William Blake Research Paper

Emotion over logic and reason would be the intellectual movement of the later years of the 18th century through the mid 19th century known as Romanticism. There are several different forms of art dedicated to Romanticism, literature being one of them. There are many well known writers and poets from this time, including poet William Blake. Believing and acting in a romanticist manner from a young age, inspired him to write a variety of poems. Two collections of poems of his include “Song of Innocence and “Songs of Experience.” His poems were very spiritual, expressed a love of nature, along with the use of symbolism, imagination, and individualism. We can interpret the meaning of the difference between innocence and experiences

Neoclassicism goes hand in hand with the philosophical movement of Enlightenment, which was based off logic, and thinking in a way in which there can only be a limited set of beliefs and customs to follow. Unlike with Neoclassicism, the point of Romanticism was to break away from this small minded thinking and step out of the box. The most prominent features of Romanticism include a heavy use of emotion and imagination, and self exploration. With these three features, comes the expansion of the thinking process as a way to not conform to the regular traditions of society. As a young child, William Blake had visions, which would influence and justify his poems in the years to come. These visions include seeing God peaking his head into the window, and a tree full of angels. With this fact alone, it is already stepping into a different realm. God, religion, and spirituality makes as a good base for Blake’s Romantic poems. Because he would not conform to tradition, paintings, followed by poetry, was his way of expressing his beliefs in a simple, yet creative

The poems in this collection are actually complimentary to “Songs of Innocence.” For example, Blake’s “The Tyger” directly contrasts with “The Lamb.” “The Tyger” happens to be his most popular poem that has been written. The first question the speaker was asking the tiger in the poem is “what immortal hand or eye could frame thy fearful symmetry?” Already, you can sense the similarity of this poem to “The Lamb” as the speaker is questioning his creation. The question “did he who made the Lamb make thee?” is showing the direct connection to it. With these questions throughout the poem, you can tell the difference between the symbol of the lamb and the tiger. For example, “ And what shoulder and what art. Could twist the sinews of thy heart?” “In what distant or deeps or skies Burnt the fire of thine eyes?” “On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand dare seize the fire?” From these quotes, we can infer the tiger is large and intimidating. You do not get the same gentle impression as you do from the lamb. It doesn’t seem the tigers creator could be in relation to the lamb’s because of its ferocity, but it is still clear there is something divine behind this. Perhaps it was created by an evil force. Comparing this to the lamb, represents Blake’s belief in both good and evil. As we get older, the