Infant Joy and Sorrow

Infant Joy and Infant Sorrow are poems written by William Blake. Infant Joy is about the gentleness and serenity of a two year old infant. It characterizes Joy as an infant to symbolize youth and innocence. It also depicts Joy as something with a future and a desire to keep, by being named. Infant Sorrow is about the negative aspects of childbirth and the conditions of being born. It characterizes Sorrow as a newly born infant that is afraid and disoriented. Sorrow is also depicted as something that takes from what creates it or what keeps the sorrow strong.

Both poems are about the birth of something and how the surroundings contribute to it. Both can also be thought of as a story. Infant Sorrow is how there is pain and helplessness in the beginning, as well as a need for dependency. It also depicts the infant as newly born and disoriented, surrounded by what the infant immediately deems dangerous and must have comfort from its mother. Infant Joy could be what occurs to Sorrow later after two days. After the initial fear, Sorrow became more accustomed to life and became much more docile. Sorrow, or now Joy, was claimed and named by its parents and brought hope for a joyful future after the sorrow.