Songs of Innocence: Laughing Song 1789 - 1825

William Blake created "Laughing Song" using relief etching and watercolor, a work now held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The artwork presents two distinct registers, separated yet interconnected. Above, a scene of communal mirth unfolds with figures gathered around a table, their gestures lively, set against a verdant backdrop. Below, Blake's text is framed by delicate tendrils and stylized natural forms, mirroring the joyous theme. The colors are soft yet vibrant, with the figures rendered in gentle hues that contrast with the deeper greens and blues of the surrounding foliage. Blake employs a deliberate naiveté in his drawing, reflecting the pastoral innocence central to the "Songs of Innocence" collection. In its structure, "Laughing Song" challenges conventional modes of representation by interweaving text and image. Blake emphasizes the unity of sensory experience, suggesting that laughter, like art, transcends the boundaries between sight and sound, inviting us to reconsider the interplay of word and image.