William Blake Research Paper

The start of the 19th Century was an unbridled time of political, social and religious upheaval in England. Science was questioning the belief of the Christian paradigm and the long-standing religious hierarchy present within England, artists and intellectuals attempted to break the bonds of 18th-century convention of the artistic, literary, and intellectual movement of the romantics, this was a reaction to the industrial revolution occurring at the time. Romanticism is described as a Phenomenon categorized by the imagination in all of us; it’s a subjectivity of approach, freedom of thought and expression, being an admiration of nature. The “romantics” are considered the philosophers and literary writers who expressed their thoughts on the

Alongside his rejection of conventional faith, Blake lived his life by the wisdom of the bible, as displayed through religious hallucinations in many of his poems, often represented through the use of angels. Despite Blake’s love for god, he dwelled against the Church of England alongside all organised religions. The quote “man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains” by Rousseau, relates to Blake’s notorious questionable views and his political ideas, 4 of Blake’s poems that display religious and political views are, “The Tyger”, “The Lamb” “Little Boy Lost” and “Little Boy Found”

“The Tyger” and “The Lamb” by William Blake at first glance are polar opposites, the Tyger represents experience, where the young Lamb represents innocence, however, when you dig deeper there are many similarities through metaphors linked to religion and god himself, between the two. Blake felt that both creatures reflected human history and thought. Blake, having a strong belief in the Christian God, the Tyger represents an image, the

In the companion poem “little boy found” the little boys cries are heard by God, who appears as a father figure dressed In white, God lights the way home, to his mother. In both poems The human soul or spirit is represented by the little boy, who is calling upon God in a world full of evil which seeks to eliminate his signs of presence, in “the little boy lost” the boy cries out to his father but is left to fight for himself, Blake shows that earthy religious practices, philosophies and institutions are unable to direct ones soul to absolute truth and peace, thereby in following the “father” of the world, it leads him further astray. In the second poem, “the little boy found” it’s only through gods arbitration that the little boy returns to a state of safety. This shows the loving mother comforting her distort little boy, whereas the society created by such figures, like the earthy father only offer abandonment and hopelessness. This suggests that a stronger healing power is represented within “mother earth” that within the “father church” of his current day. It also suggests that Blake might be attempting to create equality between the male and female