Songs of Innocence
Introduction
by William Blake
1. Who is the piper referred to in “Introduction” to “Songs of Innocence”?
Ans: The piper referred to in “Introduction” to “Songs of Innocence” is William Blake himself.
2. What did the piper do while wandering through the valleys?
Ans: While wandering through the valleys the piper was ‘piping songs of pleasing glee’.
3. What did the poet see on a cloud while he was piping?
Ans: While the poet was piping, he saw a child on a cloud.
4. What kind of child did the poet see on a cloud?
Ans: The poet saw a mystic child on a cloud.
5. What is symbolism?
Ans: Symbolism is an artistic and poetic movement or style using symbolic images and indirect suggestion to express mystical ideas, emotions, and states of mind.
6. What does the child on the cloud symbolise?
Ans: The child on a cloud symbolizes Jesus Christ.
7. How does the poet present himself in the poem?
Ans: In the poem “Introduction” under the title “Songs of Innocence” the poet presents himself as a shepherd who is piping while walking down the valleys.
8. What was the first request of the child to the poet?
Ans: The first request of the child to the poet was to pipe a song about a lamb.
9. How many times did the child ask the piper to pipe the song?
Ans: The child asked the piper twice to pipe the song.
10. Why did the child ask the piper to drop the pipe?
Ans: The child asked the piper to drop the pipe so that the piper can sing the song about a lamb using his own voice without the help of the pipe.
11. How many times did the child weep?
Ans: The child wept twice with joy.
12. Why did the poet write the songs at the request of the child?
Ans: The poet wrote the songs at the request of the child so that all may read the lyrics.
13. Why did the child vanish from the poet's sight?
Ans: The child vanished from the poet's sight because it was a part of the imagination of the poet piper.
14. Why did the poet pluck a hollow reed?
Ans: The poet plucked a hollow reed to turn it into a rural pen that uses water as its ink.
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