View source for A Nurse's Song

==Introduction==

The scene of the poem features a group of children playing outside in the hills, while their nurse listens to them in contentment. As twilight begins to fall, she gently urges them to “leave off play” and retire to the house for the night. They ask to play on till bedtime, for as long as the light lasts. The nurse yields to their pleas, and the children shout and laugh with joy while the hills echo their gladness.

Source: Click [http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/blake/section5.rhtml here]

==Concept Map==

==Text of the poem==
To access the text of the poem, click [http://www.bartleby.com/41/357.html here].

==Idea of the poem==
  
===Core Meaning===

Nurse's Song is the name of two related poems by William Blake, published in Songs of Innocence in 1789 and Songs of Experience in 1794.

The poem in Songs of Innocence tells the tale of a Nurse who, we are to assume, is looking over some children playing in a field. When she tries to call them in, they protest, claiming that it is still light and therefore there is still time to play. The poem fits in with the theme of innocence, as it makes no mention of the negative aspects of playing outside; the children are oblivious to the dangers of playing outside late at night that would be considered in a modern society. The language uses various images associated with children's playing and imagination. The Nurse is of a jovial and warmhearted nature, as she allows the children to continue with their games, with no thought for the wider consequences.

The poem in Songs of Experience portrays the Nurse in a different light: she is bitter, and fears the consequences of her actions.

Source: Click [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nurse%27s_Song here].

===Alternative interpretations===
 
===Context of the poem===

====About the Author====

William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English painter, poet and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age. His prophetic poetry has been said to form "what is in proportion to its merits the least read body of poetry in the English language". His visual artistry led one contemporary art critic to proclaim him "far and away the greatest artist Britain has ever produced". In 2002, Blake was placed at number 38 in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons. Although he lived in London his entire life (except for three years spent in Felpham), he produced a diverse and symbolically rich oeuvre, which embraced the imagination as "the body of God" or "human existence itself".

Considered mad by contemporaries for his idiosyncratic views, Blake is held in high regard by later critics for his expressiveness and creativity, and for the philosophical and mystical undercurrents within his work. His paintings and poetry have been characterised as part of the Romantic movement and "Pre-Romantic", for its large appearance in the 18th century. Reverent of the Bible but hostile to the Church of England (indeed, to all forms of organised religion), Blake was influenced by the ideals and ambitions of the French and American Revolutions. Though later he rejected many of these political beliefs, he maintained an amiable relationship with the political activist Thomas Paine; he was also influenced by thinkers such as Emanuel Swedenborg. Despite these known influences, the singularity of Blake's work makes him difficult to classify. The 19th-century scholar William Rossetti characterised him as a "glorious luminary", and "a man not forestalled by predecessors, nor to be classed with contemporaries, nor to be replaced by known or readily surmisable successors".

Source: Click [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Blake here].

==Transacting the text==


===Language appreciation===
 

===Meaning making===
 
Pictures/ video
clips are an interesting way of assisting
students to comprehend a poem. A picture helps in creating a visual
memory and can also help in understanding new words.

To listen to an audio recital of the poem, click [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BImgrnzIfnM here].

===Vocabulary===
 

==Figures of speech==
 
A figure of speech is the use of a word or words diverging from its
usual meaning. It can also be a special repetition, arrangement or
omission of words with literal meaning, or a phrase with a
specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words in
it, as in idiom, metaphor, simile, hyperbole, or personification.
Figures of speech often provide emphasis, freshness of expression, or
clarity. However, clarity may also suffer from their use, as any
figure of speech introduces an ambiguity between literal and
figurative interpretation. A figure of speech is sometimes called a
rhetorical figure or a locution. To know more click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_of_speech

==Additional resources==
 

==Assessment==

Ask
the learners to write a short paragraph using the hints given below.

Hints:

* What 	is the poem about?
* Which is the most striking image and why?

[[Category:English]]