Blake’s Themes
There are certain characteristic themes
in Blake’s poetry and although they often overlap, they are worth separate
consideration, if only to bring them into focus. These are some of the more
specific ways in which Blake pursues the dialectic of Innocence and Experience.
They emerge both as part of Blake’s indignation at conditions In late eighteenth-century
Innocence
Blake’s understanding of innocence was not grounded in
an absence of understanding, rather, it was a consequence of insight Into the
mysteries of the cosmos. In other words we should not underestimate the
complexity of Blake’s understanding of Innocence. He was never sentimental or naive
about innocence. He once wrote: ‘unorganized innocence: an impossibility.
Innocence dwells with wisdom, but never with ignorance (note written on the back
of an edition of The Four Zoas). As with much of Blake’s writing, the reader
should be alert to levels of meaning, in this case, from simple child-like
innocence, to a vision of a universe of love and harmony.
Guardians
In Blake, innocence is not entirely the preserve of children; it is also
manifested in the attitude and actions of men and women filled with the spirit
of the divine as in The Cradle Song
and The Divine Image. A central theme
in Blake’s poetry is that of guardianship. The successful guardian is the adult
who listens, who is alert to the voice of innocence and responds appropriately.
Social and political themes
Blake’s sympathy for the suffering
of ordinary men, women and children in the real world was profound. He was a
friend and associate of many radicals of the time Including Thomas Paine. He
may be seen as a ‘visionary’ but he was also acutely aware of social and
political realities, as we have seen in the discussion of
It is in this theme that some of the
others coalesce. An extension of his interest in Innocence is a concern for the
vulnerable and exploited, especially children. Conversely he targets those
adults who represent the worst features of the failure
of guardianship, for example the adults in The
Chimney Sweeper and in both versions of Holy
Thursday which reveal the vulnerability of the exploited and Blake’s
indignant response to their treatment.
Blake was a fervent supporter of the
French Revolution, which he believed would eradicate tyrannical monarchs, and
false religion. He articulates much of this in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. The Tyger is a complex poem which has
been interpreted in a number of ways: one of these is as a celebration of
revolutionary energies that cleanse a corrupt world and establish a new order.
Conventional Religion
Blake was particularly hostile
towards conventional religion and especially the Church of England which he included
amongst the ‘dark satanic mills’ in And did those feet in
ancient time.
The Enlightenment rationality that
arose from
Blake’s attack on the false
guardians took on particular significance when he turned his attention to the
clergy, whom he described as corrupt, parasitical and repressive (see, for
example, ‘the villain’ and ‘the sneaking serpent’ in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (Plate 2).
Love and Sexuality
What is notable about Blake in the
religious and moral climate of the times is his celebration of sexuality
because of its association with innocence, energy and desire. Blake was aware
(for example in ‘A Little Girl Lost’) of the possibility that experience could
corrupt sexuality and this dialectical opposition is revealed in the symbolism
of The Blossom and its contrary The Sick Rose. In the Songs of
Experience, therefore, Blake explores the potential for human sexuality and the
hazards that it faces in the world of experience.
On Being an Artist
Blake firmly believed that his art
would make a contribution to the moral, spiritual and intellectual revolution
he envisaged. In this respect he was in line with other conceptions of the
Romantic artist - the inspired genius with special insight and visionary
powers. Artists were distinguished by the powers of their creative imagination.
In The Marriage of Heaven and Hell Blake
conveys his own artistic manifesto and his wish to dedicate his prophetic craft
to achieve social renewal, and idea that can perhaps also be seen in the
transition from piper to bard in the Introductions
to the two sets of poems