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> POEM
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SPRING
from Songs of Innocence, 1789, by William Blake
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point of view
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Within a rural setting, this poem describes aspects of
the awakening of fresh life in springtime. Characteristically, birds forebode
the coming of the green season by song. Children follow their example and
make the "village green" as the location of this poem
"spring" to sounding life. Finally, direct contact is made between
both nature's innocent creatures and innocent human beings joining in the
"post-hibernation joy".
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*1*KEYNES, G, p. 140 * top of analysis * BIBLIOGRAPHY * top of page found this helpful? - please pay 0,10 EUR and help cover costs for this website
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> POEM
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THE HUMAN
ABSTRACT
from Songs of Experience, 1794, by William Blake
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structure
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The poem attacks false virtues worshipped by individuals
and society as a whole. Virtues like pity, mercy, humility etc. are elements
of society's balancing mechanisms which are under permanent threat of being
destabilised by self-induced problems. Superficially, compensatory measures
help to maintain a functional balance. Since the causes of social injustice
etc. are not eradicated, however, social stability is almost due to be lost.
Using a set of metaphors and symbols the poem describes how, on this
hypocritical basis, further fatal threats arise from phenomena representing
aspects of human behaviour and social powers. A surprising turn at the end
discloses that the human brain's pernicious reasoning is the source of
abstract and destructive thought which can pervert the individual mind and
spread through society like a cancerous growth, defying nature's powers of
self-control.
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*1* cf. KEYNES, p. 151 * top of analysis * BIBLIOGRAPHY * top of page found this helpful? - please pay 0,10 EUR and help cover costs for this website
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> POEM
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THE TYGER
from Songs of Experience, 1794, by William Blake
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structure
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This poem as "one of the finest and most profound poems in the English language" *1* is quite popular in U.K., especially the first line and first stanza tends to be well remembered. It is an imaginative poem leaving a lot of space to the reader or listener's own imagination. It is a "poem of open questions" par excellence: questions about a fierce creature, the Tyger, most probably not just a "tiger", the origin of the fire used in its creation, the process of its creation itself, its creator and, with a religious undertone, questions about the ethic value of this creation. G. KEYNES stresses BLAKE'S utmost care in achieving the desired effects through three versions. As one of BLAKE'S major editors and critics, he maintains that the element of doubt is an essential part of the poem, and warns that "[c]areful dissection will only spoil its impact as poetry." *2* structure (1) introduction: presentation of the Tyger; (2) - (4) main part: creation in the "smithy"; (5) to (6) conclusion: reactions to the creation.
lexemes The Tyger is characterized directly by the following words etc.: (1) burning bright; this attribute might, in a hyperbolical way, describe the black-orange flame-like colour pattern of a genuine tiger seen against a dark background; metaphorically, it could hint at the fierceness, aggressiveness of the creature (connotation: blazing fire, flames etc.); fearful symmetry can be attributed to the outline, proportions, and locomotion of the predator (powerful muscles etc. in perfect anatomical arrangement, responsible for the big predator's elegant "cat-like" movements); in (2) the element of fire is associated with its eyes, i.e. the organ which focuses the prey with the born killer's penetrating, sharp look. In (3) the heart, the muscular motor of each living organism, is twisted out of sinews; physiologically, a "sinewy" muscle suggests stamina, power, endurance, not just pure strength. Such a powerfully beating heart may, of course, demand great courage of the one handling it (see lines 3-4). The brain, another vital organ, characteristically "treated" in a furnace (source of fire in a smithy), is the source of the Tyger's instincts etc. (4) The Tyger 's iron-like claws, forged on the anvil, have the quality of deadly terrors (metaphor: objects, events of a terrifying and fatal etc. nature).Indirectly, the Tyger is characterized by elements related to its surroundings, its creator, and by the reactions given in (5) -(6). The Tyger is part of the forests of the night (1), (6); at the latest, in (6), after the creature's terrifying features have been fully described, connotations go beyond physical "blackness" and make the forests appear as a piece of nature haunted by dangerous creatures, evil spirits, evil passions etc.; cf. the forests in MILTON'S "Comus" and DANTE'S "Inferno". *3* In (3) -(4), the creator displays the physical strength and craftsmanship of an expert blacksmith who, amidst hardest working conditions (fire, heat, noise of the bellows, struggling of the chained animal etc.), keeps his stance (dread feet ; < lit. > , i.e. feet which are of dreadful proportions etc). and uses his hands etc. in a powerful and skilful, crafty way (shoulders, art, twist, hand, grasp, clasp). The tools used are hammer, chain, furnace, and anvil. The maker of the creature gains supernatural qualities as early as in (1), when the question is raised if his hand or eye are immortal. In (2) he resembles Prometheus when he aspires, i.e. tries to reach the extremely ambitious goal, to cross the depths of the universe in order to fetch cosmic fire for his purposes. His wings take him to either distant deeps or skies (hell, heaven, evil, good), which casts doubt on the ethic value of his intentions and the nature of his creature s.a.; this creator remains a dubious figure; are his dread feet (s.a) the feet of the good or the evil one? In (5) the question is raised if he smiles at his work; if he does, new questions arise: is his smile a smile of good-natured contention or one of sarcasm?; if he does not smile one might infer that the creator himself stands aghast at the properties and powers of a creature which is on the verge of getting out of control. The speaker's querying reaches a climax when he asks if the creator of the Tyger is identical with God, who, according to Christian belief, is the maker of the lamb (symbol of innocence, sacrifice). In (5) there is a reaction from the stars. These "heavenly bodies" which are inspired with life seem to be horrified at the sight of the newly fashioned creature: they ... threw down their spears And water'd heaven with their tears; in BLAKE'S "Four Zoas", another epic poem of his, the stars react in a similar way, representing angels who react helplessly, or even surrender, to evil powers in a fallen state of nature and the universe. Another parallel is to be found in MILTON'S "Paradise Lost", where stars symbolize angels after the fall, too. *4* The last stanza gives a reaction from the speaker of the poem's viewpoint who now uses the word Dare instead of Could (1,4); the aspect of extreme courage now appears to supersede the aspect of mere craftsmanship (s.a.). contrast (1), (6) burning bright - night emphasizes the visual impact of the Tyger; (1), (6) hand or eye contrasts practical skill and strength etc. (craft) with the designer's artistic view and theoretical concept (art; mentioned in 3,1; note the connotation art = artfulness, cunning); (2) deeps - skies illustrates vast dimensions of the universe, universal significance, sources of evil powers versus good powers (hell, heaven); (3) hand - feet (s.a.: essential elements of the blacksmith's craft).In (5) the lamb is implicitly contrasted to all-present Tyger , i.e. a "good", innocent creature vs. an evil-natured, ferocious, harmful killer; are they two different God-made creatures or two creatures by different creators? repetition Tyger, Tyger in (1) and (6) recalls the beginning of invocations (eccl., lit.). The words dare in (2), (4), (6) and dread in (3) and (4) attribute extreme courage, aspiration (see aspire in 2,3), and dreadful proportions (result: awe, fear) to the creator of the creature, and, indirectly characterise the Tyger. Could in (1) and (3) highlights the craftsmanship. Except for one word, (1) and (6) are identical (cf. the chorus of a song); the word Dare thus receives special attention and stress (s.a.). Note the frequent repetition of the interrogative what: in this "poem of questions" (s.a.); Did... in (5) is "reserved" for the "decisive" yes/no questions. capitalisation Tyger versus lamb (in INTRODUCTION and SPRING, for example, BLAKE capitalises Lamb; outsizing proportions, impact, significance etc. of the Tyger?). punctuation sound perfect end-rhymes, with the exception of the eye-rhyme eye -symmetry (emphasis on the word symmetry; surprising effect; element of doubt, sarcasm?); numerous alliterative elements facilitate fluent recital. metre "pounding" tetrametre (cf. regular beat of pulse or hammer) transfer Man-made phenomena (inventions), their purposes and unwanted effects, e.g. technical progress, nuclear power etc. Reflect on religious aspects; is there an almighty God? Does he renounce the control of nature, its creatures and man-made evils? __________________________
*1* KEYNES, p. 148 *2* KEYNES, p. 149 *3* cf. OSTRIKER, p. 887 *4* though there the stars do not throw down their spears; cf. KERMODE et al., VOL. II, p. 26 * top of analysis * BIBLIOGRAPHY *top of page * found this helpful? - please pay 0,10 EUR and help cover costs for this website
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Juergen Matthias Schroeder (c) 7 JAN 2002 - streaming added in 2008
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