William Blake

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William Blake

• 1789-1826
• Visionary, Artist and Poet

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Blake as a Visionary

• William Blake said that he was a visionary. He
  saw angels and God himself. This is what allowed
  him to be so deeply rooted in faith and create
  such great artistic works and poems.

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Art Work
The Blasphemer
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Nebuchadnezzar

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Satan Inflicting Boils on Job
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The Ancient of Days
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The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with
the Sun
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The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in Sun
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The Tyger

• Tyger Tyger. burning bright,In the forests
  of the nightWhat immortal hand or eye,Could
  frame thy fearful symmetry?
• In what distant deeps or skies.Burnt the
  fire of thine eyes!On what wings dare he
  aspire!What the hand, dare seize the fire?
• And what shoulder, what art,Could twist
  the sinews of thy heart?And when thy heart began
  to beat,What dread hand? what dread feet?What
  the hammer? what the chain,In what furnace was
  thy brain?What the anvil? what dread grasp,Dare
  its deadly terrors clasp!
• When the stars threw down their spearsAnd
  water'd heaven with their tearsDid he smile his
  work to see?Did he who made the Lamb make
  thee?Tyger, Tyger burning bright,In the forests
  of the nightWhat immortal hand or eye,Dare
  frame thy fearful symmetry?

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My Analysis of The Tyger

• In the poem, The Tyger, Blake does not understand
  if the same person who made this same ferocious
  Tyger could have also made the innocent Lamb.
  Questions such as this still arise in today's
  society. Does God create murders, rapists, and
  evil people? Why would a loving God do all of
  this and cause so much pain? Is this the same God
  that creates small children and righteous people?
  Blake asks all of these questions in this one
  poem.

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My Analysis of The Tyger (cont.)

• However, the ending to the poem isn't really what
  you would expect, he finishes without an answer.
  Blake does this so that the reader can decide for
  oneself. In letting the reader decide, it is
  allowed to become an intimate poem, one that the
  reader may attribute their own life into.

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William Blake today

• The very same questions that William Blake asked
  so many years ago are still relevant today. Who
  makes good and who makes evil? Does the same
  Immortal figure make them both, and if so, why?
  He asks these same fundamental questions in many
  of his poems. Religion is the biggest part of all
  his poetry. His religion was much deeper than the
  ordinary persons.

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William Blake today (cont.)

• William Blake is seen more today in more than
  just his poetry and in reading circles. Blake is
  seen even in Hollywood. In the major motion
  picture Red Dragon, Blakes artwork is seen and
  is a major part of the movie. The serial killer
  is a Satanist and one of Blakes most famous
  works is tattooed on his back as the symbol of
  evil.