William Blake's Portrayal of God and Religion: Analysing Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience PDF

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William Blake’s Portrayal of God and Religion: Analysing Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience English Literature II – Final Exam – December 13th 2013 Alejandra de Antoni UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE SAN MARTÍN Licenciatura en Lengua Inglesa con Orientación en Literatura y Cine “Both read the Bible ...

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William Blake’s Portrayal of God and Religion: Analysing Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience English Literature II – Final Exam – December 13th 2013 Alejandra de Antoni

UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE SAN MARTÍN

Licenciatura en Lengua Inglesa con Orientación en Literatura y Cine

“Both read the Bible day and night, but thou read’st black where I read white.” William Blake1

—William Blake’s Portrayal of and : Analysing “Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience”—

Professor: Mg. Silvia Sneidermanis

María Alejandra de Antoni DNI: 33879642 2013 Universidad Nacional de San Martín

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William Blake’s Portrayal of God and Religion: Analysing Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience English Literature II – Final Exam – December 13th 2013 Alejandra de Antoni

When approaching Willia

Blake s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience,

it takes virtually no time to spot the complexity and richness of his writings. Although the reader might be acquainted with Blake s life a d the o te t of his works, it is nonetheless imperative to delve a bit deeper into his world in order to be able to understand his words in a more comprehensive fashion. It is broadly known that Blake belonged to the English Romantic movement; however, what is harder to determine is how relevant and influential these views were and up to what extent they shaped his writings. Even though Romanticism is normally associated with love and nature, what Romantics wrote had a lot more to say about the world than that since they did not merely offer superficial and idealistic descriptions of these topics. One of the most important elements which characterised this movement was the primary role i agi atio

played for Romantics. As opposed to their eighteenth-century

ou te pa ts

ho elie ed that i agi atio

theo ,

2

as

ot a a di al poi t i poeti al

Romantic writers believed i agi atio is fu da e tal e ause the thought

that without it poet

is i possi le.

3

C. M. Bo

a, i

The Romantic Imagination,

claims Romantics thought that i thei e e ise of it [i agi atio ] the ette tha

othe poets

ho sa ifi ed it to autio

a d o

o

ould do fa se se.

4

They

strongly believed there was a need for them to exercise the powers of the imagination to create new worlds and, therefore, repressing such forces would have been truly

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William Blake’s Portrayal of God and Religion: Analysing Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience English Literature II – Final Exam – December 13th 2013 Alejandra de Antoni

difficult and even painful. 5 What is even more interesting, in addition, and highly relevant to this discussion, is the source of such a strong regard for the imagination. The ideas and beliefs that triggered this Romantic thought can be said to be both religious and metaphysical. 6 Two of the most respected thinkers of that time, namely Locke and Newton, supported and defended rationalism and disregarded poetry as being exceedingly fanciful. 7 Such a derogatory view of poetry was unsurprisingly eje ted

Blake

self of i po ta e.

ho lai ed that Lo ke s app oa h to hu a it 8

o s the hu a

To Blake, the mind is the most important element and the

governing factor in his conception of the universe. He insists that the most vital activity of the

i d is the i agi atio : it is the e

sou e of spi itual e e g , the [poets]

cannot but believe that it is divine and that, when they exercise it, they in some way partake of the activity of God.9 If the imagination feeds spiritual energy and in exercising it the poet can be equalled to God, it can safely be said that for Romantics, and particularly for Blake, religion was a highly anthropocentric matter in that men only needed to resort to the imagination to get in contact with the divine and contemplate it. Fu the

o e, Blake hi self lai ed that the i agi atio is othi g

less than God as He operates in the hu a soul.

10

The imagination was so important

to Blake that it shaped not only his poetry but also his views of life and religion. It was so po e ful that he

de ied the existence of God apart from men

11

and,

consequently, his writings, including, of course, Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, reflected this thought and defined the role of the poet as the means for ordinary men to comprehend the mysteries of nature. Consequently, taking into Universidad Nacional de San Martín

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William Blake’s Portrayal of God and Religion: Analysing Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience English Literature II – Final Exam – December 13th 2013 Alejandra de Antoni

consideration the aforementioned ideas, in this paper, I will attempt to analyse Willia

Blake s i te p etatio s a d ep ese tatio s of God a d ‘eligio i his Songs of

Innocence and Songs of Experience. Due to organisation constraints, I have decided to select two poems from each collection. Hol Thu sda the ones selected from Songs of Innocence Thu sda

a d The Di i e I age a e

he eas thei

ou te pa ts

Hol

a d The Hu a A st a t are the ones taken from Songs of Experience. In

like manner, the reader will notice that this study has been divided in three main sections: the current Introduction, the main body in which I shall attempt to study the poems through Religion and Opposites, and, finally, the Final Reflection.

When readers first approach this wonderful collection, they might be tempted to read Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience as two separate bodies. However, there are several elements that should dissuade them from doing so. Firstly, Blake hi self de ided to all this olle tio

the T o Co t a

“tates of the Hu a “oul,

12

a

fact that forces any readings of these texts to consider the importance of the relations between the two sections. Secondly, not only did Blake include such a conditioning description but he also decided to publish the two sections together as one volume, which may most probably mean that they are intended to be read and considered as two elements constituting one single body. In addition, it is imperative to bear in mind o e of Blake s

ost

e o a le lai s:

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ithout o t a ies is o p og essio .

13

If

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William Blake’s Portrayal of God and Religion: Analysing Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience English Literature II – Final Exam – December 13th 2013 Alejandra de Antoni

Blake was therefore so concerned with contraries and considered them so necessary, it is essential to beware of them when reading his Songs. Since the aim of this paper is to a al se ho

Blake s po t a al of ‘eligio e ol ed i the t o Songs, it becomes quite

atu al to o side Blake s use of o t a ies a crucial element to study this evolution. Inasmuch as it was the author himself who regarded this set of poems as one body, it becomes almost impossible not to approach each song as a trigger of or a response to another one. With this view in mind, it has been decided that the poems to be analysed in these pages will be presented as complementary duets: Holy Thursday (Songs of Innocence) vs. Holy Thursday (Songs of Experience) and The Divine Image (Songs of Innocence) vs. The Human Abstract (Songs of Experience). Although when reading Songs of Innocence, the audience may understand that the a e

ea t to

e i te p eted th ough hild e s e es, it is

uite i e ita le

nonetheless to perceive the limitations of childhood when interpreting what their eyes see. No matter how hard we may try, we cannot prevent ourselves from reading Songs of Innocence th ough the E pe ie e le s.14 Let us analyse, for instance, the first stanza of Holy Thursday (Songs of Innocence): T as o a Hol Thu sda , thei i

o e t fa es lea ,

Came children walking two and two, in red, and blue, and green: Grey-headed beadles walked before, with wands as white as snow, Till i to the high do e of Paul s the like Tha es ate s flo .

After only one or two readings, there arise some important aspects to consider. First, it is quite interesting to notice that child e s fa es a e ot o l i

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o e t ut lea . The

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William Blake’s Portrayal of God and Religion: Analysing Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience English Literature II – Final Exam – December 13th 2013 Alejandra de Antoni

are innocent because they are children but they are clean because they do not have to work (as opposed to what the reader will later face in Songs of Experience). Another important element on which to focus is the role the Church15 plays. Children are alki g guided

g e -headed

eadles

ho ep ese t

oth the Chu h a d

experienced (old) people who take care of them. In Songs of Innocence there can be see a p ote ti e Chu h ep ese ted

these e pe ie ed

eadles guidi g a d

guarding the children. Blake here portrays the role of the Church without stating any open judgment upon it (as children would probably do . Ou

e pe ie ed e es,

however, can read a bit further and warn us against the dangers of structured religion. The fact that Blake s si ile i li e 4 fou des i es the children s walking i to Paul s like Tha es

ate s flo s

ight mean that children, just like waters flow, are walking

into church without being fully aware of the implications of what they are doing: they e el

go

ith the flo .

The second stanza, furthermore, adds some more

interesting ideas to the current analysis. Oh what a multitude they seemed, these flowers of London town! Seated in companies they sit, with radiance all their own. The hum of multitudes was there, but multitudes of lambs, Thousands of little boys and girls raising their innocent hands.

The first attention-calling imagery in this stanza is that Blake decides to equal flo e s to children. Although the reader knows that flowers are beautiful and that they represent liveliness, it is quite difficult to ignore the fact that beauty of flowers is shortlived. If children, who represent Innocence, are like flowers, the reader might very well

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William Blake’s Portrayal of God and Religion: Analysing Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience English Literature II – Final Exam – December 13th 2013 Alejandra de Antoni

interpret that this state of innocence will most probably not last long. In the third line of this stanza, moreover, there can be noticed a very important and relevant image: the use of la o d la

s to efe to the hild e has ee

idel used i

ho a e i the hu h. E e though the

eligious te

s to efe to the i

o e t it

cannot be denied that lambs are normally expected to die in the hands of more powerful creatures. Children are indeed innocent but their innocence will inevitably be devoured by the wittiest predator: experience. In the last line, in addition, there is the des iptio of hild e s ha ds as i

o e t. Their hands are innocent because they

have not become dirty yet, neither through work nor through sin. However, this image of thousands of children with their hands raised shows the impositions of the Christian church, one of which forced mass attendees to raise their hands to e ei e God s absolution. Their hands are innocent but are still required to ask for forgiveness. The third stanza, in like manner, portrays further interesting ideas. Now like a mighty wild they raise to heaven the voice of song, Or like harmonious thunderings the seats of heaven among: Beneath them sit the aged men, wise guardians of the poor. Then cherish pity, lest you drive an angel from your door.

If

e

e e to take

ild

li e 1 – third stanza) as a symbol for what is not civilised,

educated or instructed, it is therefore quite possible to associate

ild, in this

context, with children in that they have not yet been fully instructed in Christianity and its (limiting) values and creed. Since Blake belie ed that enemies of any true religion,

16

hurches were the worst

it is highly possible for him to have considered church-

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William Blake’s Portrayal of God and Religion: Analysing Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience English Literature II – Final Exam – December 13th 2013 Alejandra de Antoni

going quite a terrible and misleading habit. Finally, in the third line, once more, there appea also

aged

e

guarding the weak. These aged

e , who are not only old but

ise, represent experience both through age and knowledge. Since this Holy

Thursday belongs to Songs of Innocence it should not be read as something entirely judgemental mainly because we are expected to see the o ld th ough hild e s eyes and their innocence would keep prejudices quite at bay. To children, old and experienced people are there to take care of them. Although the reader cannot prevent experience from contaminating their interpretation of this poem, whether the use of

ise i this li e is meant as mockery or plain characterisation should not be

central in this thread of analysis. In Songs of Experience, however, the tone grows in bitterness and desperation. Regardless of the particular poem the reader may confront, it does not take long to spot the juxtaposition of these two states of the Human Soul. Similarly, whe a al si g Hol Thu sda , it a

ot e o itted that Blake pu posefull i luded

two poems under the same name in both Songs. Not only did he want to show the oppositio

et ee the I

o e t a d the E pe ie ed pe eptio of this Catholi

day par excellence but he also made it quite evident that he was indeed portraying such contrast. The e

fi st sta za of Hol Thu sda

Songs of Experience) already

shows a highly critical and reproachful persona: Is this a holy thing to see In a rich and fruitful land, — Babes reduced to misery, Fed with cold and usurous hand?

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William Blake’s Portrayal of God and Religion: Analysing Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience English Literature II – Final Exam – December 13th 2013 Alejandra de Antoni

One of the easiest differences to spot is related to format. Innocence s17 Holy Thursday was also structured in four stanzas but they featured longer lines, which made reading easier and smoother. Its Experience s18 counterpart, on the contrary, was written in shorter but, at the same time, stronger, tougher lines. These striking lines are not so heavily charged with imagery as they are with criticism and pain. The clear opposition et ee

a i h and f uitful la d a d Ba es edu d to

ise

sho s ho

the

Chu h e ai ed alie to people s suffe i gs even during important celebrations such as Holy Thursday. Another very interesting element to analyse is that hands, which had ee

i

o e t a d

lea

o es efo e (in Innocence , a e o

old a d usu ous.

Experience has transformed those innocent children into distant and money-driven entities. The second stanza, in turn, offers more useful elements to continue the analysis. Is that trembling cry a song? Can it be a song of joy? And so many children poor? It is a land of poverty!

This stanza is quite impressive due to its three rhetorical questions. Here Blake does not really want the reader to answer these questions but wants them to be moved by them. What used to be happiness and joy in Innocence has o

e o ea te

li g

. Blake wants the reader to detect the terrible opposition between joyful singing and poverty. Once again, this opposition also addresses the Church in its failure to do

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William Blake’s Portrayal of God and Religion: Analysing Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience English Literature II – Final Exam – December 13th 2013 Alejandra de Antoni

something to eradicate poverty instead of singing songs of joy. Likewise, the third stanza also portrays the harshness of Experience. And their son does never shine, And their fields are bleak and bare, And their ways are filled with thorns: It is eternal winter there.

These lines are so well achieved that they can be quite heavy to digest. The fact that the first three lines start with the same two words generates intense feelings of repetitiveness and, consequently, resignation. This stanza shows a world full of difficulties and complexities that are hard to overcome. For these poor children there is no sun (no hope, may the reader assume), fields are lifeless and filled with traps. Winter and oblivion, with their coldness and indifference, will haunt poor children forever. The fourth and last stanza is, quite interestingly, the only one in this poem featuring two rhyming couplets. Fo

he e e the su does shi e,

A d he e e the ai does fall, Babes should never hunger there, Nor poverty the mind appall.

Since it is widely known that rhyming words and phrases are more easily remembered, it might safely be said that Blake decided for this final stanza to include two rhyming couplets to make them more memorable. In these lines, the poet wants his audience to try to comprehend the contradictory nature of their world: as long as there is

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William Blake’s Portrayal of God and Religion: Analysing Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience English Literature II – Final Exam – December 13th 2013 Alejandra de Antoni

poverty and suffering there cannot possibly be happiness. No matter how loud their songs of joy might be, they will never be strong enough to silence poverty. After having taken a close look at the first complementary duet, let us now direct our attention to the second selection of poems. The following lines will be, as it has been previously stated, de oted to the a al sis of The Di i e I age a d The Hu a A st a t Experience). I

Innocence)

The Di i e I age, Blake illust ates a view

of humanity as a fair representation of goodness and divine qualities. Human beings are God s ep ese tati es o Ea th a d the poet resorts to four elements to describe this relation. In the very first stanza, Blake introduces the reader to these four qualities: To Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love, All pray in their distress, And to these virtues of delight Return their thankfulness.

In these lines, the audience learns that these fo...