Infant Sorrow by William Blake

A baby enters a world that quickly imposes limitations. The parents are struggling, the baby pushes against being held and swaddled, but eventually resigns and sulks. Blake uses this moment to suggest that society begins to stifle human freedom and vitality right from the start of life.

Blake is intentionally stirring the pot. The raw energy and need of a newborn — its cries, its demands, its defiance of silence — can really unsettle authority figures. By labeling the baby a "fiend," Blake reflects how society often sees unrestrained human energy: as something sinister that must be controlled. He’s pushing back against that perspective, not supporting it.

Swaddling bands were strips of cloth tightly wrapped around newborns in the 18th century, intended to keep their limbs straight and soothe them. For Blake, they symbolize a ready-made concept: the first action adults take with a new human is to bind them. They represent every law, religious rule, and social convention that limits freedom throughout a person’s life.

"Infant Joy" serves as a direct contrast to "Infant Sorrow." In "Infant Joy," a mother and her two-day-old baby joyfully name the child "Joy," creating a tender exchange. On the other hand, "Infant Sorrow" addresses the same theme of a newborn but removes all traces of that gentleness. The intention of placing these poems side by side is clear: Blake aims to highlight the disparity between the ideal potential of life and the harsh realities shaped by society.

"Sulk" refers to withdrawing in silent resentment. It's an unusual word to describe a newborn, and that oddity is deliberate. The baby doesn't find solace or comfort at its mother's breast; it retreats there as a final option after losing all its battles. The sulk is a small, powerless act of persistent protest. Blake suggests that even when we seem to accept our limitations, the underlying resentment remains.

The poem employs tight rhyming couplets (AABB) consistently. This neat rhyme scheme contrasts sharply with the violent imagery of a struggling, screaming infant confined within orderly, controlled sound boxes. This tension between structure and subject matter contributes to the poem's meaning: the poem itself acts like a swaddling band.

No. The parents in this situation aren't villains — the mother is in pain and the father is crying, which indicates grief and suffering rather than cruelty. Blake's criticism is aimed at the system, not at individual people. Parents are shaped by the same restrictive world and may pass on its limitations without intending to cause harm. The poem critiques society and its structures, rather than condemning motherhood or fatherhood.

The main themes revolve around freedom and its loss, how society manages individuals from the moment they are born, and the conflict between natural human energy and imposed limitations. It also explores the sorrow experienced by both parents and children, along with the notion that growing up often involves learning to suppress one's own desires and instincts.