Blake was known for his skill as an artist and print-maker in addition to his poetry, and he combined these talents when creating Songs of Innocence and Experience.[10] Each page of Songs of Innocence and of Experience contains the text of the poem surrounded by a unique illustration. Blake individually illustrated these pages for each binding he did of the collection.[11] Blake combined several strategies to create each unique illustration.[12] He would create a relief-etched copper printing plate by hand, then paint each page after printing using a variety of mediums, including watercolor.[12][13] This process meant that each printing of Songs of Innocence and of Experience was visually distinct from the one that came before.[11]
Blake confessed in a letter that Songs of Innocence and Experience was an attempt to combine the "painter and the Poet."[14] The illustrations in Songs of Innocence and of Experience do more than simply depict what is in the poem. They serve to intensify and translate the poems and are central to a full understanding of what each poem attempts to convey.[15][16] The meaning of several of the poems is changed by the illustrations that accompany them, with notable examples including The Blossom and the first plate of The Little Girl Lost.[15]
Some of Blake's illustrations have occasionally been critiqued for errors or lack of realism.[17] Notable examples include inconsistent coloring of the rose appearing in the illustration of The Sick Rose and the appearance of the tiger in The Tyger.[15]
