William Blake is considered to be one of the most prominent and significant contributors to nineteenth century Romantic literature. He was born in London, England in the year 1575, and he grew up with an enthusiasm for Gothic art (Bio.com 1). Blake was always an expressive and imaginative person, with a notably visionary personality (Bio.com 1). These traits proved useful to him as he began to express his beliefs through his works of what would become known as Romantic literature. During the era in which William Blake lived, the Catholic Church, which up until this time had been dominant, was facing schisms. Modernism, led by Pius IX and Leo XIII, rose during this tumultuous period (Christianity, Roman Catholicism 15) and allowed for new
The leaders of the church in the nineteenth century taught their congregations of a God characterized by love and mercy. William Blake also viewed God as vengeful and just, almost a contrast to the way that deity was commonly portrayed. Furthermore, Blake believed that man could not understand God and deity if he was narrow-minded and saw divinity from only one perspective. Priests of the nineteenth century taught that the way to salvation was through confession and repentance, along with complete repression of sin as much as humanly possible. However, Blake believed that knowledge of divinity and God’s deity was the way in which a person’s soul is saved (“Analyzing William Blake’s Poetry” 6). William Blake so valued education and knowledge that he taught his new wife Catherine to read and write when he came to find out she could not previously do either (Poetry Foundation 7). Blake’s purpose for writing “The Lamb” and “The Tyger” was to convince his readers of his beliefs and to educate them on the different aspects of God’s divinity and
However, this was not the intent of the author when it was written. “The Lamb” is a display of the mindset of an innocent soul who sees God only as loving and caring. “The Tyger”, in contrast, asks the question of why ferociousness and darkness was created and brought into the world by the same creator of the naïve lamb. These poems were written in hopes that the audience would read both poems and realize there are multiple facets of God’s deity, which is the message that Blake hoped to communicate to the public. As the Poetry Foundation summed this very message, “how man understands God depends on man’s view of God’s divinity” (25). Blake believed that man must be knowledgeable concerning the deity of God for his soul to be saved, and he sought to convince the public of this through his works of
Mason, Michael. Notes to William Blake: A Critical Edition of the Major Works. Ed. Michael Mason. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988.
William Blake is a literature genius. Most of his work speaks volume to the readers. Blake’s poem “The Mental Traveller” features a conflict between a male and female that all readers can relate to because of the lessons learned as you read. The poet William Blake isn’t just known for just writing. He was also a well-known painter and a printmaker. Blake is considered a seminal figure in the history of poetry. His poems are from the Romantic age (The end of the 18th Century). He was born in Soho, London, Great Britain. He was the third of seven children. Even though Blake was such an inspiration as a writer he only went to school just enough to read and write. According to Bloom’s critical views on William Blake; one of Blake’s inspirations was the Bible because he believed and belonged to the Moravian Church.
The theme of authority is possibly the most important theme and the most popular theme concerning William Blake’s poetry. Blake explores authority in a variety of different ways particularly through religion, education and God. Blake was profoundly concerned with the concept of social justice. He was also profoundly a religious man. His dissenting background led him to view the power structures and legalism that surrounded religious establishments with distrust. He saw these as unwarranted controls over the freedom of the individual and contrary to the nature of a God of liberty. Figures such as the school master in the ‘schoolboy’, the parents in the ‘chimney sweeper’ poems, the guardians of the poor in the ‘Holy Thursday’, Ona’s father in ‘A Little girl lost’ and the priestly representatives of organised religion in many of the poems, are for Blake the embodiment of evil restriction.
Blake, Wordsworth, and Keats all represent the Romantic style of literature with their unorthodox themes of nature, art, and life; and how those three points can be tied together and used for creative purposes among humankind. Art and life are counterparts; one is lacking without the other. The Romantic period was about passion; finding inspiration and beauty in things people see every day. Wordsworth found childhood memories in a familiar landscape, Blake found himself captivated by the mysteries of how the majestic tiger was created, and Keats’ urn triggered him to put his inquiries of it into poetry. Each man expressed his individual view within their works; and like many of their Romantic contemporaries, their ideas ran against the flow of their time’s societal beliefs.
Blake makes sheep seem to have a joyful emotion and wants to share it with others. The sheep has a tender voice, which means it is not intimidating. Natoli, who is the author of the novel William Blake, says that, “The lamb is made by Christ and is an obvious symbol of the mild and gentle aspects of Creation, which are easy to associate with a God of love. However, what about the more fearsome, destructive aspects of Creation, symbolized by the tiger?... ...
William Blake was an English romantic poet who lived from 1757 to 1827 through both the American and the French revolutions. Although he lived during the Romantic Age, and was clearly part of the movement, Blake was a modern thinker who had a rebellious political spirit. He was the first to turn poetry and art into sociopolitical weapons to be raised rebelliously against the establishment. His poetry exemplified many of the same topics being discussed today. Although he was known as both a madman and a mystic, (Elliott) his poetry is both relevant and radical. He employed a brilliant approach as he took in the uncomfortable political and moral topics of his day and from them he created unique artistic representations. His poetry recounts in symbolic allegory the negative effects of the French and American revolutions and his visual art portrays the violence and sadistic nature of slavery. Blake was arguably one of the most stubbornly anti-oppression and anti-establishment writers in the English canon.
However, keep in mind that this poem was published in 1794. A renowned movement in history had just taken place a few years before this poem was published. That movement was The First Great Awakening. Christine Heyrman of The Univeristy of Delaware describes the First Great Awakening as “a revitalization of religious piety that swept through the American colonies between the 1730s and the 1770s.” (Heyrnman 1). This means that just before Blake published his poem, a revamping of Christian culture was being taken place in The United States. This is essential information to keep in mind because Blake, less than thirty years later, questions Christianity in its entirety through a poem called “The
William Blake is remembered by his poetry, engravements, printmaking, and paintings. He was born in Soho, London, Great Britain on November 28, 1757. William was the third of seven siblings, which two of them died from infancy. As a kid he didn’t attend school, instead he was homeschooled by his mother. His mother thought him to read and write. As a little boy he was always different. Most kids of his age were going to school, hanging out with friends, or just simply playing. While William was getting visions of unusual things. At the age of four he had a vision of god and when he was nine he had another vision of angles on trees.
In "The Lamb," Blake utilizes the image of the sheep to paint a picture of guiltlessness. The sheep is an image of Jesus Christ. The sheep is additionally an image of life. It furnishes people with nourishment, dress, and different things people need to survive. The line "For he calls himself a Lamb" is a line that Jesus himself has utilized (Blake 538). A sheep is an exceptionally accommodating and gentle animal, which could be the reason Blake decided to utilize this creature to depict God's giving side. He even alludes to God as being resigned and mellow in line fifteen: "He is docile, and he is gentle." Blake needs to show his followers that God is wrathful yet a pardoned and adoring inventor.
During the British Romantic period, some writers used material from the Bible or imitated the Bible in style of writing or content. William Blake, a Romantic writer, engraver, and painter, believed that “the Bible was the greatest work of poetry ever written” (Barker 2004). The Bible influenced him throughout this life, specifically influencing both his writing and his art. There are many references to Biblical themes within his writing, and there are also many references to specific passages of Scripture (Barker 2004).
William Blake’s 1793 poem “The Tyger” has many interpretations, but its main purpose is to question God as a creator. Its poetic techniques generate a vivid picture that encourages the reader to see the Tyger as a horrifying and terrible being. The speaker addresses the question of whether or not the same God who made the lamb, a gentle creature, could have also formed the Tyger and all its darkness. This issue is addressed through many poetic devices including rhyme, repetition, allusion, and symbolism, all of which show up throughout the poem and are combined to create a strong image of the Tyger and a less than thorough interpretation of its maker.
In conclusion these two poems by William Blake are both deep and have hidden meanings, they both use imagery, repetition, alliteration and ryming couplets as well as biblical references to create a vivid pictures in the readers head. But these poems do differ in many ways such as the structure, theme and way it is written. The Tyger appeals to me most as it has more hidden meanings than the Lamb and the Lamb is boring and as if written by a child (for effect). In this essay I have analysed, contrasted and compared the two poems The Tyger and The Lamb to the best of my ability detailing the poetic devices used and the underlying meanings.
In “The Lamb,” the speaker asks the lamb about how it was made, the clothing of its wool and its “tender voice.” The speaker then answers its own question and bestows the blessing of the lamb. The Lamb can symbolize a child, innocence, meek, or vulnerability. Also, it can be perceived as Jesus. “The lamb is also a metaphor for the child speaker, who belongs to Christ's ‘flock.’ In Christianity, Jesus is compared both to a lamb going to the sacrifice and to a shepherd who protects his flock of lambs and sheep” (Shmoop). At the beginning of this poem, it starts out with the question of “Little Lamb, who made thee… I a child and thou a lamb” (Line 1, 17). It refers to the saying in the Bible, “…in the beginning when god created the heavens and the earth. God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind” (Mazur). The narrator only calls himself a child because we are all “children of god” as many say. In line 18, “We are called by his name,” reinforces the idea that the lamb...
Often considered by scholars as the greatest pioneer of the Romantic movement in English literature, Blake was crowned as a “glorious luminary” by the 19th century English writer William Rossetti. Blake's poetry consistently embraces the idea of rebellion against the abuse of class power. Blake encountered both the American and French revolutions and was heavily influenced by the sense of liberation in both revolutions. He was also concerned about the negative effects of the industrial revolution, which further polarized the income distribution among different classes. The British Marxist historian E.P. Thompson classified Blake as having many similar beliefs as ...
In his work, Songs of Innocence and Experience: Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul, William Blake uses the aforementioned contrasting states of being to illustrate his unique view of the world around him. Through this work, Blake lays bare his soulful views of religion and ethics, daring the reader to continue on in their narcissistic attitudes and self-serving politics. While Blake's work had countless themes, some of the most prevalent were religious reform, social change, and morality. Philosophically, one would think that William Blake was a Deist; however Blake rejected the Deist view of life. He was a devout Christian, yet he also wanted nothing to do with the church or their teachings. These views give Blake a refreshingly sincere quality with regards to his art and writings. Blake frequently alluded to Biblical teachings in his work and, more often than not, used corresponding story lines to rail against the Church's views and accepted practices. One may say however, that Blake's universal appeal lies within his social commentary. Similar to a fable, Blake weaves a poetically mystical journey for the reader, usually culminating in a moral lesson. One such poem, "A Poison Tree," clearly illustrates some of William Blake's moral beliefs. With his use of imagery, as well as an instinctive knowledge of human nature, William Blake shows just how one goes from the light to the darkness (from innocence to experience) by the repression of emotions.