Ranked 38th in a BBC poll of the hundred greatest Britons, with only British poet
One of the pivotal figures of the Romantic Movement was William Blake. Although an artist at first, he eventually published poems, expressing his creativity even more. In his poems and artwork, his views on society, politics, religion, and literature were exquisitely and controversially portrayed. Over the course of his life, he experienced times of turmoil and joy, with those feelings being expressed in his work. From birth to death, the one thing that remained constant was God, who Blake constantly wrote and drew about in order to get a better understanding. Despite not receiving critical acclaim in his lifetime, he has been praised since his death. Through William Blake’s life, work, and legacy, his impact on the Romantic Movement is clear and evident.
Mayte- William Blake: Before watching your presentation, I only knew the basics regarding William Blake. There are various interesting things that you mentioned that I did not know about. For example, you mentioned how he was more commonly known for his art rather than his poems. His art as a whole is really interesting. You mentioned how he took his encounters with the people around him, his brother’s death, and visions and reflected them into his work. One thing from that list that stood out to me the most were his visions. He was able to take his visions and portray them in his paintings even when many people found it difficult to understand the meanings behind it.
“When the stars threw down their spears And water’d heaven with their tears, Did he smile his work to see? Did he who made the Lamb make thee? (“The Tyger” 17-20). Blake wanted people to read this poem and understand his concept of questioning God, for how could God make something so innocent and pure as the Lamb and then in turn make something so evil? The situation is very similar to the
In the poem, Blake uses a tiger because it is one of the most disheartening animals on land. With experience comes evil. When Blake asks in line 20 “Did he who make the Lamb make thee?” He speculates if God, who is the creator of something so innocent, could create something so ferocious and experienced. The tiger also symbolizes fire. The words “burning,” “fire,” and “furnace” is used within the poem to express the evil in the fire.
Some believe him to have been mad for his strange, idiosyncratic perspective of the world, others have considered him one of the greatest artists from Britain for it. Today, William Blake is one of the most well known British artist. Critics have held him in high reverence for his creativity and eloquence,and for the mystical and abstract aura found in his art work. But during his time, Blake had little recognition. Even so, throughout his life, Blake thought his work to be of national importance and understood by a majority of men.
The Romantics, like William Blake and Lord Byron, put emphasis on feelings and moral sensitivity hoping to make their readers better people by doing so, which influenced a significant change in what people thought made a hero a hero. In other words, they set a new standard for people through their works. This new idea of a hero eventually became known as the Byronic hero, named after the Romantic poet Lord Byron. Romantic writers used their imagination and talent to help redefine the values of society, setting a new standard of what it means to be a hero.
Looking at a powerful animal in fascination sends a lot of questions through one’s head. Even with God’s amazing design, this wonder can easily be switched to dismay. William Blake, the author of “The Tyger,” fulfills this interpretation of wonder. In this poem, the speaker seems to be watching a Tiger with great interest. Noticing how much power this animal possesses, our main character states a question as to why God would make such a perfectly dangerous creature. Moving forward in the poem, this question remains unanswered.
“EWW!”, went the crowd when Blake fell to the ground. When Blake hit the ground, the turf did not give much at all. Furthermore, it resulted in him breaking his leg. To play on the turf, was a bad idea we all knew. Mr. Ray, athletic trainer, put his leg
The Lamb and The Tyger In the poems "The Lamb" and "The Tyger," William Blake uses symbolism, tone, and rhyme to advance the theme that God can create good and bad creatures. The poem "The Lamb" was in Blake's "Songs of Innocence," which was published in 1789. "The Tyger,"
Wyatt Kelly Professor Gale Brit Lit TTH 9am 23 January 2017 Response Journal: Blake (week 2) “The Chimney Sweeper” (128): This version of the Chimney Sweeper is very upfront and saddening. The version that is presented in the songs of innocence is much more of a calm town and is not as straightforward, while this version is very short and to the point. In this version its very deep as the narrator basically just calls out the parents/church for doing these horrible things to the children. I really love all three stanzas of this poem because they all have a really deep meaning and Blake transitions through them very well. Reading this poem over and over I don’t know what to make of it other than it is an absolute horrible situation. I think it can be tied in to
We can see transcendentalism with William Blake and his poetry. William Blake, who is a pre-romantic poet, handles his themes sincerely with a mind that is not distracted by the existing opinions such as rationalism, suppression and reason of opinions in his society. Although, he favors the morals of love, freedom, brotherhood and equality. Therefore, I believe he is considered one of the best romantic poets of all time. The majority of Blake’s poems show the romantic side of things such as simplicity, nature, transcendentalism, imagination, childhood and freedom. For instance, in his poem "the Lamb", simplicity, nature, and transcendentalism are strong romantic descriptions that we, as readers, can see them easily. Finally, the
Blake begins to worry of the horror of the tiger and actually begins to question if God really made it or perhaps a more evil immortal was behind it. Blake first questioned who created the tiger in “What immortal hand or eye”, then adds on to the mystery with “In what distant deeps or skies”. The “deeps” refers to hell, and Blake consistently refers to “fire” when referring to the tiger which gives strength to the assumption of the tiger being forged in the fires of hell. However, “skies” refers to the heavens and God. “On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand dare seize the fire?” Blake again questions whether God (“wings”) or Satan (“fire”) created the tiger. Blake could assume the tiger was created by the devil because the devil is the source of evil and horror, which is why Blake is at a bewilderment of the creation of this creature because it is so beautiful but it’s so terrifying. However, Blake knows that God created all life in our world, yet he adds Satan as a possible creator because of the bafflement he witnessed of seeing the first glance of the tiger.
William Blake’s Poetry William Blake was one of those 19th century figures who could have and should have been beatniks, along with Rimbaud, Verlaine, Manet, Cezanne and Whitman. He began his career as an engraver and artist, and was an apprentice to the highly original Romantic painter Henry Fuseli. In his own time he was valued as an artist, and created a set of watercolor illustrations for the Book of Job that were so wildly but subtly colored they would have looked perfectly at home in next month's issue of Wired.
William Blake William Blake is one of England’s most famous literary figures. He is remembered and admired for his skill as a painter, engraver, and poet. He was born on Nov. 28, 1757 to a poor Hosier’s family living in or around London. Being of a poor family, Blake received little in the way of comfort or education while growing up. Amazingly, he did not attend school for very long and dropped out shortly after learning to read and write so that he could work in his father’s shop. The life of a hosier however was not the right path for Blake as he exhibited early on a skill for reading and drawing. Blake’s skill for reading can be seen in his understanding for and use of works such as the Bible and Greek classic literature.