Songs of Innocence and of Experience Lullabies Motherhood