William Blakes Poetry - Essay Example

William Blake and Romanticism William Blake and Romanticism William Blake’s poetry was an analytical reflection of the problems confronting the lives of the people of the 18th century. His “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell,” written in 1792, was a reflection of the goodness of life as viewed from the perspective of paradox and choice. Based on the context of the poem, the historical context, the other works of Blake, the necessity of dualism and the power of choice, the line “Joys impregnate, Sorrows bring forth” possess several meanings whose purpose is to enlighten the reader. The meaning of the line may simply be deduced from the context itself. Firstly, the poem “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” somehow speaks of the goodness in all things even in those which people consider as negative. In the poem, the capital sins are regarded by Blake as good things to God: pride is glory, lust is bounty, wrath is wisdom, and nakedness if the work of God. This then somehow creates a pattern where the succeeding lines illustrate the same polarities between evil and good which are actually the same. Thus, following from the line “Excess of sorrow laughs. Excess of joy weeps”1, which means that things are not what they seem, it simply means that all lines in the poem are lines of contradictions too2.Therefore, following through from the line “Joys impregnate, Sorrows bring forth”3, one can conclude that joys will give people something negative and that sorrows will bring people something opposite too. This means that joys impregnate or somehow make someone pregnant, which is basically a bad thing if two people are not married yet. On the other hand, when someone says “Sorrows bring forth,” it means that perhaps sorrow brings someone “forth” or forward. This means that such a negative thing like sorrow may always be instrumental in advancing someone. Perhaps, it is because one learns much from sorrow as much as he learns from happiness. The meaning of the line “Joys impregnate, Sorrows bring forth” (Blake) is also evident in the historical context in which Blake’s “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” was written. In fact, William Blake was born during a time when the Bible was glorified4. It was at that time that Blake started pointing out the inaccuracies and errors in the Bible in order to somehow educate the people and make them believe that the Bible was actually a mere creation of man. This was Blake’s protest against organized religion. Thus Blake, through his “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell,” was able to instill in his readers something that organized religion was never able to achieve for it was something they religion did not believe. Thus, it was a reminder that all inner beauty lies in the heart and that deities lay in the human breast and not in something else. Through this setting, Blake was able to prove that after all “the pen is mightier than the sword”5. It is because through the written and printed material, the majority of the people may be informed and their perspectives changed. It was this system of writing that Blake taught that there is no other god and that everything that exists must be lovely. This means that there is nothing that God created that is not good, whatever it is. Thus, going back to the line “Joys impregnate, Sorrows bring forth,” one therefore believes that the joys of knowing merely man-made Scriptures may actually impregnate or not produce the happiness that one desires. However, the sorrows, which are connected with knowing the Scriptures merely made by man, somehow teach someone that it is better to experience sorrow when one reads the man-made Bible than to believe everything in it. The reason is that it is only through this, that people may be able to realize that one should not trust the verity of merely manmade. It is therefore better to rebel against authority than to comfortably follow something fake. The polarity of the meaning of the line “Joys impregnate, Sorrows bring forth” is also found in the other works of Blake. In another one of Blake’s poems entitled “The Tyger,” the part akin to “Joys impregnate, Sorrows bring forth” is the part where the poet asks, “Did he smile his work to see?/ Did he who made the Lamb make thee [the Tyger]6. Thus, actually God made both the lamb and the tiger. The lamb is good on the outside but may not be good on the inside. The tiger is actually ferocious on the outside but it may be gentle on the inside. In fact, this is what is called “fearful symmetry” in Blake’s poem7. Thus, the other works of Blake, particularly “The Tyger,” seek to show the yin and the yang of all concepts of this world. Therefore, everything has a good and bad side, and that everything – all creation and Scriptures – should therefore be embraced, even if it has more of the bad side. The line “Joys impregnate, Sorrows bring forth” therefore brings the readers of Blake’s “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” to the yin and the yang of things, and to embrace both the good and evil in everything and everyone for true love is the love of the whole. Thus, if joys and sorrows are a part of life, both are still very significant parts, for without sorrow, no one would be able to know joy. They are therefore necessary parts of something, and that something cannot be complete without these two aspects. Furthermore, in the same way, Heaven and Hell are complementary and will never be known without the other. In fact, the line “Joys impregnate, Sorrows bring forth” reveals the necessity of dualities and the challenge to acknowledge evil. For Blake, Heaven and Hell are as necessary as each other in God’s creation, in the same way that Satan is a servant of God in the Book of Job. Thus, for Blake, perhaps the Church was just pretending to be all good, which the Church cannot do for nothing in this world is all good. The Church during Blake’s time was therefore called by the message of his poetry to acknowledge its weaknesses. Perhaps, the key to reform is acceptance of both the good and evil, and the perpetuation of evil is always brought about by a denial of it. During Blake’s time, the Church tolerated slavery, child labor and execution of criminals8. Nevertheless, through his works he was able to voice out his sentiments as well as subtly hint on the true nature of the Christian Church during his time. The necessity in confronting the evil aspect of things sometimes even extends to facing everything that many people have been avoiding to face such as the painful death of slave children. In Blake’s poem, “A Little Boy Lost,” he mentions “The weeping child could not be heard…They stripped him to his little shirt/ And bound him in an iron chain/ And burned him in a holy place”9. Thus, the pain of this sacrifice is too unbearable for others to witness yet it is necessary in order for each one of us to acknowledge the most evil part of ourselves. Perhaps, this is the only way to transform evil into good. William Blake also believed that the line “Joys impregnate, Sorrows bring forth” is a call to action and to making the choice to be happy. If one would see this particular line, it is actually different from the rest of the lines if the word “impregnate” were equated with planting of seeds instead of getting someone pregnant out of marriage. Thus, if “impregnate” meant the planting of good deeds, then it is not a line of paradox unlike the rest. Moreover, the line “Sorrows bring forth” is only a line that may be followed by anything, whether positive or negative. Thus, if only the meaning of the word “impregnate” were to be changed into something positive, then the whole line would be totally positive and inspiring. It therefore means that Joy can be used by someone in order to plant seeds of happiness and goodness. In the same way, Sorrow can be used by anyone to bring forth anything that he or she desires since the predicate of the last line is rather open-ended: “bring forth.” Thus, the lesson here may be the power of choice in making oneself happy and in making the best choices in life. In Blake’s poem, “A Little Girl Lost,” Blake mentions that “…in a former time/ Love, sweet love, was thought a crime” yet “once a youthful pair/ Filled with softest care/ Met in garden bright”10. Thus, even though love was considered a crime, some people never stopped loving. Some people defied the rules out of their choice. They did not look at the world as a paradox but rather looked at it completely positively. The line “Joys impregnate, Sorrows bring forth” is a line of paradox that implies so many good things in life. Firstly, through the context, the line is reflective of the paradox of good and evil – that some good things are actually bad, while some bad ones are actually good. This first description is therefore a call for increased open-mindedness. Secondly, through the historical context of the poem, the line represents the criticism of the Church, of the man-made Scriptures, and of organized religion. It is therefore a call for critical-mindedness and for active faith. Thirdly, through the other works of Blake, the line appears like a reflection of the yin and the yang of things. It is therefore a challenge for people to achieve a realization of the dualistic aspect of things and of the principle that both aspects – good and evil – must complete anything. Moreover, it is a call for people to face not only the good but the most evil of circumstances in order for each one to recognize the wholeness of things. This is essential to enlightenment and in the transformation of evil into good. Finally, the line may also signify that happiness coming from joy and sorrow is a matter of choice. Therefore, whether it is joy or sorrow that is facing us, it is our choice how to derive happiness from both. Through the wisdom from Blake’s poetry, one is expected to see things from a different perspective in order to live life fully. From the points mentioned above, it would be best for anyone to see things not necessarily as what they seem but as what they truly are. Thus, this call for open-mindedness helps one avoid unintentional pain and hurts as well as judgment and criticism that is uncalled for. Moreover, through the line in Blake’s poem, one can see that nothing can be changed or completed without acknowledging both the positive and negative sides to things. This is therefore a challenge for people to see things completely and not only to see the aspect of it that we want to see. Thus, it is better to know something or someone not necessarily through one of his aspects but through all of them. Endnotes 1. William Blake, “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.” 2. Ibid. 3. Ibid. 4. “Archive for the Heaven and Hell Category,” (2011), Thoughts & Observations, accessed Apr. 17, 2014, http://ecotipofthemonth.wordpress.com/category/heaven-and-hell/ 5. Ibid. 6. William Blake, “The Tyger.” 7. Ibid. 8. “Archives for the Heaven and Hell Category.” 9. William Blake, “A Little Boy Lost.” 10. William Blake, “A Little Girl Lost.” Bibliography Archive for the Heaven and Hell Category.” (2011). Thoughts & Observations. Accessed Apr. 17, 2014. http://ecotipofthemonth.wordpress.com/category/heaven-and-hell/ Blake, W. “A Little Boy Lost.” Blake, W. “A Little Girl Lost.” Blake, W. “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.” Blake, W. “The Tyger.” Read More