Blake Flashcards
What event had a profound effect upon Blake’s attitude to the world
French Revolution
What does Dr F.W.Bateson say about Blakes Engravings
writes appreciatively of them but thinks as a commentary on the points of detail in the meaning of the poem they are normally unhelpful and if not actually misleading
Blake and revoultutionary thought?
Although he was not part of any radical political organization in England at the time of the French Rev ,his works suggest a connection to revolutionary thought
why don’t all the accompanying engraving contribute to the same degree?
Some such are Chimmney sweeper (experience) are decorative or illustrative adding to the feeling and atmosphere but contribute little to interpretation
Whereas more is given in others such as nurses song experience where the child is depicted as a young adolencent submitting unwillingly to the combing of his hair- imposition of adult standards.
Key themes of songs of innocence and experience
contraries imagination nature relgion revolution
What do some critics see the tiger as a metaphor for
Revoultion
What are the images of rebellion in the tiger
satans revolt in paradise lost -“the stars threw down their spears”
Prometheus - “what hand dare seize the fire”
perhaps Icarus
What was happening in 1792 when London was being written
revolutionary mobs were invading Paris to overthrow the King.Blake openly supported this rebellion
What is the subtitle of Songs of I and E
the two contrary states of the human soul’
Why is Songs of I and E regarded as both a visual and literary work of art
because each poem publish with detailed accompanying art work penned by Blake
What is the effect of repetition in London
convey the speaker’s belief that everything is a possession of the ruling system and that no-one is free.
The repetition of “in every” in the second stanza emphasises the universal sense of misery and despair
Repetition is the most striking formal feature of the poem, and it serves to emphasize inability to escape the all-encompassing effect of the ‘mind-forg’d manacles.
What is the effect of alliteration in London
It links concepts together e,g The weak are in ‘woe' / misery The ‘mind' is ‘manacled' The sooty ‘Chimney' is equated with the ‘black'ning Church' The ‘Soldier' is not proud but sighs
In London how does the image of “Runs in blood down Palace walls” allude to the French Rev
tales by émigrés of the Terror after the French Revolution were a very real reminder of death and suffering imposed by despotic leaders.
What did Blake think about the Imagination
he saw it as essential to understanding the human world
What did Blake think of authority figures
He was anti authority whether it be Law, monarchy or church
3 poems about contraries
clod and the pebble
infant sorrow/infant joy
London
The Blossom
What is the clod and the pebble about
different attitudes to love
Clod = unconditional love (soft, malleable, flexible, TEMPORARY!)
Pebble = selfish love (hardened, WISE!)
What is the basic format of the clod and the pebble
first stanza - clod
middle stanza - discord?
Thirid stanza the pebble
what is the rhyme scheme of the clod and the pebble
first and last stanza ABAB
middle stanza ABCB rhyme
This gives the reader an impression of two different voices; the unconditional lover represented by the clod and the selfish lover represented by the pebble. This simple rhyme scheme conveys confidence, suggesting both personas believe their view to be true.
Blake claimed he was blessed with visions , what does this mean
these could have just been an extension of his highly imaginative mind
religious experiences?
examples of poems about imagination
London
As well as being about revolution what is another interpretation of the tiger
Blake building on the conventional idea that nature, like a work of art, must in some way contain a reflection of it’s creator
What shaped Blake’s beliefs in contraries
he read the mystical writings of Jacob Boehme here, he would have met the belief that innocence and fallenness co-exist in human beings as their normal state
His close reading of the OT would also have shaped this
Summary of Infant Sorrow
A baby speaks of its entry into the world, which brought pain to its parents. The world it came into seemed dangerous. It was helpless, vulnerable, noisy, encased in its body like a devil hidden in a cloud.
