English Romantic poet William Blake's "Infant Sorrow" appears in the Experience section of his major collection Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1794). In this poem, an infant speaker describes the first few moments of their life, lamenting that they've entered a "dangerous world" in a "helpless" little body. Soon enough, the speaker decides that it's pointless to protest: they didn't ask to be born, but they're going to have to put up with it. The poem contrasts starkly with its companion piece in the Innocence section, "Infant Joy," which portrays birth as a moment of mystical ecstasy.
|
Get
LitCharts
|
|
The Full Text of “Infant Sorrow”
1My mother groan'd! my father wept.
2Into the dangerous world I leapt:
3Helpless, naked, piping loud;
4Like a fiend hid in a cloud.
5Struggling in my father's hands:
6Striving against my swaddling bands:
7Bound and weary I thought best
8To sulk upon my mother's breast.
The Full Text of “Infant Sorrow”
1My mother groan'd! my father wept.
2Into the dangerous world I leapt:
3Helpless, naked, piping loud;
4Like a fiend hid in a cloud.
5Struggling in my father's hands:
6Striving against my swaddling bands:
7Bound and weary I thought best
8To sulk upon my mother's breast.
-
“Infant Sorrow” Summary
-
-
“Infant Sorrow” Themes
-
Life and Suffering
- See where this theme is active in the poem.
-
Independence vs. Conformity
- See where this theme is active in the poem.
-
-
Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Infant Sorrow”
-
Line 1
My mother groan'd! my father wept.
-
Line 2
Into the dangerous world I leapt:
-
Lines 3-4
Helpless, naked, piping loud;
Like a fiend hid in a cloud. -
Lines 5-6
Struggling in my father's hands:
Striving against my swaddling bands: -
Lines 7-8
Bound and weary I thought best
To sulk upon my mother's breast.
-
-
“Infant Sorrow” Symbols
-
The Swaddling Bands
- See where this symbol appears in the poem.
-
-
“Infant Sorrow” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
-
Caesura
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Parallelism
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Pun
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Simile
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
-
“Infant Sorrow” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Groan'd
- Piping
- Fiend
- Hid
- Striving
- Swaddling bands
- Sulk
-
- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
-
Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Infant Sorrow”
-
Form
-
Meter
-
Rhyme Scheme
-
-
“Infant Sorrow” Speaker
-
-
“Infant Sorrow” Setting
-
-
Literary and Historical Context of “Infant Sorrow”
-
-
More “Infant Sorrow” Resources
-
External Resources
-
Blake's Biography — Learn more about Blake's life and work at the website of the British Library.
-
Songs of Innocence and of Experience — Visit the Blake Archive to see this poem as Blake originally published it in a beautiful illuminated manuscript.
-
The Poem Aloud — Listen to a reading of both "Infant Sorrow" and "Infant Joy."
-
Blake's Visions — Watch an excerpt from a documentary in which writer Iain Sinclair discusses Blake's religious visions.
-
A Blake Documentary — Listen to Blake scholars discussing the poet's life and work.
-
-
LitCharts on Other Poems by William Blake
-
Ask LitCharts AI:
The answer to your questions
Powered by LitCharts content and AI.
