Songs of Innocence and of Experience Lesson Plan

In the version of "The Little Boy Lost" in Songs of Innocence, how does Blake portray the idea of fatherhood? How does this contrast with the idea of fatherhood/parenthood presented in the companion poem, "The Little Boy Found"?

In "The Little Boy Lost," the speaker's belief that his father will protect and guide him is not what happens in reality. The child is innocent and vulnerable, and through the father's carelessness, Blake returns to the recurrent theme of parental failure, which is also explored in "The Chimney Sweeper" as well as numerous poems in the remainder of the collection. Blake also suggests the idea the...