The Nurse's Song

Renown poet William Blake has a reputation of using his works as tools to express his social commentary. Some of his commentary are stern and critical. Others, however, are very upbeat and positive. These works give off a "I have hope for humanity" vibe. An example of this would be his poem, "The Nurse's Song". The poem involves a group of young children playing outside in the hills. They are laughing and running around like typical kids do. The sun starts to set and it gets darker and darker. The nurse, who is watching over their fun, asks them to come inside like any concerned adult would. They plead with her to let them stay up and play. She can't say no and lets them play on. The kids shout and scream with joy and happiness and resume their joyous shenanigans. From my perspective, William Blake is telling his readers that there is a special kind of innocence and joy that only little kids can possess. These kids are stress-free and not worried about a single thing in the world. They do not care about the impending nightfall or about the next day may bring. They are only focused on playing in the present. The joy and innocence of kids seems to also harmonize with nature as seen with the references to birds and sheep.