EX-The Little Girl Lost Flashcards
What voice does Blake return to in this poem?
a prophetic voice
What does the prophetic voice envision in the beginning?
envisions a future in which the Earth has been unbound from the chains of reason and seeks her creator
“That the earth from sleep/Shall arise and seek”
What quote indicates that the prophetic voice envisions a future n which the Earth has been unbound from the chains of reason and seeks her creator?
“That the earth from sleep/Shall arise and seek”
What does the 7 year old Lyca represent?
the human soul, lost and wandering “in desert wild” as she searches for meaning or solace
The lioness disrobes Lyca, “loosed her slender dress” what is this symbolic of?
the lioness is symbolically removing her soul from her material body in death
What is the word which makes up many of the rhymes in this poem through frequent repetition?
“asleep” or “sleep”
What is the effect of the fact that the words “asleep” or “sleep” makes up many of the rhymes through frequent repetition?
these words create sibilance which contributes to the dreamlike quality of the poem
What does “sleeping maid” suggest?
that Lyca has died
What is the positive aspect of the fact that Lyca has died at the hand of the lions (“beasts of prey”?
as the image of the lion associates to God and infers that the innocent child is taken away from her earthly suffering by death and given comfort and rest for eternity
What do the first 2 stanza’s show using the employment of biblical imagery?
they show a slumbering, fallen earth coming back to its creator
“And the desert wild/
Become a garden mild”
this indicates that the desert is associated with the curse on the land after human disobedience will be restored to the paradise of Eden- where Lyca discovers in death
What does sleep allow?
sleep allows dreaming and access to feelings and experiences unavailable to the waking mind. Lyca thereby desires to attain this new state.
How is the role of the lion significant?
as the poem indicates that Lyca is hindered by her perceptions of her mothers fears; however it is not her mother’s actual prohibitions but Lyca’s ideas about them. Blake is suggesting that human inhibitions lie primarily within the mind, suggesting that the beasts coming to play are no longer seen as destructive and devouring but playful and noble.
Why are Lyca’s parent’s worried?
as they do not understand the essential message of instinctual life
What is Blake’s message when he uses the Lion’s to protect Lyca?
he is saying that all of nature is mutually concerned in care for the innocent and the vulnerable; while we may have fears of the wild, and the wild within ourselves, these fees are simply projections on to an outside world which is good.
