Auguries of Innocence

The speaker argues that to see only the material reality of the world, and not the larger spiritual reality, is to experience a failure of perception. As the speaker notes in Lines 125-26, “We are led to Believe a Lie / When we see not Thro the Eye.” When one views reality just with the instrument of the human eye, reality reveals itself only partially, but when one sees “Thro” the eye, combining sensorial information with intuition and imagination, then one stops believing the lie that life is only material and God does not exist.

If one immerses themselves in the moment, they can transcend the limits of material perception: They can see the “World in a Grain of Sand” (Line 1). Abstract concepts like infinity and eternity can be experienced in measurable time and material objects. A child in play, for instance, can really find their universe in a toy or a flower. The poet does not suggest that people reject the information provided by the senses and the intellect, but rather that they be open to the possibility that this information is partial. In a state of openness, reality begins to reveal itself as so much more than perceived truth.