Blake celebrated the positive aspects of humanity in the Songs of Innocence and Experience poems, praising nature, children, and human goodness. However, the England he lived in was shaped by turbulence caused by the Industrial Revolution, political unrest in France and America, and growing chasms between rich and poor in his own country. He saw freedom being eroded wherever he looked (in ‘London’ he criticizes the “charter’d streets” that restrict movement and personal liberty) and was enraged by the failure of politicians and institutions like the church to do anything about it.