Which Romantic poet wrote the collection 'Songs of Innocence and of Experience'?

William Blake wrote the illustrated poetry collection “Songs of Innocence and of Experience.” The two companion groups of poems examine what Blake called the “two contrary states of the human soul,” contrasting protected innocence with the suffering and repression of experience.

Blake originally published Songs of Innocence as a separate volume in 1789, containing 23 poems. He issued Songs of Experience in 1794 with 26 poems, then combined the two sections under the longer title Songs of Innocence and of Experience Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul. Poems such as “The Lamb,” “The Tyger,” “London,” and “The Chimney Sweeper” remain among his best-known works.

Blake was both poet and visual artist. He etched, printed, and hand-coloured the pages himself, making the illustrations part of the meaning rather than decoration. Readers sometimes confuse this collection with later albums titled Songs of Innocence, including U2’s 2014 release, but the original literary work belongs to Blake.