The Ecchoing Green Poem

In the poem "The Ecchoing Green," by William Blake, the author's use of illustration helps explain the poem and adds to the tone. The poem is about childhood and growing up, and the illustrations that depict children playing with their parents watching over them signify the loss of childhood. I think this poem is a good transition between "innocence" and "experience" because the first pictures are children being protected by nature, signified by the umbrella shaped tree, as well as by their parents. In the last illustration, which is the final transition into adulthood, the children are less protected by the tree above them. The pictures help ease the transition in the poem between adolescence and adulthood.