William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827 / London)

A wonderful example of the greatness of Blake, to do so much with so little. He is a master as exploring metaphysical issues with simple, concrete language through symbolism...the infant, the tiger, the lamb all used symbolically.

Thankyou World for great William Blake whose kind heart and spirit God did make.

Its a very very wonderful write I've never read for a while, I adore the delicious rhyme of words in each and every verse, and I completely admire the joy reflected in this great write, its really fantastic

The_African_Son

This poem is a reminder of why we say: AWWW, LOOK AT THAT CUTE LITTLE BABY!
And we were that baby.

Infant smiles are His own smiles,
Heaven & earth to peace beguiles.

From the concluding line we could come to a debate. Someone call it a 'poetic intention' to glorify the life with the presence of almighty but some other call it the creative transition which brings us some way to look at the life and universe with positive attitude. Otherwise, without the quoted lines of conclusion, the poem would be considered as a writing of nostalgia.... But by fixing the last two lines, poet has made it much universal. Soft but touchy piece of Blake industry.

i can see all the words, love the poem.

What a most gifted writer, he is...
Theo

Wonderful. Very lovely poem.

Sleeping beauty smiles by the grief of the mother like the smiling people under the care of crying God! Wonderful!

‘A Cradle Song’ by William Blake is a poem about universal love for babies. The innocence Blake believed all children possessed at this age, and this love of innocence, moves from the love of Mother’s for their children, into God’s love for all babies given from Heaven; expressed as ‘Infant smiles are His own smiles, /Heaven & earth to peace beguiles.’ Babies smiles are the smile of God and enchant Heaven and earth with an ability to attract and maintain attention with a feeling of peace surrounding their sweet angelic sleep.
The lines ‘Weave thy brows an infant crown./Sweet sleep Angel mild, /Hover o'er my happy child’ reminds of the birth of a king recognized as such by three wise men, who give gifts appropriate to a king. ‘Hover over my delight’ extends imagery of sleep, love, especially the love of ‘Mothers’ and angels, watching over a sleeping child with repetition of the word ‘Hover’. All healthy blessed babies have ‘Sweet moans, dovelike sighs, ... All the dovelike moans’ yet the line ‘All creation slept and smil'd.’ Firmly reminds us of Blake’s belief that God was once born as flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. All babies in a cradle are spoken of with ‘Sweet babe in thy face, /Holy image I can trace’ but again Blake specifically references Jesus continuing with ‘Sweet babe once like thee. /Thy maker lay and wept for me’.
Blake boldly confirms Christian belief that Christ was born for all of us, all people across all history before and after him with, ‘Wept for me for thee for all, /When he was an infant small.’ Through one birth this ‘Heavenly face that smiles on thee, /Smiles on thee on me on all, /Who became an infant small, beautifully expresses God’s love for all his creation, all humanity. For God so loved that world that he was willing to give his only begotten son is a theme running through this poem.