Blake’s use of the perfect symmetry and the not-so-perfect asymmetry in creating a graphological double entendre in “Introduction” (Songs of Innocence)
In my essay on Blake’s “Introduction” in The Songs of Innocence, I focused on the use of colour scheme and religious symbolism that relate to the overarching themes of purity, Boehme’s contraries and the consequences of human creativity. Due to word limit and possible confusion, I omitted my discussion on the use of symmetry and […]
Black and White, not Black or White
One of Blake’s poems that really caught my attention was The Little Black Boy. The title in itself already gives away the theme of the poem: racism. I mean seriously, who titles their poem, or any piece of literature for that matter, “The Little (insert color) Boy” without tackling racial issues. It’s not even surprising that the title emphasized on the word black, because history can not attest to the fact that the black race is one of the most persecuted of all races. I say this, not with a racist…read more
Blake’s My Pretty Rose Tree, and how jealousy plays a role in our lives
So basically, a man is offered this beautiful flower and he’s like, “Nah, I’m good. I’ve got a pretty rose tree”. And then he returns to his pretty rose tree, and she’s all jealous so she turns away from him and only gives him her thorns, which makes him delighted. What? This poem brings up […]
The Skunk
The Skunk Once upon a green we spoke, Beneath the arms of a willow In the shade of our brethr’n folk, What we said you now will know “Black and white makes me see red! The little fellow … Continue reading →
Implications of creation
William Blake’s poem The Tyger depicts the creation of a being that can be considered as both beautiful and horrific, and questions what kind of creator could have made such a being. Blake portrays God as a smith in the … Continue reading →
The duality of Blake’s ‘Innocence’
One interesting aspect of the Songs of Innocence and Experience that Professor Mota spoke about in lecture was that the anthology cannot be clearly divided into dark and light; good and bad as the innocence vs. experience angle might lead us … Continue reading →
The Sick Rose and Blake’s (possibly) Sick Mind
The Sick Rose is a truly layered poem. I think every person I discussed it had a different interpretation of…
Romanticism on Caffeine?
Even if you think this blog post is terrible and doesn’t make any sense, please do read A History of the World in Six Glasses if you haven’t already! Tom Standage makes way more sense than I do. I know you guys … Continue reading →
Frontispieces in Blake’s Songs of Innocence & of Experience
This week in Arts One we discussed Songs of Innocence and of Experience by William Blake. We only had one seminar meeting discussing this week because there were no classes yesterday, Remembrance Day. In our one class we focused in part on considering, based on the poems in Innocence and Experience, what “innocence” and “experience” […]
Was I Happier as a Child?
My life used to revolve around hitting my twin brother when he upset me, eating chicken noodle soup, and playing with stuffed animals. My biggest worry in life was my mom being five minutes late to picking me up. If … Continue reading →