Romantic Characteristics in Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

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Throughout all of his literary works, Blake incorporates many classic romantic characteristics. But he also incorporated important people and events surrounding the time period. One of his most controversial works, “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” explores three of the most prominent romantic themes in his works: the battle between good and evil, the presence of the supernatural and an affinity for nature. Most likely inspired by Emanuel Swedenborg’s “Heaven and Hell”, Blake used common romantic symbolism to demonstrate the prophetic meanings of the pieces in the book. In “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell”, Blake alludes to the idea that, “Attraction and Repulsion, Reason and Energy, Love and Hate, are necessary to Human existence. From these contraries spring what the religious call Good & Evil. Good is the passive that obeys Reason. Evil is the active springing from Energy. Good is Heaven. Evil is Hell,” Not only did this piece demonstrate his unconventional beliefs about the codependence of good and evil, it also exemplified a classic romantic tenet which dealt with the contradic...

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