6 THE ROMANTIC AGE - Poe! William Blake nary. He did not like the INTRODUCTION ¢ William Blake was a v jonal, materialistic world aroun him, but dreamed of a world where imagination and feclings would be central to people's lives. In the three poems that follow he envisages a world where the colour of a person's skin will be irrelevant, and presents ys with two very contrasting images of God (> Visual Link DEB0 00 Living in a society where the colour of your skin is different from that of nearly everybody else's around you can cause problems for a person in today’s world. When Blake was writing - two hundred years ago - these problems were accentuated because societies were less multicultural than they are today. In the poem you are going to read, a black boy, with the help of his mother, tries to find a way to tear down the barriers that have been built between him and white children. ‘What solution does he come up with? Songs of Innocence Q The Little Black Boy ‘My mother bore! me in the southern? wild And | am black, but O! my soul is white; White as an angel is the English child: But I am black as if bereav’d of light. My mother taught me underneath a tree 5 And sitting down before the heat of day, She took me on her lap! and kissed me, ‘And pointing to the east began to say. —* GLossary 1. bore: gave bah Psoctherasa cosaty Look on the rising sun: there God does live inne ser And gives his light, and gives his heat away. 10 4, beren de deptved, And flowers and trees and beasts and men receive without Comfort in morning joy in the noon day. 4. lap: the upper part of regs when you aeatinedom ‘And we are put on earth a little space’, dre sitting down 5. aie space: for ‘That we may learn to bear* the beams? of love hoabancas,& ‘And these black bodies and this sun-burnt face 1s, pat up with Js but a cloud, and like a shady grove? 7. beams: shining lines of ght from the sun 4, shady: notin the sun 9. gyove: ssn wood, 10.love and care: the person Hove and look after For when our souls have learn’d the heat to bear The cloud will vanish we shall hear his voice. Saying: come out from the grove, my love and care", And round my golden tent like lambs rejoice, 20 Scanned with CamScanneranys! aid my mother say and kissed me, ay thus I say to little English boy; ‘nen | ftom black and he from white cloud free", Jd ound the tent of God like Lambs we joy". jiishade!" him from the heat till he can bear, {olean in joy upon our father’s knee, nd then I'll stand and stroke'® his silver hair, ‘nd be like him and he will then love me. COMPREHENSION William Blake 7 11Thus: in this way 12.When I. free: when hhe no longer has a ‘white cloud and {no longer havea black ‘one 13,joy: rejoice 14.shade: protect him by blocking the sun 15. stroke: caress 2s 11 What colour does the black boy believe his soul is? 2 What does he compare the English child to in line 37 3 Where, according to the black boy's mother, does God live? 4 What does God give to the natural world and man? 5 Why are we put on earth, according to the black boy’s mother? ANALYSIS © What does she compare their ‘black bodies’ and ‘sun-burnt face’ to in the fourth stanza? 7 What happens when people die, according to the black boy's mother? 8 What will the black boy do when he and the English boy leave their ‘clouds’? ‘9 When will the English boy love the black boy? 1 The poem is built around a series of contrasts. . Put the following terms from the poem into the appropriate column. black white black bodies sun-burnt face white angel shady grove black cloud white cloud shade silver hair brightness darkness ». Which column refers to the English boy and which column refers to the black boy? 2 The black boy is clearly aware that the colour of his skin makes him different. 2. Which line in the first stanza conveys the idea that be is envious of the English child? >. Which lines suggest that the black boy is unhappy With the colour of his skin? 3 How would you define the relationship between the black boy and his mother? Justify your answer by referring to the text. Loving Detached 5 Formal Simple 1B Uncivilised DOtHET: nen 4 In the third stanza the boy's mother associates God with the sun. a, What kind of God does she depict? Refer to the text in your answer. BIA loving God AGod of mercy A God of punishment BA God of justice BORER saan . b. Which line suggests that God views man as part of nature? 5 Inthe fourth stanza the boy's mother explains the meaning of life to her son. Does she view life as a joyous experience, or as a learning experience, or as ‘an experience of hardship and suffering? Refer to the text in your answer. Scanned with CamScanner‘THE ROMANTIC AGE - Poetry 6 Which image in the fifth stanza conveys the idea of God as a shepherd? 7 Although he isa victim of discrimination, the little black boy seems to hold no hatred for the English boy. Find evidence in the last stanza of his willingness to help the English boy. 8 Focus on the final line of the poem. The little black boy is already resigned to the fact that he will not receive the love of the English boy in this life, He hhopes that when he dies he willbe like the English bboy, who will then love him. ‘a. Which adjectives would you choose to describe the litte black boy? loving Naive |Self-loathing 1 Prejudiced Victimised Innocent 5 Other: b. In the title of the poem Blake underlines the fact that the boy is ttle’. How does this affect your response to the poem? LINK 9 The speaker in the poem isa litle child. In part of the poem he speaks directly tothe reader, and inthe rest he reports what his mother says. In his poetry Blake often represents the speech of children by linking ideas withthe simple conjunction ‘and’ a. Find evidence of the use of this technique inthe poem b. Focus on lines 21 and 22. Can you identity non- standard usage of grammar and syntax? What does this suggest about the person who is speaking? 10 @ Listen again to the recording of the poem, Identity the thyming scheme. How would you define the thythm of the poem? 1 Soft and relaxing Marsh and aggressive Does it suit the content ofthe poem? [ to the world of music ‘Afro-American folksongs or worksongs were songs that were sung by slaves in the British colonies before slavery was abolished. At the time he wrote The Little lack Boy, Wiliam Blake was deeply involved in the abolitionist movernent. Read the folksong. Can you see any similarities between how the little black boy in Blake's poem views the present and the future, and how they are represented in the song? I want to go home > “Dere no rain to wet you, ©, yes, want to-go home Dee's no sun to burn you, , yes, I want to go home; , push along, believers, 0, yes, c.? Dere’sno hard tials, 0, yes, & eres no whips a-crackin’, 0, yes, My brudder on de wayside, 0, ys, ©, push along, my brudder, 0, yes Where dere's no stommy weather, 0, ys, fc. Dere’s no tibulaton, 0, yes, Bc." GLOSSARY 1. Dene there Cotton picker in an american 2. Resete planttian (nineteenth century). Scanned with CamScanner1s God always kind and gentle and helpful? Read this poem and find out what Blake thinks, | songs of Experience tyget’ Tyger, burning bright, In the forests of the night; What immortal hand or eye, Could frame” thy fearful? symmetry"? In what distant deeps® or skies 5 Bumt the fie of thine® eyes! ‘On what wings dare’ he aspire®? What the hand dare seize” the fire? And what shoulder, & what art'®, Could twist the sinews!! of thy"? heart? 10 And when thy heart began to beat, What dread’? hand? & what dread feet? What the hammer? What the chain, In what furnace was thy brain? What the anvil!!? What dread grasp'*, 1s Dare its deadly terrors clasp"? When the stars threw down their spears!” And water'd heaven with their tears: Did he smile his work to see? Didhe who made the Lamb make thee? 20 Tyger, Tyger buming bright, In the forests of the night: What immortal hand or eye, Date frame thy fearful symmetry? COMPREHENSION’: The Tyger MNEs] @) iI 1. Tyger tiger | 2 frame: make i 3. fearful: ghtening | 4. symmetry: i symmetrical form ot \ shape | 5. deeps: lw, | tnderground places | 6, thine: your \ 2 date: tobe brave enough todo \ ‘something if 8. aspire: te up, fy high ke farus 9. seize: to take hold of Something suddenly and violenty ere it means steal the fe Tike Prometheus 1O.azt sill, ability Usinews: muscles 12.thy: your T3.dread:fghtening ‘anvi: hey ton block on heh pieces of metal ate shaped ‘wing a hammer 15.grasp the way you | hold something 16.clasp: old tightly 17.spears: poles with sharp ends, used as 9 ‘weapon inthe past 1 Who is the speaker addressing in the poem? 2 What question does he ask in the first stanza? 3 Where does the speaker think the creator may have ‘ound the ire of the tige’s eyes? (Line 5) 4 According to the fourth stanza, where was the tiger's brain created? 5 How did the stars react to the creation of the tiger? 6 What question does the speaker ask inline 207 Scanned with CamScannera i < THE ROMANTIC AGE - Poetry ANALYSIS 1 The poem opens with a striking visual image of the tiger ‘burning bright in the forests of the night’ (lines 1-2), Explain the contrast contained in this image. 2 Inline 4 the poet uses the word ‘symmetry’. a. What do you think he is referring to? © The geometrical design of the tiger's face/body. © The balance of beauty and danger in the tiger. 1 The good and evil that the tiger may represent. b. Why, in your opinion, does the poet describe the symmetry as ‘fearful’? 3 Inthe second stanza the poet refers to ‘the fire’ in the tiger's eyes a. What associations do you make with fire? Are they positive or negative or a mixture of both? Lines 7 and 8 make references to the legends of Icarus and Prometheus. What links the tiger to the two legends? What characteristics does the Creator of the tiger share with the two Greek heroes? 4 Does the third stanza focus on the Creator's psychological profile or on his physical attributes? ‘Which word in line 12 underlines the potential danger of the tiger? 5 The fourth stanza suggests that the tiger was created in a forge. Which of the following concepts do you associate with a forge? B Light Dark Heat 5 Cold = Danger 1 Security 3 Fire 5 Power Have the concepts you have chosen already been used in the poem? 6 Identify the use of personification* in lines 17-18. How would you explain the reaction of the stars when they witnessed, the creation of the tiger? © They wished to defend themselves against the dangers posed by the tiger. 1 They felt insignificant and helpless before the ‘magnificence of God's new creation. 1 They were saddened by the destructive nature of the tiger. 7 Why does the poet ask if the same Creator made both the lamb and the tiger? (Line 20) B Apart from one word, the final stanza is identical to the first stanza. Which word has been changed? Have the poet's questions about the nature of the Creator been answered in the course of the poem or has his perplexity been intensified? | 9 Which of the following emotions does the tiger inspire in the poet? You can choose more than one, | Fear | Horror | BAwe ® Disbeliet | © Admiration = Confusion © Panic | 10 Examine the musical features of the poem, a. Work out the rhyming scheme. lit regular? b. Find examples of alteration” and assonance, | @ Listen to the recording again. Which of the following is the predominant metre? | 5 tambice 1 Trochaicr | 1 Anopestict | Isthe rhythm of the poem gentle and soothing or | strong and striking? Isit appropriate tothe theme | ofthe poem? 4, Undertine examples of repetition” in the poem. . What is the main syntactical structure? 11 Compare and contrast The Lamb and The Tygerin | terms of: | Thetamb [The Tyger musical features syntax diction the animal the Creator the poet's response Scanned with CamScannerWilliam Blake 13 Wie oO SOL Symbols symbol is an example of what is called the transference of meaning: a writer takes 3 concrete item - an object, a colour, a person, a place, an animal - and attributes to it a deeper meaning, Sometimes writers use symbols which are part of their culture, water representing life, for example. Writers can also use non-conventional, private symbols. We usually understand their meaning from the context in which they occur. [ETSI Ble relied heavily on symbolism in his poetry. Examine the symbols of the lamb and the tiger used in the poems you have just read. Draw a spidergram of the associations you make for each animal. What do you think they represent? [GEESE 0 ovr daly tives we are surrounded by symbols. Choose a symbol that represents a country, an ideology, a company, a brand of products, etc,, and prepare a short talk on its origins and ' meaning. ‘The link between music and Blake's poetry is established inthe title of the collections in which The Lamb and The Tiger appear: Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. The poems have, as you have seen through your analysis, many musical qualities. Choose two pieces of music which you think in some way would represent the poems and be prepared to justify your choices. Tale page for The Songs of tmocence (1794), by Wom Bake. Scanned with CamScanner14 THE ROMANTIC AGE - Poetry Early years in London I oto. ves tore London in 1757, where he was raised in a state of economic hardship and received very little formal education. He showed early signs of artistic talent and, at the age of fourteen, became an apprentice in an engraver’s shop, where he worked and learned the craft for seven years. A period of great creativity The year 1783 marked the beginning of a period of great creativity in Blake's life. He published his first volume of poetry, Poetical Sketches, and iS invented a new method of printing, which he called ‘illuminated WILtaM Biake printing’, a mixture of engraving and painting which he claimed (1757-1827) his dead brother Robert had revealed to him in a dream. In 1789 he engraved and published his first great literary work, Songs of Innocence, followed in 1794 by The Marriage of Heaven and Hell and Songs of Experience. His output was outstanding: he made hand-coloured engravings for both his own poems and other authors’ However, his books were not printed and circulated in sufficient numbers to make his work profitable Depression and mysticism Mis disappointment at this lack of recognition led Blake to depression Which verged on insanity. This gloomy period lasted seven years, from 1810 to 1817. He lived ina dirty studio, completely alienated from the material world and claiming that visions of angels, spitits, prophets and devils were inspiring his work. The last years After 1818 he stopped writing poetry but continued to produce engravings, Including the illustrations for Dante’s Divine Comedy, which he left uncompleted at his death in 1827. He was buried in a common grave in relative obscurity. P Won Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience Blake's greatness as one of the leading poets of English Romanticism is best expressed in his ‘illuminated books’ ~ Songs of Innocence (1789) and Songs of Experience (1794) - which he re-printed several times. They are visual and poetic masterpieces where art and text are inextricably linked and mutually enrich each other. The lyrics in the Songs of Innocence are fresh, direct observations and show life as perceived by children; they read like simple, tender poetry written in a natural, unaffected style. However, these simple Poems and illustrations often hide deeper meanings and more intricate patterns than fist appear. The poems in the Songs of Experience reflect a gloomier vision of the world, where Evil has the uppet hand over Good. Innocence and Experience, ‘the two contrary states of the human soul’, are shown In direct contrast in such poems as The Lamb (> Text E4) and The Tyger (b Text ES). Prophetic Books In the so-called Prophetic Books, a series of long symbolic poems which he started writing in 1789, Blake expresses his condemnation of eighteenth-century political and social tyranny. The inspiration for these poems, which reflect Blake's view that the poet/artist is a prophet inspired by visionary messages, is Milton (> pp. D14-22), of whose spirit Blake himself believed to be the living embodiment. The Prophetic Books, which contain some of his most powerful images, denounce authority in often abstruse language through a cast of imaginary mythological characters. Scanned with CamScannerMarriage of Heaven and Hell In the same years a prose work, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell jeeps Blake's idea that “without Contraries is no progression’, The work includes aphorisms, anec- Sovesand he Proverbs of Hel, such as "The tygers of wrath are wiser than the horses of instruction’ ze Profecies A radical all of his if, Blake sympathised with the forces of revolution and he praised the American War of Independence in America: A Prophecy (1793), and the French Revolution in Europe: trophy (1794). Tyranny and freedom are also the themes of the Book of Urizen (1794), Milton and Jerusalem Blake's mature work includes visionary epics written and illustrated tetween 1904 and 1818. The most outstanding works are Milton and Jerusalem. In both works Blake chose to have no conventional theme, characters, rhyme, or metre. He based his works on a series of highly personal symbols which are often difficult to interpret. ‘Aromantic poet and a philosopher Appreciated only by his close circle of friends and admirers such as Coleridge (> pp. E24-31) and Keats (> pp. E52-63), Blake went largely unnoticed in his own time and in the Victorian period. Critics only discovered his work a full century after his death, and gave due recognition to its originality, Today Blake is acclaimed as one of the most inspired and original poets and painters of his time. His belief in the absolute predominance of Imagination over Reason subverted all the rules that governed eighteenth-century art and poetic forms (P Visual Link £5), He rejected the basic principles of the Age of Reason and the classic models that restricted free anistic and poetic expession. Arevolutionary spirit Blake lived in a period of great social changes: the American, French and Industrial Revolutions all took place during his lifetime. Embracing these revolutionary ideas, he became a bitter critic of his own time. He asserted that religion, politics and industrialism were ‘dark Satanic Mills’ and ‘Prisons are built with stones of Law, Brothels with bricks of Religion’. He called the new industrial England a ‘land of poverty’ and expressed his bleak vision in many poems. Unlike other British radicals of his time (Wordsworth, ® pp. E16-23) he never disowned his views. He was not daunted by the Reign of Terror in France and continued until his death to believe that ‘Active Evil is better than Passive Good’ Wiliam Bioke, The Ancient of Days (God as an Architect), 1794. TASK — ———____ Use the following key concepts to prepare a report about the life and works of William Blak | Bom into economic hardship __~ Songs of Innocence and Songs Largely unnoticed during his ~ Early artistic talent of Experience time ~ Engravers apprentice = Lack of recog = Literary and artistic innovator ~ Muminated printing ~ Radical polities Scanned with CamScanner