Friday, August 30, 2019
Economical and religious repression Essay
ââ¬Å"Illustrate from Blakeââ¬â¢s songs the ways the poet shows that the people of his time were alienated from their natural selves and from society by political, economical and religious repressionâ⬠A major target of Blakeââ¬â¢s in the conquest to correct the unnatural state of society was that of religion and the Church. Blake was an unconventional Christian. Although clearly religious, as seen in poems such as ââ¬ËThe Lambââ¬â¢ and ââ¬ËNightââ¬â¢, he abhorred the concept of organised religion and believed it to be an extremely damaging institution which was more concerned with the oppression of the lower classes and the continuance of the unequal status quo than with true religion. Blake believed the moral codes that were extolled by the Church were significantly damaging to society, making innocent concepts deviant and causing bitter unhappiness. In ââ¬ËThe Garden of Loveââ¬â¢, Blake conveys his feelings on the repressive qualities of religion. This poem is the basis for Blakeââ¬â¢s theory on repressive religion, using ââ¬ËThe Garden of Loveââ¬â¢ as a basis for the damaging effects of religious ââ¬Ëbansââ¬â¢, Blake then goes onto portray how the effects change with different experiences such as love and sex. In the poem, the speaker returns to ââ¬ËThe Garden of Loveââ¬â¢ where he used to ââ¬Ëplayââ¬â¢ (which seems to refer to the innocent discovery of sexuality by children) and finds that it has been transformed. Where once children used to ââ¬Ëplay on the greenââ¬â¢ there are now ââ¬Ëpriests in black gownsââ¬â¢, and ââ¬Ëgravestonesââ¬â¢ where there used to be ââ¬Ëflowersââ¬â¢. The speaker has become aware of Church law and its oppressive ââ¬Ëbansââ¬â¢, Blake emphasises the influence of the religious morals by use of metrical technique. The power of ââ¬ËThou shalt notââ¬â¢ paralyses the poem, with three successive stresses halting the regularly anapaestic rhythm. In the same way that ââ¬ËThou shalt notââ¬â¢ stops the flow of the poem, the construction of the Chapel stops the innocent ââ¬Ëplayââ¬â¢ of children. In the design which accompanies the poem children are seen praying over the graves of ââ¬ËJoys & Desiresââ¬â¢, which were murdered by the Church. Blake further expands his theory on how repressive religion alienates people of his day from their natural selves in his two poems on sexual intercourse, ââ¬ËThe Blossomââ¬â¢ and ââ¬ËThe Sick Roseââ¬â¢. ââ¬ËThe Blossomââ¬â¢ is a celebration of what Blake would call completely natural sex, being free from morals and repressive religion it is a wonderful and joyous occasion, so full of emotion that it makes the robin sob with joy. ââ¬ËThe Blossomââ¬â¢ is full of positive language, such as ââ¬Ëhappyââ¬â¢, ââ¬Ëmerryââ¬â¢ and ââ¬Ëprettyââ¬â¢ and contains a simple and bouncing rhythm that conveys the naturalness of the act and how positive such sex is. ââ¬ËThe Sick Roseââ¬â¢ on the other hand portrays sexual intercourse at its most depraved and shameful. The poem is a vision of sex under the influence of repressive religious morals and restricting social conventions; it portrays sexual intercourse under the influence of repressive religious morals. The poem utilises a complicated and lumpy rhythm, with a mix of anapaestic and iambic feet and a disturbing first line which is difficult to scan, the world of ââ¬ËExperienceââ¬â¢ is clearly evoked through Blakeââ¬â¢s metrical technique. The poemââ¬â¢s imagery of an ââ¬Ëinvisible wormââ¬â¢ ââ¬Ëflying at nightââ¬â¢ in a ââ¬Ëhowling stormââ¬â¢ is full of darkness, violence and depravity. The Rose hides (implied by ââ¬Ëfound outââ¬â¢) her sexual pleasure, her ââ¬Ëbed of crimson joyââ¬â¢, which reveals the hypocrisy of female pleasure in this depraved form of sex; the Rose has sexual desire but hides it from the ââ¬Ëinvisible wormââ¬â¢. In the final two lines Blake sums up his point of the poem, that this kind of sexual intercourse, this ââ¬Ëdark secret loveââ¬â¢, ââ¬ËDoes thy life destroyââ¬â¢. Through his portrayal of love and sex in the Songs, Blake shows the damaging effects of religious repression. Repressive religious morals and laws have led to the body becoming detached from the soul, and sex, which the Church associates with the body, has become a seedy and deviant act. In these poems, Blake has shown that the Church has alienated people from their natural selves. In ââ¬ËMy Pretty Rose Treeââ¬â¢, Blake reveals his beliefs on the unnatural constraints of marriage. Blake repudiated any kind of binding contracts or morals, which might constrain the natural self from its freedom and marriage fell firmly within his sights. As far as Blake was concerned, marriage was a dead institution (as revealed by the ââ¬Ëmarriage hearseââ¬â¢ of ââ¬ËLondonââ¬â¢) and an unnatural social prison which severely damaged peoplesââ¬â¢ natural selves. In the poem, a ââ¬Ëflower was offeredââ¬â¢ to the speaker, a metaphor for an extra-marital affair, by a woman which the speaker finds attractive (ââ¬ËSuch a flower as May never boreââ¬â¢). However, the unnatural constraints of marriage cause the speaker to unhappily, suggested by the slowing of the rhythm with a double stress in ââ¬ËAnd I passed the sweet flower oââ¬â¢erââ¬â¢, turn down the offer and return to his wife, his ââ¬ËPretty Rose treeââ¬â¢. The artificial boundaries of marriage have led to the speaker giving up the chance of being happy with his ââ¬Ësweet flowerââ¬â¢ and to being trapped with his jealous ââ¬ËRose treeââ¬â¢ whose ââ¬Ëthornsââ¬â¢ are his ââ¬Ëonly delightââ¬â¢. Blake suggests that without the constraints of marriage that the speaker would have been free to follow his heart, rather than conforming to an artificial law and becoming unhappy. In ââ¬ËLondonââ¬â¢, Blake further expresses his attitude towards marriage. In the poem, marriage is presented as a ââ¬Ëhearseââ¬â¢, a vessel for carrying the dead, though with their bodies (their sexual selves) being dead in a loveless and institutionalised marriage which extols the virtues of the soul over the deviant and depraved body. Blake blames the unnatural state of love in society on the Churchââ¬â¢s separation of body and soul. The separation has forced the soul to be encapsulated in marriage and the body to be forced to become deviant and turn to ââ¬Ëyouthful Harlotsââ¬â¢. Sexual pleasure has only two options, either a loveless marriage or buying pleasure from seedy and diseased prostitutes. Marriage, in Blakeââ¬â¢s eyes, has made all sexual pleasure the kind found in ââ¬ËThe Sick Roseââ¬â¢, depraved and hidden, whereas in a world free from the unnatural constraints alienating people from themselves, people would be able to enjoy the pleasure found in ââ¬ËThe Blossomââ¬â¢.
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