Disagreements with Blake's and Shelley's views on Human Soci

Blake's dreary and contemptuous view of religion is reflected throughout Songs of Experience, as the adults shatter the visions of those childhood memories. ... So Blake asserts that God is not a cosmic monarch on a distant throne but the omnipresent dweller within each receptive human soul. ... Imagination or human eternal body in every man imagination is the divine body in every man.... The practices of organized religion conflicted with Blake's view. ... In the Songs of Experience, however, Blake shows us his other view of religion by giving us the hell to compliment the heaven mo...

• Word Count: 2556
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

Blake's poems explore a world that he envisions as the "two contrary states of the human soul" (Norton 37). He uses two books of poems, the Songs of Experience and the Songs of Innocence, to represent his different points of view. ... Instead of a peaceful, caring mother bird, we are presented with a "youthful Harlot" for a mother figure (14). ... These companion poems serve the purpose of presenting Blake's world views of innocence and experience. ... This poem draws on the experience point of view and is evident by its more rigid city setting, dark tone and solemn attitude. ...

• Word Count: 981
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography

"in the sky little birds fly, And the hills are all cover"d with sheep." ... Innocence is the freedom of the human spirit while experience is the human spirit bound by restrictions and prohibitions. This shows Blake's main theme shown in the full title of his poetry, Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Showing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul. ... The colour black is used very effectively in this instance to convey Blake's view of the Church. ... This once again illustrates the two extremes of the human spirit classified by Blake as innocence and experience. ...

• Word Count: 808
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Shelley, however, had much less conformist views, and was even "ragged" at Eton for expressing such (Matthews 196). ... This idealistic view of the world is evident in the majority of Shelley's literary works. ... Prometheus symbolizes humans, and his wife, Asia, symbolizes human nature (Ford 162). ... In conclusion, the concept of human idealism and revolt is clearly evident in Percy Bysshe Shelley's work. ... The earnestness with which he expressed a need for a revolt against authority provided Shelley with the reputation of being the "most politically radical of the romanti...

• Word Count: 1054
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Blake intertwines this story with images of temptation and a strong biblical allusion. ... The poem opens with the speaker stating his anger with a friend: "I was angry with my friend". ... Blake uses imagery of watering and sunning this tree with "tears," "smiles," and "soft deceitful wiles". ... In this comparison, the tree of knowledge was a creation of God; whereas, Blake's tree of wrath was created by a human being. By implying this comparison, Blake may have been trying to assert the almost god-like properties of the mind and human thought. ...

• Word Count: 871
• Approx Pages: 3

Blake regards "free love" to be a great human gift, but here he criticises this idea taken to the extreme, of people misusing the poor and young to revel in their own power to do what they want. ... Blake's individuality worked very well with his ideas as he stood out from his contemporaries with challenging concepts submerged with his ballad-like writing. ... In the world of experience, which has been seen as Blake's view of his own world, the father immediately oppresses the child. ... Blake's view appears to be that the only hope for a child in his world is through imag...

• Word Count: 1020
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography

"The human abstract" written by William Blake depicts actual human nature while, satirically, its title suggests the human ideal. With the help of a group of critical materials, the theme and symbolism of the poem, through my point of view, will be divulged, verse-by-verse and stanza-by-stanza, through the images conveyed by the poet. ... "He sits down with holy fears, And waters the ground with tears: Then Humility takes its root Underneath his foot." ... In the last verse, the "human brain" is really the generator of how existence is perceived with its "gods and devils" and "...

• Word Count: 919
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

These two characteristics are easiest to see in the poems" human references. Using a human relationship between poem and reader, Blake is effective in portraying innocence and experience. ... This is an innocent view of the world. ... Important to note in both Nurse's Song and The Divine Image is, once again, how Blake creates human characters for readers to identify with. ... Despite their unique differences, Nurse's Song and The Divine Image each provide readers with positive views toward William Blake....

• Word Count: 747
• Approx Pages: 3

The Human Abstract Blake's poem, The human abstract, is a touching poem which attributes selfishness, cruelty, and other flaws on human nature. ... Blake's poem suggests human nature is responsible. ... Blake's poem follows up with more human flaws, "Then cruelty knits a snare, and spreads his baits with care." ... Blake, after exposing human sinful nature now comes to shows us the path of change through the fear of god. ... "He sits down with holy fears, and waters the ground with tears; then humility takes its root underneath his foot." ...

• Word Count: 351
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School