William Blake

Born in 1757, died in 1827 He was a Londoner by birth The most influenced of all the romantics the best artists, such as !im "orrison were stron#ly ins$ired by Blake He has a tremendous stress on %isionary $oetry He thou#ht of himself as an artist, bein# a $ainter, writer,&&&& etc& "ost of his %isual art is illustration to his own works, the work of other $oets ' (haucer)s *il#rims, Thomas +rey, ,ante)s ,i%ine (omedy.t the a#e of 1/, he sto$$ed #oin# to school and his father who was a tailor ' a craftsmansent him to be a $ainters a$$rentice for 0 years and after that he went an im$ortant institution the 1oyal .cademy of 2ine .rts 'sir !oshua 1eynolds was an academician3the conser%ati%e $art of the artistic $art, he was one of the founders of the school Blake started a dice $olemic with 1eynolds most of his non3fiction works are $olemic directed a#ainst re$resentati%es such as &&&&, materialism, knowled#e without res$iration are $ure science, he also includes characters in his $aintin#s 4mind for#ed manacles53 reffers not only to im$risonment but to sla%ery too 'made by the human mind-3the main social e%il accordin# to Blake3the forces that restrict human mind or the forces that man creates to restrict the human freedom32 different meanin#s . %olume he $roduced ' a %olume he made $a#e by $a#e car%in# them, as a craftsman The ne6t %olume 47on#s of 8nnocence53 %olume of %ery sim$le lyrics 'lyrical $oetryuttered in the name of an infant on different sub9ects& The $oems are %ery sim$le dialo#ues in which the %oice of innocence is lookin# for answers in an unfriendly world& This %olume '178:-3 was followed of a $air %olume 47on#s of ;6$erience5 which is $resented by a more mature $rota#onist, in the 8ntroduction s$eaks an an#elic child < the $oet and also the $ro$het who li%es in the middle of a community, but also s$eaks in the name of the community Human ima#ination is su$reme and it creates +od for Blake& The two %olumes ha%e a symetric structure , lamb=ti#er in son#s of 8nnocence and 4the di%ine ima#e5 in son#s of ;6$erience < the di%ine ima#e, which is a human abstract

47on#s of ;6$erience5 < contains $oems that do not a$$ear in 47on#s of 8nnocence5, such as 4The (loud and the *ebble5, 4>h 7un 2lower5, 4The 7ick 1ose5, 4London5 7ubtitle the innocents and the e6$eriments are sta#es of the soul, they are in a relationshi$ of e%olution, as a neccesary e%il 'innocence $receded by e6$erience3 e6$erience is not a ha$$y state for Blake, it)s adulthood, the state of conce$tuali?ation and rationalism,for him this ty$e of state is a ne#ati%e intelectual=human acti%ity

London

London was the 1st metro$olis, the 1st industrial city, where all the social e%ils were $resent ;%ery form of institution was a form of e6$ression@ $rotoanarchist, althou#h 4all 8 know is in the Bible53 he has this close readin# of the Bible, he does not acce$t the corres$ondin# institution, the church 8n a similar meaness@ He is an admirer of lo%e 'erotic lo%e-, but he des$ises the institutions attached to it marria#e ' a form of lialised $rostitution, considerin# it $rostitution itself-, the army 'institution related to $owerLondon is the e$itonomy of all these e%ils because it embodies all forms em$owerment by law and the symbol of freedom, the ri%er, the Thames is seen as bein# restricted .n&&&& before it)s time of the city &&&& made famous by Baudelaire, the $oet wanders throu#h the city ;6$erience is di$resed but neccesary 47on#s of 8nnocence5 and 47on#s of ;6$erience53 decently sim$le, the $rosody is lullaby3like, Blake will&&& his literary creations with 4&&& from hell5 and his $ro$hetic books The %oice of the $ro$het is the %oice of the future3 Blake relied on his readin# of the Bible, inter$retation3 he created his own mytholo#y "ytho$oeic ima#ination3 that creates its own myths

He chooses to turn London into a common noun, so stron# in its symbolism, it)s like sayin# the city 8n the $oem London, a##lomeration of all ty$es of the social e%ils ' state, church, $rostitution, marria#e-

He has $oems in which he is $reoccu$ied with ;ros because se6ual lo%e had a comodity, a means of ensla%ement, instead of bein# a means of fulfillment of the human bein#, a reunion of the se6es, reinter$retation 'of the uni%ersal man 4The 7ick 1ose53 8s an urnal $oem& The symbol of $erfection de%iated3 $erfection is im$erfection& Aery %a#ue symbol that can reffer to lo%e $assion, $erfection, chastity, reli#ion& The 1ose is lo%e, beauty, the $erfect woman etc& .ll this $erfection is sick& The title itself is an o6ymoron of the rose& The a$$earance of the animalic ima#e the worm , to#heter with the rose create a narrati%e about the consumin# of lo%e& This consumin# of lo%e is erotic, ha%in# romantic ima#es such as ni#htime, crimson bed& 8t can be the eternity of the beauty 'rose- and mortality bein#s& 8t is the clash=realtionshi$ between belief and church& The $oem created an e6treme im$act on the readers& Whoe%er who has ima#ination, can create an ima#e about the $oem&

4The 7unflower53 im$ressi%e thou#h it)s use of rhythm, the only dynamic flower3 the relationshi$ between the flower and the sun& 8t is seen not in eternity but e6hausted throu#h re$etition3 4countin# the ste$s of the sun5, 4weary of time5& The ima#e of the sunflower is morfed into the ima#e of the lo%ers& 7uch as in this case sunflower and the tra%ellers and the youth and the ur#ine3 all tend to #o towards the li#ht to be united in lo%e < youth ' li#ht, warmth- and %ir#in ' shrouded in snow3 cold4The Book of Thel53 contrast between somethin# that is not com$lete and $erfection that is refused& Thel is the youn# maid who refuses to be fulfilled into womanhood3 $er$etual sta#e of innocence& The dialo#ue between Thel and the elements of nature that all ad%ise her towards fulfillment, but she refuses& The 2nd $art s$eaks about Blakes $ro$hecies ' $ro$hecy3 s$eakin# about the future4The +arden of Lo%e53

The *ro$hetic Books by Blake are in the $ersona of a Bard ' the ;n#lish $oet- which is sometimes "ilton, or one of the $ro$hets of the Bible& 8t is not only $ro$hetic' the future-

but also %isionary& Blake is a $oet who sees %isions 'had dialo#ues with di%inity- & These $ro$hecie are cathe#ori?ed bein# minor and ma9or&