William Blake Research Paper

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William Blake, a romantic poet whose characteristics of romanticism are intensely marked on his poetry. So, what exactly is Romanticism? Romanticism is "literature depicting emotional matter in an imaginative form." (Morner). Romanticism is characterized by the dependance on the imagination and subjectivity of approach, freedom of thought and expression, and an idealization of nature. Romanticism officially began by the Lyrical Ballads combinedly written by Wordsworth and Coleridge in 1830 as said in the introduction of the romantic period (Greenblatt). Many of the writers of the Romantic period were very influenced by the war between England and France and the French Revolution. In the middle of all these changes, Blake was also motivated to write against these ideas. In spite of most people, Blake thought that his spiritual life was varied, free, and dramatic. Blake’s poetry presents many characteristics of the romantic spirit. The romanticism of Blake consists of the importance of imagination,his symbolism, his love of liberty, his humanitarian sympathies, his idealization of childhood, the …show more content…

Seated in companies they sit with radiance all their own” (Blake, 123) The child is the symbol of the most fragile and brave components in the human mind. The characteristics of Romanticism are shown in his poems, for example the sense of wonder and the contemplation of Nature through fresh eyes. Everything that a child sees is mystery and beauty and goodness. The words in these poems fit the thought because he poems are simple. The “Songs of Innocence” most completely covers the definition of Romanticism. In this book, Blake deals with themes of experience and innocence, and on bigger Romantic themes is nature, the body, and sublime. The world of Nature and man full of love and beauty and innocence enjoyed by a happy child. In spite of his powerful emotions and his rare ideas, Blake keeps his structure perfectly clear and

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