Blake - Context Flashcards
Who was Emmanuel Swedenborg?
Swedish Lutheran theologian, derived wisdom from spiritual visions
What did Swedenborg believe about the divine that is evident in Blake’s poetry?
The divine is readily available, present and discoverable in our everyday reality rather than only reachable through worship and allegiance to the Church
What about the Church did Swedenborg also criticise that is evident in poems such as A Little Girl Lost?
Its demonisation of sex and natural sexual impulses
What Swedenborgian concept is reflected in The Little Black Boy?
The idea that African people were closer to God due to their apparent ‘intimacy with nature’
What was the religious context of Blake’s upbringing?
Born into a Dissenter family, non-conformist members of an un-established church group driving away from the Church of England - potentially Moravian
What are 2 significant symbols of the Moravian church that feature in Blake’s poetry?
Jesus and a lamb
What about Blake’s marriage to Catherine Boucher is reflected in My Pretty Rose Tree?
It is suggested that Blake may have suggested bringing a concubine into the marriage as a surrogate mother - aligns with sexual freedom of Swedenborgianism
What is a visionary and how does this contribute to Blake’s poetry?
One who can envision the future, contributes to the prophetic tone especially in Songs of Experience
What did Blake believe of his poetry?
That it was of national importance in changing social order and the minds of men
What about Blake’s childhood is reflected in The School Boy?
He skipped formal schooling
What is examined in Paradise Lost?
The relationship between God and human kind
How may Blake’s poems be seen as the progenitors of Romanticism?
They hold childhood, imagination and nature in high esteem
How are Blake’s poems non-Romantic?
They are considered too strange and anarchic
What ancient dictum does Blake’s poetry assume?
That poetry should both delight and instruct
What are 2 central themes of Paradise Lost?
- Obedience to God
- The hierarchical nature of the universe
How is Blake influenced by Paradise Lost?
Interpreted Satan as a symbol of rebellion individual freedom - took Milton’s ideas to build his own vision of good and evil
How did the French and American revolutions influence radicals such as Blake?
Presented hope for similar republicanism in England, providing an alternative to the oppressive monarchical structure
How did the French revolution influence Blake?
Radicalised his ideology - he sometimes wore the red bonnet (according to Gilchrist) and his writing reflects awakening discontent with the status quo
How did England declaring war on France in 1793 influence Blake’s perception of his country?
Furthered his anarchism, viewing England as the repressor of the freedom and liberty associated with the French revolution
What was Blake doing in June 1780?
He was at the front of a riot setting fire to Newgate prison in response to anti-Catholic preachings
What was the Industrial Revolution?
Beginning around 1750, the shift from agrarian and handicraft economy to mechanisation and industrialisation
What were the impacts of the Industrial Revolution that are drawn upon in poems such as London and The Chimney Sweeper(s)?
Urbanisation which pronounced class divisions and poverty and the evolution of the workforce which increased exploitation and labour
What did Blake believe of the Industrial Revolution?
That it was a threat to humankind
What were Blake’s dates?
1757-1827
When was Songs of Innocence published?
1789
When was Songs of Experience published?
1793
When were Songs of Innocence and Experience combined?
1794
