The Piper

Most of the poems in Song of Innocence are told by a speaker introduced to the reader in the first poem of the collection, “Introduction,” as the piper. In this poem the piper is petitioned by a child to write a book of happy songs for every child to hear, which suggests the piper closely identifies with William Blake himself as the author of the collection. As a result, the piper functions as something of a mouthpiece for Blake, as the two appear to share certain perspectives on life and society. For example, the speaker of the poems maintains an imaginative relationship with God rather than one prescribed by the church. Furthermore, he views god as a loving and caring entity rather than a punitive one.

The piper is the presumed speaker in any and all of the poems that do not imply otherwise. Such poems in...