William Blake
Life
William Blake was born in London in 1757.
He never went to school but apprenticed to an engraver.
He attended the Royal Academy and, when his studies were over, got employed as an engraver.
Since he was 22 he wrote poems but was never appreciated during his life.
He died in 1827. His work became known from the 19th century.
A Blake’s painting representing Good and Evil
Work
- In 1789 he published «Songs of Innocence», a book of poems which he crafted carving copper plates.
- In 1794 he added to his first book «Songs of Experience».
- Between 1791 and 1804 he published his «Prophetic Books».
- He also engraved a book by other authors like Thomas Gray’s «The Bard» and a book from the Old Testament.
Blake’s Old Testament carved cover
Blake’s symbolism: the tiger and the lamb
His poems, especially the ones entitled «The Tiger» and «The Lamb» are very symbolic and they represent infancy and adult life with their peculiar characteristics.
These two parts of life are complementary opposites and must coexist to let society progress.
Blake’s copper engravings of his poems
Stylistic features
Blake uses a simple vocabulary and syntax even though he often treats complex arguments and reflection and his poems are often musical and rhythmic due to the repetition of some verses or words.
Agnellino, chi ti fece?
Little Lamb, who made thee? Sai chi ti fece?
Dost thou know who made thee?
Gave thee life, and bid thee feed Ti diede la vita, e ti disse di nutrirti
By the stream and o’er the mead; Dal ruscello e sopra il prato;
Gave thee clothing of delight, Ti diede un vestito di delizia,
Softest clothing, woolly, bright; Il più morbido vestito, di lana, chiaro;
Gave thee such a tender voice, (Chi) Ti diede una così tenera voce,
Making all the vales rejoice! da fare gioire tutte le valli!
Little Lamb, who made thee? Agnellino, chi ti fece?
Dost thou know who made thee? Sai chi ti fece?
Agnellino, te lo dirò,
Little Lamb, I’ll tell thee, Agnellino, te lo dirò:
Little Lamb, I’ll tell thee:
He is called by thy name, Egli è chiamato col tuo nome,
For He calls Himself a Lamb. Poiché Egli Si chiama Agnello.
He is meek, and He is mild; Egli è mite, ed Egli è buono;
He became a little child. Divenne un piccolo bambino.
I a child, and thou a lamb, Io un bambino, e tu un agnello,
We are called by His name. Siamo chiamati col Suo nome.
Little Lamb, God bless thee!
Life
William Blake was born in London in 1757. He never went to school, but he entered the Royal Academy when he was 22 after apprenticing as an engraver. From 1779 he was employed as an engraver, and that became, along with painting, his source of income. He got married at 25 to Catherine Boucher and, in the same period, started writing poems that never became famous while he was alive but found some appreciation during the 19th century. He died in August 1827.
Works and poems
In 1789 he published “Songs of Innocence”, a book which he himself carved in copper plates with a technique he invented which he called “illuminated painting”. In 1794 he added to “Songs of Innocence” “Songs of Experience”. Between 1791 and 1804 he published his prophetic books such as “The French Revolution: a Poem in Seven Books”, “America: a prophecy” and “Milton, a Poem in Two Books, to Justify the Ways of God to Man”. He also engraved some books by other authors such as a book from the Old Testament, “Paradise Lost” by Milton and “The Bard” by Thomas Gray.
The two books which best represent Blake’s ideals and symbolism are “Songs of Innocence” and “Songs of Experience”. The first book is written in a childlike way and is about infancy, the moment when men are most happy and spontaneous, while the second is about adult life in which men can’t remain children and have to make their experiences, and they become selfish and no more capable of spontaneity.
Stylistic features
Blake uses a simple vocabulary and syntax even though he often treats complex arguments and reflections, and his poems are often musical and rhythmic due to the repetition of some verses or words.
Ideals
In each book there’s a poem which symbolizes the entire idea structuring Blake’s work. They are entitled “The Lamb” and “The Tiger”. The lamb represents infancy and its innocence, while the tiger is adult life, a mixture of beauty and terror, creation and destruction. The two parts are, even if very different, connected to each other because, metaphorically, the tiger and the lamb are both innocent. Even when the tiger threatens other living beings, its violence is innocent, as the destructive impulse of a child.
Blake’s view of these two parts as completely different but inseparable is very interesting because, even if one is beautiful and innocent, the other is necessary to the development of society. These two parts of life are complementary opposites; one can’t exist without the other and there can’t be progress if they don’t coexist, as for Love and Hate, Cruelty and Kindness, Death and Life, Illness and Health.
It is good to observe that Blake lives and writes during the French Revolution, so violence is, as a matter of fact, a part of every man who lived at the time, as is a dissatisfaction with society which is, in his opinion, incapable of imagination and true feelings. Blake believes in the importance of subjective experience rather than objective truth and opposes scientific rationalism, which he retains oppressive.
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