Auguries of Innocence

William Blake’s work directly engages with the sociopolitical reality of his time, as is evident in “Auguries of Innocence.” The poem refers to the problems of poverty, child labor and abuse, gambling, the sexual exploitation of women, and England’s moral and social decay. It also critiques industrialization and militarism. While in the second half of the 18th century, England was rapidly establishing itself as the world’s largest colonial power, Blake did not celebrate British expansionism. Rather, he was pained by the systems that caused inequality and injustice, arguing that poverty and wealth were part of the same puzzle.

After winning the last Anglo-French War in 1763, England—rather than France— became the world’s most powerful naval force. England was rapidly expanding its colony in India, strengthening the empire. The move toward the Industrial Revolution was also well underway, with textile mills, in which textiles were spun by machines rather than by hand, gaining prominence in the 1780s. For Blake, these great changes came at an enormous human cost: As industry expanded and the need for cheap labor grew, orphans and other marginalized children were taken from poorhouses and put to work in textile mills. While rich industrialists and politicians amassed wealth, poor workers were forced into cramped quarters plagued by tuberculosis and cholera.