Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake - Essay Example

Two Artworks in Different Art Forms (A Poem and a Painting) A Poem Songs of Innocence and Experience is a collection of poems written by William Blake. The collection is made up of several poems and they include The Lamb, Holy Thursday, The Divine Image, The Little Black Boy, The Nurse’s Song, The Tyger, The Human Abstract, London, and The Sick Rose. Two poems, ‘The Lamb’ and ‘The Tyger’ will be discussed in detail in this context. Historical Background of the Author In1757 in London, the author (William Blake) of Songs of Innocence and Experience was born. William’s father was a hosier and when William was ten years, he was taken to a drawing school soon after his father recognized that he had artistic talents. He requested to be apprenticed to James Basire, an engraver; under the directions of Basire, William was able to develop his inborn skills. William Blake worked as an illustrator, drawing teacher, and an engraver and he was able to meet artists like John Flaxman, Henry Fuseli, and Sir Joshua Reynolds. Blake was declared a failure during his lifetime and he accommodated a considerable amount of anxiety and resentment concerning the public laziness towards his financial straits and work. In 1809, Blake was faced with financial failure after he self-curated his works exhibition. The failure made him sink into depression and withdraw into obscurity and for the rest of his life he remained alienated. His contemporaries or colleagues viewed him as eccentric; he actually was odd. Blake’s poetic age or school is not known; this is because he is hanging between the 18th century age of neoclassicism and the early period of Romanticism. However, Blake began gaining recognition in the 20th century (SparkNotes Editors 1). Basic Formal Characteristic of the Work During his time, Blake wrote poems and his first publication of poems collection was called Poetical Sketches; this collection was published in 1783. In 1789, he published Songs of Innocence and in 1793, he published Songs of Experience. In 1794, he combined the last two editions (Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience) to create a collection called Songs of Innocence and Experience. Blake published most of his works by himself, he etched the poems together with their illustrations by hand onto copper plates (SparkNotes Editors 1). To make the prints, the plates had to be inked to produce the prints; the prints were then filled with paint. The production method was labor-intensive and expensive, this resulted in limited distribution of Blake’s poetry during his era (SparkNotes Editors 1). General Analysis Songs of Innocence and Experience contrasts the innocent pastoral world of childhood and that of the corrupt and repressive adult world. Poems such as ‘The Lamb’ exhibit a humble virtue and others such as ‘The Tyger’ express opposing darker forces. In general, Blake’s collection of poems explores the limitations and values of two world differing perspectives. Most of these poems are paired such that the same situation is first seen through an innocent lenses before the experience (SparkNotes Editors 1). Majority of his poems are dramatic, that is, the voice of the speaker is dominant than the voice of the poet. Blake is distant from experience and innocence, that is, in a distanced place from which he has hopes of recognizing and correcting both fallacies. Specifically, he puts himself against restrictive morality, institutionalized religion, sexual repression, and despotic authority; his main focus is on the means through which these different methods of control work together to stifle the most holy things in human beings (SparkNotes Editors 1). The Songs of Innocence exaggerate the naive fears and hopes that inform children’s lives and track their transformation as they enter adulthood. A number of poems written by Blake are from the children’s perspective and other are concerned with children but from an adult perspective. Most of the poems focus on the positive elements of natural human understanding in the light of corruption and alteration of experience. Other poems take a significant stance towards innocent purity; for instance, Blake reflects the touching portraits of emotional power of the basic Christian values and at the same time, he exposes the capacity of Christian innocence in the perpetration of cruelty and injustice (SparkNotes Editors 1). The Songs of Experience works through contrasts and parallels to grieve the means through which adverse experiences of adult life demolish the good in innocence and coherently exposing the weaknesses of innocent perspective. For instance, the poem ‘The Tyger’ tries to account for the actual and universal negative forces; in this case, innocence does not confront. Last poems of The Songs of Experience treat sexual morality as repressive impacts of secrecy, shame, and jealousy and they all corrupt the innocent love honesty. In regard to religion, they are not concerned with the features of personal faith; their main focus is the Church institution, its functions in politics, and its impact on the individual mind and the society. Therefore, experience puts another layer on innocence and this darkens the hopeful vision and at the same time reimbursing its blindness (SparkNotes Editors 1). Discussion of the Works The works (that is, the poems) written by William Blake all touch on the same matters (innocence and corruption). The poems focus on both the adult and children perspectives. The children perspective is based on the pastoral world of innocence, while the adult perspective is based on the corrupt and resentful world. For instance, the poem ‘The Lamb’ portrays a humble virtue, while the poem ‘The Tyger’ portrays the dark side of the world. ‘The Lamb’ reflects Jesus; that is, Jesus’ traditional image as the lamb, which emphasizes the Christian values of peace, meekness, and gentleness. The child figure is linked with Jesus; for instance, the Gospel portrays Jesus as having a special place for the children. The Bible also portrays the early life of Jesus as vulnerable and guileless (SparkNotes Editors 1). Thus, the poem clearly portrays the innocence possessed by a child. In the poem ‘The Tyger’, the tiger is displayed as a beautiful animal but it also has the capacity to bring violence. The author questions why such a terrifying creation was designed; the tiger is beautiful but it has the capacity to beget violence. Reference is made to the lamb and this makes the reader realize that the same God has designed the lamb and the tiger, thus, raising the implications of such creations. The reference attracts a contrast between innocence and experience perspectives made by the poems ‘The Lamb’ and ‘The Tyger’ respectively (SparkNotes Editors 1). Thus, these two poems represent both the innocence and the experiences in both childhood and adulthood. They still hold the view that childhood is characterized by innocence and adulthood is characterized by corruption and alteration of experience. The poems in the Songs of Innocence and Experience perfectly display the innocence and experience a human being faces in this world. A Painting The Mona Lisa painting will be discussed at length in this context. The author of the painting was Leonardo Da Vinci, famously referred to as the master of Renaissance. Information about the Author Leonardo Da Vinci was a sculptor, an engineer, an architect and a painter; these copious skills made him earn the title of the Renaissance master. Da Vinci’s attraction to science and the deep study of human anatomy assisted him in knowing the realist art form. Leonardo attempted to incorporate expression and movement in his paintings. The personages in his art works are painted putting into consideration detail and great accuracy. Thus, at times he has been thought to be painting from the inside out. Leonardo Da Vinci has faced both the highs and lows in his life and career, at one time, he was a celebrated painter, and at other times, he was cast away and humiliated. It is important to note that life had a great influence on his works, and would abandon his commissions so as to avoid social situations (davincilife.com 1). His famous paintings include the Mona Lisa, Vitruvian Man: The Proportions of the Human Figure, and the Last Supper (davincilife.com 1). History Mona Lisa is a 16th century painting; it is one of the many masterpieces created by Leonardo Da Vinci. Mona Lisa is also referred to as La Giaconda. The Mona Lisa painting has gained considerable attention throughout history and it has stimulated debate in regard to identity of the woman in the painting. It is thought that the painting was custom-made by a wealthy silk merchant by the name Francesco del Giocondo and Lisa, his wife. The couple needed the painting for their home in order to celebrate the birth of their second child. Most of the people think that the woman in the painting is Lisa del Giocondo, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo. However, the controversy still rages. Leonardo Da Vinci started working on the painting in the year 1503 and he worked on the painting for approximately four years. However, he did not complete the painting and resumed working on it when he moved to France in 1516. It took him three more years to complete the painting. On 21 August of 1911, an artist discovered that the painting was stolen from the Louvre; the painting was in display at the Salon Carre. The painting was found two years later after it was stole. It is thought that Vincenzo Peruggia, an employee of Louvre, stole the painting (davincilife.com 1). Basic Formal Characteristic of the Work The Mona Lisa painting is relatively small in size but it crafts an intense and effective non-material experience (Andrews 1). Oil was utilized in the poplar wood panel and it has been restored several times. Leonardo places the model in the middle of the painting through the use of a pyramid design. Her folded hands create the face of the pyramid and he utilizes similar glowing light for her face, neck, and breast. His lighting is significant since he utilizes it to form most of the geometric shapes, that is, the spheres, and circles, which create the painting. The type of painting is simple and it is a Seated Madonna modification; this form was very popular for portraits in the 15th and 16th centuries (Andrews 1). General Analysis The Mona Lisa posture speaks about silence and reservation. However, the eyes of Mona Lisa meet the stare of the observer, thus, pulling the viewer through her eye line. Everything adjacent to her face is dark and this brings most of the focus to light shining on her face and the attraction it offers. The overall impact is a form of natural attraction towards her, which is drawn by her looks, but the appearance immediately contrasts with the distance developed by Leonardo between the observer and the subject. It is important to note that the painting’s landscape has been recognized as the first illustration of portrait on the landscape. The curves of Mona Lisa’s clothing and hair are imitated by the landscape waves and the solid curves in the hills and the river behind her. The harmony between the landscape and the model behind her develops some sort of natural order, all indicated by her mouth detail and the famous smile. For many years, psychologists, politicians, writers, and historians have attempted to offer their opinion about the significance of the Mona Lisa’s smile. Some have stated that the smile depicts calm and innocence. The smile is viewed from various perspectives and the smile itself has become the subject of research (Andrews 1). Some people argue that the smile depicted the way women in this period behaved; they argue that women were taught to smile with one side of their mouths in order to add an atmosphere of elegance and mystery. This indicates that the significance of Mona Lisa's smile is still a mystery. Discussion of the Works Mona Lisa painting is one the famous and most treasured paintings in the world. The painting has gained considerable attention from almost all sections of the world. Leonardo Da Vinci used oil to create it. Leonardo has made good use of lighting to bring out the theme and desired effect of the paint. For instance, everything surrounding her face is dark and this brings the observer to the light falling on her face. The most notable feature on her face is the smile, which has raised controversy in the world in regard to its significance. The harmony between the landscape and the model behind Mona Lisa creates some sort of natural order, which is indicated by the famous smile and the mouth detail (Andrews 1). Leonardo makes use of geometric shapes in his painting. Some of these geometric shapes include sphere and circles and they have been actively employed to create the effect of the painting. However, there is no unanimous agreement in regard to the meaning of the smile. Despite the simplicity of the work, it is still very hard to determine what the smile means. Everybody seems to have different ideas as to what the smile signifies. Works Cited Andrews, C. Analysis of the Mona Lisa Painting. Ezine@articles, 14 Nov. 2007. Web. 22 Dec. 2011. “Leonardo Da Vinci’s life”. davincilife.com, n.d. Web. 22 Dec. 2011. “SparkNote on Songs of Innocence and Experience.” SparkNotes.com, 2002. Web. 22 Dec. 2011. Read More