What I enjoy about William Blake's poetry is that they possess opposites. The Songs of Innocence and Experience and to an extent The Marriage of Heaven and Hell showcase the yin-yang aspect of life.
In The Lamb, an older speaker addresses a "little lamb" (line 1). The lamb possesses all the innocence and youth, and the speaker guides the lamb. The speaker tells the lamb who made him (line 13-16). The creator is Jesus Christ. The speaker tells the lamb that his creator is called by "thy name," and Jesus is commonly known as a lamb (line 13). Thus creating a link between the lamb and Jesus. Both are "meek" and "mild" (line 15). Their meek and mildness represents their power in innocence. Innocence expresses its power through humility. The meek lamb is humble because it knows little of the world. He must be taught about the world while Jesus comes to teach the world. However both retain an innocence. This innocence is their power in life. It allows for them to accomplish their tasks without having to power in the traditional sense.
To counter The Lamb, Blake writes The Tyger. The Tyger is a traditional representation of power. The Tyger has all the experience and lacks the innocence. Therefore, the poem is more complex than The Lamb. Nothing is plainly spoken, the reader has to comprehend the metaphors to grasp the meaning of the poem. The metaphors lead to a better understanding of God and the power of God.
"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?" (line 17-20)
The metaphor establishes that God created the world, but asks if God is pleased with the work he has done. Is God happy with the experienced or does he prefer the innocent? After all, God sent Jesus so his creations would turn away from their wrong doing and follow him. However, not all the creations follow Jesus which leads to the last question "did he who made the Lamb make thee?" (line 20). This question addresses the experienced and if they are living the way God would want for them to live. Are they living in a way that pleases God? The last question acts as a self-reflection for the audience to examine themselves and fix the areas of life that displease God. The experienced should look for a way to retain or regain the innocence of the lamb, even though it is impossible for them to lose their experience.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Burke: The Importance of a Person
The French Revolution marks a period when everything was beginning to change in Europe. This revolution, however, does not mirror the American Revolution. The French uproot one of the long-standing monarchies and replace it with a republic (until the Terror begins and later Napoleon crowns himself Emperor). Still, the French Revolution showcases the power of the people to overthrow the only form of government they have ever known and establish a new system. They rise up against the corrupt principles and in turn create a government for the people.
English contemporaries such as Edmund Burke, however, looked down upon the French Revolution. Burke chose to focus on the people of the revolution and not the principles. His focus being on the King and Queen.
"A band of cruel ruffians and assassins, reeking with his blood, rushed into the chamber of the queen, and pierced with a hundred strokes of bayonets and poniards the bed, from whence the persecuted woman had but just time to fly almost naked, and, through ways unknown to the murderers, had escaped to seek refuge at the feet of a king and husband, not secure of his own life for a moment" (51).
Burke feels compassion for the French monarchy and tries to get others to feel the same through his human portrayal of the royals. He humanizes the monarchy through his identification of the King and Queen as husband and wife, as man and woman. They have no control over their fate. They are the same as any other human being. The monarchy has made mistakes, but then so have their murderers. No one person can be blamed for the problems in France. The death of the King does not resolve the problems France is experiencing. It just deprives a family of their father, of their husband. Instead of teaching "liberty, equality, fraternity" the French are forsaking their idea of brotherhood by killing their own. A true revolution would not deem necessary the murder of those who have already lost. The French have lost sight of the importance of people in favor for trying to achieve their ideal society. A society that cannot exist because they are building their new government on innocent blood instead of diplomacy.
English contemporaries such as Edmund Burke, however, looked down upon the French Revolution. Burke chose to focus on the people of the revolution and not the principles. His focus being on the King and Queen.
"A band of cruel ruffians and assassins, reeking with his blood, rushed into the chamber of the queen, and pierced with a hundred strokes of bayonets and poniards the bed, from whence the persecuted woman had but just time to fly almost naked, and, through ways unknown to the murderers, had escaped to seek refuge at the feet of a king and husband, not secure of his own life for a moment" (51).
Burke feels compassion for the French monarchy and tries to get others to feel the same through his human portrayal of the royals. He humanizes the monarchy through his identification of the King and Queen as husband and wife, as man and woman. They have no control over their fate. They are the same as any other human being. The monarchy has made mistakes, but then so have their murderers. No one person can be blamed for the problems in France. The death of the King does not resolve the problems France is experiencing. It just deprives a family of their father, of their husband. Instead of teaching "liberty, equality, fraternity" the French are forsaking their idea of brotherhood by killing their own. A true revolution would not deem necessary the murder of those who have already lost. The French have lost sight of the importance of people in favor for trying to achieve their ideal society. A society that cannot exist because they are building their new government on innocent blood instead of diplomacy.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Hi. I'm Lauren Souther.
I'm a Senior at Mercer. I'm from Blairsville, Ga, a small town in the mountains. Therefore, I have literally nothing to do this summer so I thought taking some online courses would be one way to spend my time. I have one younger brother who is also in college. I want to go to law school so aside from online classes, and work, I will be using the summer to study for the LSAT (which kinda terrifies me).
I'm taking this class for part of an English minor, and to catch up on credit hours.
I am looking forward to reading the literature presented for the class especially the Romantics. Since I just finished an Austen class who was very anti-romantic, it will be nice to read against her style.
I am slightly apprehensive of the online aspect of the class because I have never taken an online class before. However from reading the syllabus, I think the online aspect will not be an issue once I begin blogging, etc.
I'm a Senior at Mercer. I'm from Blairsville, Ga, a small town in the mountains. Therefore, I have literally nothing to do this summer so I thought taking some online courses would be one way to spend my time. I have one younger brother who is also in college. I want to go to law school so aside from online classes, and work, I will be using the summer to study for the LSAT (which kinda terrifies me).
I'm taking this class for part of an English minor, and to catch up on credit hours.
I am looking forward to reading the literature presented for the class especially the Romantics. Since I just finished an Austen class who was very anti-romantic, it will be nice to read against her style.
I am slightly apprehensive of the online aspect of the class because I have never taken an online class before. However from reading the syllabus, I think the online aspect will not be an issue once I begin blogging, etc.
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