Auguries of Innocence is a long poem by William Blake composed of short, often proverbial statements connecting ordinary events with larger moral and spiritual meanings. It opens by imagining the infinite within the smallest parts of nature, then moves through examples involving animals, children, poverty, cruelty and human conduct. Small acts are repeatedly presented as having consequences beyond their immediate setting.

The poem condemns cruelty towards animals and children while also addressing social inequality, political authority, war and the treatment of vulnerable people. Blake juxtaposes innocence and suffering, suggesting that apparently separate parts of existence are closely connected. His imagery moves between the everyday and the cosmic, treating perception as central to how reality is understood.

Written in the early nineteenth century and not published during Blake’s lifetime, the poem combines social criticism, religious imagery and reflections on knowledge, experience and moral responsibility.