William Blake and The Garden of Love
At first glance, the poetry of William Blake may appear simplistic; he
writes most often in regular metrical rhythm, apparently sticking to the
rules, blunt observations on such mundane subjects as tigers, lambs and
roses. But if one were to finish with Blake and move on, left with only
these initial impressions, it would be a great pity; true enjoyment of this
poet can only come about through some understanding of his life, background,
and skill in the manipulation of the tool of simple lyrical poetry, to
convey deeper meaning.
Amongst his admirers, Blake is considered something of a renaissance man, a
frustrated and hugely gifted artist and writer, a social renegade, and
something of a true western mystic. For our purposes here, it is
sufficient to know that throughout his adult years he struggled with ideas
of correct government, church corruption, unfair taxation, and Christian
thought, to the point of near-lunacy. Blake was born in London in 1857, and
while still in his early teens (under 14) began privately writing poetry
that is considered of high caliber.
Blake¹s family had the wherewithal to send him to a ³drawing school² when he
was ten, and he there began formal training in art. He was greatly
influenced by the art of the Renaissance world, and later wrote about his
early total comprehension and appreciation of it. He continued his formal education in art, and was apprenticed and
working successfully in that world by his twenties.
But at heart Blake was a lover of words, and inclined to express his
impressions of life through the pen as easily and readi...
... middle of paper ...
...who would be helpful figures normally - are blindly making their
rounds dressed in black. Black is the color of death, deception, the
villainous, of loss of hope, of the opposite of innocence.
It would be a mistake to read the poem as a comment on an individuals
experience with the vision of a dream. Blake always has many layers in
mind: one should remember that
Blake's own mind was enormous, and capable of juggling various meanings
simultaneously. Especially where Church, Innocence, Death, and such images
as demonic priests are involved, one can count on the hint of commentary on
society at large.
"The Garden of Love" stands as an excellent example of Blake¹s ability to
use simple meter and language as a foundation, and then twist the foundation
ever so subtly to induce a particular idea.
Beowulf is a character that possesses all the qualities of an Anglo-Saxon hero. He is strong, fearless, brave, courageous, and arrogant. But are these qualities enough to consider him a hero by the standards of today?
Through the streets and alleyways of Nineveh the prophet Jonah trudged. At every marketplace and city gate he joyously roared his tidings of evil, “forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned!” Two and a half millennia after the great fish vomited Jonah back onto dry land, William Blake faithfully follows that path of bilge and seaweed, bile and gall, into the fraternity of prophets and oracles. Just as Jonah was reluctant to prophesy to the Ninevites for fear that his enemies would hear and repent, Blake has a vested interest in perpetuating the blindness of his readers. In fact, even as he works his metaphysics to impose his “phantasy” as the prophet who proclaims the liberation of the world, he shows a full awareness that true success can only lead to his demise as a poet. Thus, standing upon his apple-crate in the marketplace, he chokes back his voice a little and mumbles in ciphers, desperately praying that he would not be understood.
William Blake focused on biblical images in the majority of his poetry and prose. Much of his well-known work comes from the two compilations Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. The poems in these compilations reflect Blake's metamorphosis in thought as he grew from innocent to experienced. An example of this metamorphosis is the two poems The Divine Image and A Divine Image. The former preceded the latter by one year.
Beowulf displayed great courage and honor throughout his journeys and battles; he was an epic hero. An epic hero is a person who is viewed as larger than life and possesses values of a certain society. From the time of Beowulf’s battle with Grendel to his brawl against the dragon, he has showed everyone what being an honorable hero looks like. His heroism is revealed through both youth as a young warrior and wisdom as a reliable king. He never backed down and didn’t give up when situations were tough. Beowulf had obligations to fulfill and went about every aspect of his life with courage and strength. He cared for his people and was willing to take on anyone that threatened them or his kingdom. He sincerely was the hero of his time.
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.
...sed society with religious overtones throughout the poem, as though religion and God are placing pressure on her. The is a very deep poem that can be taken in may ways depending on the readers stature yet one thing is certain; this poem speaks on Woman’s Identity.
Mama’s dreams were first deferred when she moved into the small apartment that the Youngers family stay in through out most of the play. She became too busy that she couldn’t accomplish her dream. She also could not for fill her dreams since she did not have enough money to do so. Her dreams were even more shattered with the death of her husband, but when she got the money from her husband’s death her dreams then became a reality again. Mama wants Travis to be happy and play in the garden but she cannot do this since they live in a dirty ghetto.
In William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, many of the poems correlate in numerous aspects. For example, The Chimney Sweeper is a key poem in both collections that portrays the soul of a child The Chimney Sweeper in Innocence vs. The Chimney Sweeper in Experience In William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, many of the poems correlate in numerous aspects. For example, The Chimney Sweeper is a key poem in both collections that portrays the soul of a child with both a naïve and experienced persona. Blake uses the aspects of religion, light versus dark imagery, and the usage of the chimney sweeper itself to convey the similarities and differences of the figure in both poems. The Chimney Sweeper is an excellent example of how William Blake incorporated religion into his poetic works.
Recalcitrant Rebellion As Art 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's poetry is both relevant and radical.
reached the age of 14. At 18 he became more serious about his art and
William Blake's The Sick Rose. "The sick rose" is a very ambiguous poem and open to several interpretations, Blake uses lots of imagery and. effective metaphors. My first impression of the poem was that it?s very negative and includes elements of destruction.
The apprentice was expected to study drawing for about sixteen months, simple coloring for ten months, and mixed coloring for at least a year. Only then was he allowed to paint under his teacher’s strict vigilance. This he did for many years before he was qualified to set up his own workshop (Pal 25).
During the mid 1800’s was a remarkable era called the Romanticism. Some political and social milestones of this era included The American Revolution, The French Revolution, and The Industrial Revolution. During these events, the “theme” more or less was a type of laissez faire which means, “let the people do as they please.” WIlliam Blake was a famous poet in this time period, as well as Samuel Coleridge, William Wordsworth, and George Gordon. Novels and poems were written in this time to express the ways Romanticism was shown and how melancholy was trending.
The theme of guardianship, being the act of guarding, protecting, and taking care of another person, is very prominent in William Blake's 'The Little Black Boy';. Three distinct instances of guardianship can be seen in Blake's poem. These guardianship roles begin with the little boy's mother, followed by God, and ultimately ending with the unsuspecting little black boy himself.
DeHoyas, M., Lopez, A., Garnett, R., Gower, S., Sayle, A., Sreenan, N., Stewart, E., Sweny, S., & Wilcox, K. (2005). History of art education, University of North Texas. Retrieved from http://www.art.unt.edu/ntieva/HistoryofArtEd/index.html