Lite
Blake was born over his father’s modest hosiery shop at 28 Broad Street, Golden Square, London.
Blake wrote to his patron William Hayley in 1802, “I am under the direction of Messengers from Heaven Daily & Nightly.” These visions were the source of many of his poems and drawings.
He was, he wrote in 1804, “really drunk with intellectual vision whenever I take a pencil or graver into my hand.
Blake was christened, married, and buried by the rites of the Church of England, but his creed was likely to outrage the orthodox.
Blake was a religious seeker but not a joiner.
Blake loved the world of the spirit and abominated institutionalized religion
Blake’s profession was engraving, and his principal avocation was paintingin watercolours. But even from boyhood he wrote poetry.
The Angels Hovering Over the Body of Christ in the Sepulchre, c1805
The Ancient of Days, 1794
Adam Naming the Beasts, 1810
Newton, 1795-c1805
Blake’s Cottage, c1804-10
William Blake once wrote that “mental things are alone real”. This belief is reflected in both his life and his work. Blake was a visionary who used the images that came to him to create innovative poetry and striking artwork.
William Blake, (born Nov. 28, 1757, London, Eng.—died Aug. 12, 1827, London), English engraver, artist, poet, and visionary, author of exquisitelyrics in Songs of Innocence (1789) and Songs of Experience (1794) and profound and difficult “prophecies,” such as Visions of the Daughters of Albion (1793), The First Book of Urizen (1794), Milton (1804[–?11]), and Jerusalem (1804[–?20]).
In the early 21st century, Blake was regarded as the earliest and most original of the Romantic poets, but in his lifetime he was generally neglected or (unjustly) dismissed as mad.
Text Analysis: Symbol is a person, place, object, or action that represents itself and something beyond itself. Symbols can often represent more than one thing. For example, the lamb that is the subject of Blake´s poem “The Lamb” symbolizes innocence and gentleness. Blake also uses the lamb as a symbol for Jesus Christ. Although Blake´s poems may appear simple, they deal with important ideas. Blake uses symbols to express these ideas and evoke emotions associated with them.
Reading Skill: Compare and Contrast Poems: Blake wrote his landmark Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience to explore “the two contrary states of the human soul”. Word choice: look for descriptive words, and note how they are used to emphasize characteristics of the subject. Ideas: identify coomon or contrasting ideas expressed in the poems. Tone: notice the author´s attitude toward the subject.
From Songs of Innocence The Lamb- reading purpose: Think about what God, the lamb, and the speaker have in common. Background: William Blake first published Songs of Innocence in 1789. Blake conceived the state of “Innocence” as a state of genuine love and trust toward all humankind accompained by a belief in Christian doctrine. “The Lamb”, from that collection, has often been read as a statement of Christian faith. However, Blake´s other writings show Christ not as a “meek” and “mild” lamb with which the speaker identifies but as a fighter against injustice. The speaker´s viewpoint is thus an incomplete representation of Blake´s beliefs and just one aspect of Blake´s worldview.
The Chimmney Sweeper- Reading Purpose: think about whether the ideas expressed would have offered comfort to a poor chimney sweeper. Background: In Blake´s London, buildings were heated by coal or woodburning fireplaces, and every building had at least one chimney that required regular cleaning. Poor children often did this hazardous work because they could fit into the narrow chimney passages. Desperate for money, some poor parents sold their children to “masters” who managed- and often mistreated- crews of young sweepers. In this poem, Blake speaks for these children who were forced into the basckbreaking labor.
The Little Boy Lost- Reading Purpose: Think about how the speaker in the poem feels. Background: Blake saw the world as a set of signs and symbols representing religious ideas. The symbols in his writings tend to have many different meanings.
The Little Boy Found- Reading Purpose: Think about what the poems is sayin g about the power of God. Background: Blake´s poetry and art show his fascination with the Bible and his struggle to find answers to questions that bothered him, such as: What is the source of evil in the world? Can evil be overcome? Blake came to believe that good must active oppose evil.
From Songs of Experience The Tyger- Reading Purpose: Think about what the tiger might symbolize. Bakground: While almost everyone agrees that “The Tyger” is one of the most powerful of Blake´s Songs of Experience, the has been much disagreement about the óem´s central symbol. One possibility is that the tiger represents a strong revolutionary energy that can enlighten and transform society-a positive but dangerous force Blake believed was operating in the French Revolution.
The Chimney Sweeper- Reading Purpose: Think about how the tone of this poem differs from that of “The Chimney Sweeper” in Songs of Innocence. Background: Blake believed that no one should go hungry in a land as wealthy as England. This sweeper, does not accept oppresion and poverty. He recognizes the people who sold him into a life of hard labor.
The Sick Rose- Reading Purpose: Think about what the Rose represents, and why the Rose is sick. Background: Though a firm believer in Christianity, Blake though the English Church encouraged passive obedience and acceptance of oppresion among citizens. Recognition of this social agenda marks what Blake called the state of “Experience”, a disillusionment with human nature and society. “The Sick Rose” is one such powerful expression of disilluionment from Songs of Experience.
“The Lamb”: God is savior, first part: present questions, the poem is calm, soft, cerenity, pure, represents innocence, second part: present answers, represents God, gentleness, Christ. Presents emotion, love.
“The Chimney Sweeper: God is savior, innocence, children are sent to work, are abuse, Tom Dacre symbolizes an innocence boy that is pushed to work. People use their innocence, People put them into the wall. Appear angels as salvation, freedom (religious faith). Toms dream; represent life.
“The Little Boy Lost”: go in a bad way, represents God (father. People start to lose the connection with God.
“The Little Boy Found” God represents the father, symbolizes the way God appear in the life of the life.
“The Tyger”: first part: questions, symbolizes power of nature, burnt the fire, dangerous, fearful, second part: asnwers.
“The Sick Rose”: uggly, brown, dry, smell bad, problems that we have every day.Beauty, color, symbolizes sadness, innocence, depression.