...An Explication of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell William Blake’s trouble with orthodoxy within religion was never more apparent than in his poem The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. It becomes clear that his problems with the Church run deeper than just their organization, but with their views on good and evil, and there is still debate today about what Blake’s true feelings were and how they were conveyed through the poem. This paper will simply explain the nature of the poem and the events that come together within it. The beginning of Marriage sets up an image of a man walking through a “perilous path” that is described as “The vale of death” (Blake 1.4-5). Rintrah, a personification of wrath, watches the man be swayed from his path by the “sneaking serpent,” which can easily be interpreted as the Devil (Blake 1.17). The man is driven into the wild to fend for himself, where he will struggle and be tempted by the good and evil sides of himself and of the world. The next plate that Blake writes is not in a poetic form, but instead calls forth a challenge to the Swedenborgian view of religion. He humorously writes that “it is now thirty-three years since its advent: the Eternal Hell revives. And lo! Swedenborg is the Angel sitting at the tomb: his writings are the linen clothes folded up” (Blake 3). Blake’s jokes about Swedenborg’s relationship to Jesus Christ and his changes to the Christian church lead into his next point, which is how contradictory he believes these...
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...William Blake: The Romantic Most poets have their own writing style. They have been shaped, formed, carved, and given to us through their colored lenses based on the atmosphere they live in. In William Blake’s poetry, there are many instances of repetition of motifs that compare and contrast, transforming his style of poetry from a naive to a more conscious subject and further enhancing his work by his slightly detached nature. Blake is known as one of the greatest poets in history, and was a man of integrity, and soul. He wrote from experience, as well as from the heart. Blake wrote of love, and the peacefulness you come across after the war, whether it be in battle or in life. The majority of Blake’s work was written in the Romanticism...
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...William Blake Within his Poetry During the Romantic Era, William Blake demonstrated a unique way of viewing the world, that was easily separated from the normal way of thinking. His poetry along with the ideas he expressed have influenced a countless number of individuals to see the world as it truly is: beautiful but corrupted by oppression. William Blake lived his life in poverty, finding his only comfort within the confines of his work; therefore, there is no doubt that his poetry reflected his life and ideals. Through his childhood, obsession with art, and the way in which he saw the world, William Blake conveyed his life and beliefs within the many stanzas he wrote. Throughout his childhood, William Blake demonstrated an immense amount...
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...Jeremy Knight Mrs. Holmes English 12C 12 April 2011 “The Tyger” William Blake had a unique way of writing poems, especially in one of his most famous works, “The Tyger.” His life as a writer, themes, literary techniques, and writing style are all what make “The Tyger” so successful. Born in London on November 28, 1757, William Blake was an English writer, poet, and illustrator during the Romantic period. Blake was the second of five children born to James Blake, a hosier, and Catherine. As a child it was said that Blake would have unusual visions of spirits. Blake began seeing these visions at the age of eight (“Overview”). Blake had no formal education, being home schooled until the age of ten. Blake learned to read and write at home. When Blake was ten, he was sent to Henry Par’s drawing school to study art. Later Blake was apprenticed to an engraver, James Basire. During his apprenticeship, Blake was sent to Westminster Abbey where he drew monuments for Basire (“Overview”). According to, “Overview of William Blake,” “the Gothic atmosphere of the church influenced Blake’s imagination and his artistic style.” Blake then began writing poetry. After leaving his apprenticeship in 1779, Blake enrolled at the Royal Academy just before starting his life as an engraver (“Overview”). On August 18, 1782, Blake married Catherine Boucher. Blake taught her to read, write, and make prints of his engravings. Blake was introduced to Harriet Mathew, who encouraged Blake to have some...
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...Tyger In William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience we are shown a comparison of nature. The innocent ‘lamb’ and the ferocious ‘Tyger’ are designed to be interpreted in comparison with each other. In the poems "The Lamb" and "The Tyger," William Blake uses symbolism, tone, and rhyme to express the theme that God can create good and bad creatures. The poem "The Lamb" was in Blake's "Songs of Innocence," which was published in 1789.While, "The Tyger," was in his "Songs of Experience," which was published in 1794. Blake's lamb and tiger symbolize two opposite views of God: the creator of good and evil. In "The Lamb," Blake uses the symbol of the lamb to paint a picture of innocence. The lamb is a symbol of Jesus Christ. The poem begins with the question, Little Lamb who made Thee?” the speaker, a child, asks the lamb about its origins and who provided him with life, food, clothes, his “tender voice”. Then the Lamb answers his own questions: “He is called by thy name, For He calls Himself a Lamb.” one who resembles in his gentleness both the child and the lamb. A lamb is a very meek and mild creature, which could be why Blake chose to use this animal to describe God's giving side. He even refers to God as being meek and mild in line fifteen: "He is meek, and he is mild." And then goes on and sends his blessings. In this poem, Blake wants to shows all the good things created by god. In ‘The Tyger’ Blake describes the tiger as being a symbol of evil. This is displayed...
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..."The Tyger" and "The Lamb" by William Blake, written in 1794 included both of these poems in his collection Songs of Innocence and Song of Experience, takes readers on a journey of faith. Through a cycle of unanswered questions, William Blake motivates the readers to question God. These two poems are meant to be interpreted in a comparison and contrast. They share two different perspectives, those being innocence and experience. To Blake, innocence is not better than experience. Both states have their good and bad sides. "The Tyger" is basically the negative reciprocal of "The Lamb" because it challenges God. The main question that Blake is asking in the two poems is that how can the same God make such a vicious animal and also make such an innocent animal. God created all creatures great and small, and he could not have created two creatures more different from each other than the lamb and the tiger. The lamb and the tiger are just vehicles for Blake to express what he feels happens to people as they grow, develop and eventually become perverted by the world around them. In the poems "The Lamb" and "The Tyger," William Blake uses symbolism, figurative language, and regiloious questioning to advance or evoke the theme that God can create good and bad creatures. "The Lamb" is from Songs of Innocence. In choosing a lamb for the subject, Blake immediately establishes this poem of innocence as a religious. "The lamb is made by Christ and is an obvious symbol of the mild and gentle...
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...n APA William Blake’s “The Chimney Sweeper” is an effective short poem telling the social injustices that the British government was allowing to be placed upon children. Through the use of powerful imagery, Blake provokes readers to empathize with the young children being forced into child labor. I. Introduction A. “The Chimney Sweeper” B. William Blake C. Summary of Plot D. Thesis Statement II. Theme and Mood A. The theme is injustice B. Blake uses imagery to pull at reader’s heart strings C. ex: Little Tom crying when his head is shaved, coffins of black, angel visiting D. Analyze each line and tell which words allude to death and darkness (ex. Coffins of black, the angels visit) III. Figurative Language and Poetic Devices A. Tell how Blake uses rhyme and repetition to enhance the readability and enjoyment of the poem. B. ex: (weep! Weep! Weep!, so your chimneys I sweep) C. Tell how he uses alliteration D. Cite specific examples The use of the letter “s” E. Tell about his use of stressed and unstressed syllables IV. Summary: My interpretation of the poem V. Conclusion A. Restate thesis B. Explain how mood, theme, figurative language, and poetic devices contribute to the overall meaning and readability of the poem. Summary of “The Chimney Sweeper” William Blake’s two poems both entitled “The Chimney Sweeper” are found in “Songs of Innocence and Experience, Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul”. Blake’s poems were written...
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...“The Tyger” by William Blake is a lyric poem that depicts the nature of the creator and his creations. The poem is more about the creator of the tyger than it is about the tyger. In contemplating the terrible ferocity and awe-inspiring symmetry of the tyger, the speaker is at a loss to explain how the same God who made the meek, innocent lamb could create a horrifying creature such as the tyger. This essay will provide a detailed analysis of William Blake’s “The Tyger” paying particular attention, firstly to the extended metaphor in stanza’s 2, 3 and 4, secondly, to the poetic significance of repetition, in particular to the phrase “fearful symmetry”, thirdly, to the role that the rhythm and metre play in creating an urgent need to address the succession of the questions and lastly, the evocation of the sublime emotion of terror in Blake’s depiction of the Tyger. Firstly, the extended metaphor in stanza’s 2, 3 and 4, is comparing the creator and his creation of the Tyger to a blacksmith and his creations. A blacksmith that makes use of tools, such as the “Hammer,” “chain,” ”furnace,” and “anvil” in creating objects out of hot metal. The blacksmith represents a conventional image of artistic creation; here Blake applies it to the divine creation of the natural world. This is evident in L5:”In what distant deeps or skies”, refers to an otherworldly (“distant”) place, perhaps a kind of hell (“deeps”) or Heaven (“skies”). The “distant deeps or skies” bring to mind the concept...
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...individual to take control despite the existential context of life and death. Blake expresses his concern of social repression and believes instead in the individual’s freedom. His optimism seeps through the violent nature of his imagery to suggest hope in states of anxiety. The composition of Blake’s work has a strong figure to ground ratio. They are usually centrally positioned to highlight the subject matter whilst the surrounding elements refer to the conditions of the event. In his early works as an engraver, his interest in communicating subject matter in conflict can be seen in the smaller details. In ‘A negro hung alive by the ribs to the gallows’ (1972), Blake exaggerates the muscular...
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...William Blake “the Tyger” "The Tyger In this counterpart poem to “The Lamb” in Songs of Innocence Blake offers another view of God through His creation. Whereas the lamb implied God's tenderness and mercy, the tiger suggests His ferocity and power. In the poem ‘The Tyger” by William Blake written in 1794 William Blake utilizes quatrains in a fairytale like structure to highlight the triumphant human awareness in this hymn of purity. Blake lived a very religious life “The Blakes were dissenters and believed to have belonged to the Moravian Church.” I believe this influenced blakes life because the tiger in the poem “The Tyger” symbolizes how soft and cute it is, then tells it that God made it and how wonderful that is. This also influenced blake to question religion, politics, poetry itself, history, science, and philosophy. Even today “The Tyger” is read today “elementary students read it because it rhymes and it talks about tiger and high school students read it because of the difficulty”. The poem is very helpful and inspirational for both students and adults. “The tyger” was published with a series of poems called the “songs of experience” in 1794. Blake wrote these poems during the radical period which was a time of passion and imagination. The passion and imagination were the things that influenced blake to write. William blake uses alliteration in the poem “ Tyger Tyger burning bright” he uses it with the t’s and the b’s. The poem consists of six...
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...average age at which children started work in early 19th- century Britain was 10 years old, but that this varied widely between regions. In industrial areas, children started work on average at eight and a half years old. Most of these young workers entered the factories as piecers, standing at the spinning machines repairing breaks in the thread. A few started as scavengers, crawling beneath the machinery to clear it of dirt, dust or anything else that might disturb the mechanism. In the mines, children usually started by minding the trap doors, picking out coals at the pit mouth, or by carrying picks for the miners. Charles Dickens, William Blake and Elizabeth Barrett Browning responses to child labour in their literary masterpieces. In his essay, I want to show the authors present the term in their works. William Blake's The Chimney Sweeper, written in 1789, tells the story of what happened to many young boys during this time period. Often, boys as young as four...
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...William Soller God and Poetry Throughout human experience, we have sought ways of understanding the universe. Stories of gods appeared as an answer to a multitude of questions. These gods began guiding the world into the realm of creation, from monuments of belief to the passing of belief through the written word. Christianity grew out of Judaism with the coming of Jesus Christ. Four Gospels were written as tribute to his life as the New Testament, and, with the combination of the Torah as the Old Testament, the Bible was crafted. The distinction between the Old and New Testaments create very different images of God. In the Old Testament, there is a God a vengeance and power. In the New Testament, God is merciful and full of love. Poets, such as William Blake, Countee Cullen, and Robert Frost have commented on this duality, inscribing their own beliefs onto paper. William Blake shows the contrast in God’s creations through two poems, The Lamb and The Tyger. The Lamb opens with a question: “Little Lamb, who made thee?” The speaker questions the lamb on how it was made, how it obtained its “clothing” of wool and its “tender voice.” In the next stanza, the speaker answers his own question: the lamb’s maker “calls himself a Lamb” and who resembles both the lamb and the speaker, a child. While the child’s question is an innocent one, it resounds as the constant philosophical question of creation that religion tries to explain. In the first stanza where the child poses the...
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...Chapter I The Problem A. INTRODUCTION Having a term paper as a requirement for the graduating students is important. It may be difficult for the students since it is their first time to make this requirement but it is fun to do this, since this is one of knowing the author and the same time develop the researcher’s skill in analyzing and interpreting ideas. In the writing this term paper the researchers gain information and get familiar to the works and life story of the two authors. This term paper focuses the comparative study of William Blake and Walt Whitman. The researchers gather information through research and analyze the data to answer the question stated in the problem. B. BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM BLAKE¹ William Blake was an English poet, engraver, and a painter. A boldly imaginative rebel in both his through and art, he combined poetic and pictorial genius to explore life. YOUTH William Blake was born in London, England, on November 28, 1757, the second son of a men’s clothing merchant. From his earliest year he saw vision. He would see trees full of angels on similar sights, if this were not true mystical visions; they were the results of the artistic intense spiritual understanding of the world. From his early teens Blake wrote poems, often setting them to melodies of his own composition. At the age of ten, Blake started at the well-known Park’s DrawingSchool, at age of fourteen; he began a seven year apprenticeship to an engraver. It was as an engraver...
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...The Chimney Sweeper Thesis Blake uses many literary devices to portray the hopeless life of the young chimney sweeps. I. Irony II. Imagery III. Symbolism William Blake masterfully uses many literary devices to portray the hopeless life of a young chimney sweep in his poem “The Chimney Sweeper”. The poem has a young, nameless first person narrator which gives the poem a sense of youthful innocence and anonymity that is in direct contradiction to the horrible conditions they suffer. Most of the poem has dark tones that is punctuated by a happy dream of freedom and joy with his true father his creator. The poem ends with a bleak and almost sinister twist of irony that leaves the reader feeling sorrow and shame for the chimney sweepers. Irony is one of the most powerful literary devices employed by Blake. It is seen running through the poem starting with the first lines. The boy’s mother died and his father sold him before he could “cry ‘weep ’weep ’weep. We don’t know why the boy was sold but we could assume that the father wanted to give the boy more opportunity than he could afford to give. This is extremely ironic because the boy is sold into servitude in deplorable, deathly conditions. More irony is evident in the last lines of the poem where the narrator speaks of the sweeper doing their duty to avoid harm. Children should only have the duty of being happy children, not pleasing their masters and working terrible jobs like slaves. Tom’s dream can also be ironic...
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...Japanese philosophical understanding of nature is deeply influenced by Buddhism and neo-Confucianism. Under both systems, the discussion of the connection between the nature of persons and the nature of reality is a common topic. And they differently raise the way to deal with the relationship between nature and human. One of the important aspects of Japanese philosophical understanding of nature is derived from influence from Buddhism, especially from Zen, which emphasizes the nature of enlightenment and its relation to religious practices. Under this perspective, participation in esoteric rituals builds up a full engagement between nature and human, which are both physically and intellectually with the working of reality itself (JPS 8). As for Dogen, such an engagement between human and nature generates meaning of things and is valid depending on whether it is appropriate to the context as it presents itself on a given occasion (JPS 151). When we have not yet fully engaged phenomena with the body-mind, we think that is all there is to the phenomena. While if we sufficiently engage them with the body-mind, however, we sense there is something more left out (Lecture Oct 28). Therefore, once freed from viewing the meaning of natural things in one and only one way, we can realize that the natural things around us are not necessarily only the things reach into your eyes at that moment. Beyond their being visible as circularity or angularity, there is no limit to the other things...
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