The Hate of Tyranny and Celebration of Liberty in William Blake's Poetry

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The Hate of Tyranny and Celebration of Liberty in William Blake's Poetry

William Blake was born in 1757, during a period of great change in

western political ideas. The poor had begun to realise that they did

not have to live as serfs under the rich, and were breaking free of

these old bonds, The main examples of this being The French revolution

in 1792 and the American Revolution in 1775, both now considered as

some of the most important events in history. Blake was a great

supporter of these movements, and believed that the same should happen

in England. This is why many of the Aristocracy at the time considered

Blake a threat to their comfortable way of life. The tiger in Blake's

most famous poem is said to represent the French Revolution, 'What

immortal hand or eye, can frame thy fearful symmetry?' he writes,

making clear his view of the power and greatness of this movement.

Although Blake didn't go as far in his protests as the French, he is

very subversive in his views the ruling classes in his poetry,

although he uses well known symbols and metaphors to voice his

criticism. An excellent of this is his poems 'The Shepherd' in which

the sheep represent the population of England, who are able to live

without the 'shepherd' - the king/government, but simply trust their

leader to deal with administrative tasks and international affairs.

Blake is saying that people do not need their leaders to deal with

their personal lives.

The Church, up till then seen as a completely trusted and

unquestionable institution, began to come under scrutiny for money

squandering and corruption. As his parents were both middle class

hosiers working in London, he saw every day the two faces of

eighteenth-century society; the poor badly treated working classes and

the rich upper classes, living in luxury. Blake believed that such a

great, seemingly unbridgeable divide could be crossed if only

particularly trusted groups such as the Monarchy, the Aristocracy and

the Church showed some morals and respect toward the lower classes.

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