Though an esteemed painter in his day, William Blake achieves most of his fame through his profound poetry. Born in 1757, Blake grew up in London, England along with his five siblings (“William Blake”). Even from the beginning of his childhood, Blake always held the strong desire to become an artist (“William Blake”). As he grew up, he apprenticed first as an engraver and then later as a painter (“William Blake”). However, even though he set out to become an artist and took little interest in publishing his poems during his lifetime, Blake’s source of fame today comes from his exceptional poetry. In fact many English classes today, from elementary to college, challenge their students to analyse the complexity and depth of Blake’s poems, including one of his most famous works, “The Tyger”. Published in Blake’s collection of poems titled Songs of Experience in 1794, “The Tyger” depicts a poem that on the surface appears simple in its subject matter of a tiger, but in reality, paints a much deeper picture of a fearful, fiery beast (“William Blake”). In his poem “The Tyger”, William Blake uses poetic structure, literary devises, …show more content…
While Blake does make various Biblical allusions throughout his poem, such as to the Creation, he also references two of his own works. As the more well-known allusion, the reference to the “The Lamb”, a poem commonly paired with “The Tyger”, appears in a question in the fifth stanza. The narrator asks whether “he who made the Lamb”, the soft, mild creature, could “make thee”, the burning, fiery tiger (20). Though less well-known, Blake also adds a reference to one of his unfinished, mythology books, The Four Zoas. In both The Four Zoas and “The Tyger” the line “the stars threw down their spears” appears, a link which most people never notice (Nurmi). These allusions to Blake’s other works add a layer of depth to his already rich
One of William Blake great poems, The Tyger” is well known as one or perhaps
“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
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.
William Blake’s 1793 poem “The Tyger” has many interpretations, but its main purpose is to question God as a creator. Its poetic techniques generate a vivid picture that encourages the reader to see the Tyger as a horrifying and terrible being. The speaker addresses the question of whether or not the same God who made the lamb, a gentle creature, could have also formed the Tyger and all its darkness. This issue is addressed through many poetic devices including rhyme, repetition, allusion, and symbolism, all of which show up throughout the poem and are combined to create a strong image of the Tyger and a less than thorough interpretation of its maker.
Allusion is also an important part of this poem because of the way the author uses it to connect to the outside works that may also encourage the reader to think in a certain way that goes along with the themes of the poem. The first allusion, found in lines 7 and 8, are to the Greek gods Icarus and Prometheus. This allusion requires the readers to think about gods and religion, which is a major part of the theme of this poem. Another allusion I see is in line 20, which refers to another one of Blake’s poems, “The Lamb.” This allusion is significant because the speaker asks, “Did he who made the Lamb make thee?” (20) And he wonders whether or not the same creator who made something so gentle and pure could also make such an evil animal. The allusion itself brings the reader to think about the other poems and to contrast the two completely
William Blake’s illuminated manuscripts were published in multiple editions; all of the editions were etched differently than its predecessor. In these illustrations, one finds meaning and value; an inextricable link between these artistic expressions and the text that Blake wrote exists. These works should not be viewed separately, but rather viewed together, as one single entity. While the text, at times, proves itself to be unstable and potentially confusing for readers, the etchings serve as a way to view the intention of Blake’s words, as well as expressing the underlying feeling attached to the text in a visual way. Understanding both pieces of art is crucial to the apprehension of the implied meaning of the works. Without having to read the words, the viewer already grasps the tone and perhaps even the content or context of the piece. The etchings force reader interaction with the poems, relying on the non-passivity of the audience. Blake intended for the illustrations and the texts to be viewed in correlation with one another, as it allows for a deeper understanding of the intended meaning.
“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 in a boot and gave him a pair of crutches to use. The next day Coach Topps sent a group message saying, “Guys, keep Blake in your prayers and visit him as teammates should. Because we are a family and that is what family’s do.” Not only did many go see Blake, but also many prayed for him. Although Blake continues to get better, he still has a long way to go to recovery.
From a young age, Blake spoke of seeing apparitions. On one of his many trips to the countryside, Blake started to ramble about seeing " a tree filled with angels, bright angelic wings bespangling every bough like stars." After hearing him babbling about his visions of mystical and heavenly creatures, Blake’s parents tried to discourage him from his ‘lying.’ But Blake continued his ‘stories,’ none of which amused his parent. In the end, he was saved from some beatings though his mother’s pleadings, who saw and understood that he was different from his peers. All of Blake’s apparitions would have a profound, lasting effect on his work, from rich imagery to prophetic
A popular characteristic in many of Blake’s poems is the inclusion of biblical allusions to convey meaning. In his poem “A Poison Tree”, Blake uses anaphora, diction, and symbol to allow biblical allusions that depicts the evil that man is capable to come into being. Anaphora is the usage of the same word or phrase at the beginning of every consecutive line. In stanza one, the word ‘I’ begins every line, and later on the word ‘and’ is used seven times to signify the start of some of the lines. The poem is organized in a way that immediately starts off using anaphora and since anaphora is mainly
The archetype of this poem focuses on how aggressive and vicious the tiger is. It also can be seen as a more physical comparison such as, “Tyger Tyger, burning bright,” (line 1, page 749). Blake says the tiger is burning bright, but does not mean this literally, for he is comparing the color of the tiger to the color of fire. Blake does insult God for creating the creature because all it does is kill and destroy. The tiger also has more power. In which, the Songs of Experience poems are related to those that are leaders, fighters, and that are more outspoken; therefore, The Tyger fits more perfectly with that collection of
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.
The works of William Blake cannot be entirely discussed, so my project particularly focuses on 'Songs of Innocence and Experience'.
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.
is a representation of the relationship between creator and creature. This poem may be one of his more popular poems from The Songs of Experience. In the poem, Blake writes about how the Tyger was created by the same immortal being who created the sheep. In this case, Blake is referring to God creating both good and evil in the world. Blake depicts this by this excerpt from the poem, ?the contrast between fire and night ? [which] corresponds to the contrast of yellow and black stripes ringing the Tyger itself [sic].?8 John E. Grant comments that William Blake?s poem is ? ? horrifying, as well as awesome, to think of an animate thing being hammered into shape in the smith.?9 Through this statement, Grant is referring to the creation of Tyger and the rest of humanity by God. The hammer merely being an instrument of creation.10 It is strange how much Blake speaks of God and creation as a whole, as he was not religious or a believer in one God, creator of the
Some of William Blake’s poetry is categorized into collections called Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. Blake explores almost opposite opinions about creation in his poems “The Lamb” and “The Tiger.” While the overarching concept is the same in both, he uses different subjects to portray different sides of creation; however, in the Innocence and Experience versions of “The Chimney Sweeper,” Blake uses some of the same words, rhyme schemes, and characters to talk about a single subject in opposite tones.