The Garden of Love

“The Garden of Love” is a lyric poem by English poet William Blake, who is often considered one of the Romantic poets. The poem was first published in 1789 as part of his most famous collection, Songs of Innocence and Experience. During his lifetime, Blake’s recognition as an artist was much greater than as a poet. However, posthumous interest in his work grew and his poems such as “The Garden Of Love” have become key works of the English canon. In his Songs of Innocence and Experience, Blake contrasts the stifling and negative nature of organized religion with true spiritual love of humankind and of the natural world, a key theme of the Romantic movement.

“The Garden of Love” is one of the Songs of Experience. Within the poem, Blake offers the image of a garden, green and full of flowers, where the writer played as an innocent and loving child. He then shows the garden’s transformation into a dark, forbidding place of religion, with an unwelcoming chapel, tombstones, and priests walking in circles.

Poet Biography

William Blake was born on 28 November 1757 in Soho, London. He was the third of seven children, two of whom died as infants.