Many of Blake’s Proverbs of Hell directly contradict what would otherwise be deemed “good” or “Christian,” but Plate 10, the fourth and last listing of the Proverbs of Hell, contains some “good” and some “bad.” Unlike the previous plates written in fiery colors, Plate 10 has the rosy tones of a sunrise on the sea. The first several lines follow this mellow tone. Calling the head “Sublime” and the hands and feet “Proportion,” and even calling the heart “Pathos” and the genitals “Beauty” all could work within a classical view of Enlightenment. Blake continues in contrasts with the crow who “wish’d every thing was black, the owl, that every thing was white” up to the exclamation that “Exuberance is Beauty.” This climax of harmony is accompanied by small sketches of dancers jumping on clouds.
But here there is a shift. The previous lines placed creatures in their appropriate places—“The sea to a fish, so is contempt to the contemptible”—and everything had a black and white nature. The next lines suggest placing things out of order. Blake talks of a lion “advised by the fox,” of “crooked roads without Improvement” and of nature being “barren” without man. He even writes, “Sooner murder and Infant in its cradle than nurse unacted desires.” Blake aims for the reader to consider these oddities as possible truths, and adds this warning: “Truth can never be told so as to be understood and not believ’d.” The reader not only deciphers each line, but necessarily puts stock in its message. I think here, Blake is not praising Romanticism or Enlightenment, but as a conclusion to his proverbs presents a warning to reconsider everything that is told. He asks, “Enough! Or Too much,” directly inviting the reader to make decisions about the text instead of just passing through it.
Note: The image at the bottom of the page shows three figures, one on the left writing in a blue gown, a winged figure kneeling and pointing out a long scroll to the first, and a similar figure in a blue gown also peering over at the first. The writing figure could be like writing good proverbs, the winged creature (possible demonic) pointing out contrary proverbs, and the third an onlooker trying to write its own but examining the others.
Plate 24
ReplyDeleteOn Plate 24, Blake depicts a naked man wearing a crown and crawling on his hands and knees. The man's expression shows that he is in pain. According to Keynes, this is Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, who, in the Book of Daniel, was forced by God to live as an animal as punishment for his pride. Keynes identification is supported by a similar Blake piece known to depict Nebuchadnezzar. Through this illustration, Blake supports the Romantic opinions that humans are not the most important beings and that there is a limit to human abilities.
The story of Nebuchadnezzar demonstrates the sin of pride and its punishment. Here, Blake warns against overestimating human potential; humans are not capable of understanding everything, nor does the world depend on them for existence. To believe that these are true, as Enlightenment scholars would, is to be proud, which is punishable by losing one's sanity and sense of humanity.
It is also interesting that Nebuchadnezzar is not suffering in Hell, but on Earth. Earth is the static middle between Hell and Heaven. Thus Blake, who believes that neither contrary is as terrible as what lies in between, places Nebuchadnezzar on Earth, rather than in Hell or in Heaven.
Plate 4
ReplyDeleteIn Plate 4, labeled “The voice of the Devil”, Blake points out some false notions that Bibles have been advocating, and then presents the true ideas. Specifically, Blake says that the Body and Soul are permanently linked, Energy is life and is bound by reason, and “Energy is eternal delight”. These ideals are very reflective of some of the doctrines of Romanticism. The belief that there is more to knowledge than just reason is embodied by Blake’s statement that our true life is Energy, and reason is just the outer part of that. It’s important to note though, that Blake doesn’t completely throw out reason, as it is also a very important part of the Soul. His arguments also suggest the principle that science and reason cannot give us a full view of the world. Bible’s have been presenting only a partial view of the world and life, so Blake is trying to enlighten everyone to their full perception.
Blake’s first sentence, stating that Bibles have caused errors is illustrated below. He depicts an angel stealing a young child, and a devil trying to save it. The angel has a very malicious expression, while the devil looks very concerned about the child. This is a wonderful portrayal of what the text above is declaring. Namely, that so-called heaven, although normally depicted as kind, has actually been keeping everyone from experiencing true life and good energy, while devils, although allegedly evil, are actually trying to help.
An additional image Blake adds is the trumpeters next to the title, which are heralding the voice of the Devil. This signifies that what the Devil has to say is important, and should be paid attention to.
Plate 16
ReplyDeleteIn Plate 16, Blake argues that the “Giants who formed this world” are the source of all life and activity. These Giants are those whose actions are unrestrained by reason and logic. They are the Prolific beings who propel humanity forward. The Giants, however, are held in the “chains” of the “Devouring” personalities. The Devourers are those with “weak and tame minds” who resort to reason and do not heed to their desires. Devourers consider only “portions of existence;” their restraint prevents not only themselves but also the Prolifics from advancing.
The image at the top of the plate depicts an old, forlorn-looking man looking directly at the audience surrounded by younger figures whose faces are turned away from the center of the frame. The figures sit in a huddle with their knees pulled tightly to their chests as if a set of invisible chains binds them together. These figures represent the Giants, trying fruitlessly to fulfill their desires, unable to do so because of the influence of the unseen Devourers. The figures are lit from a single light source; the dark background furthers the sense that the figures, the Prolifics, are lost and alone. Like the main image, the intratextual images also seem to represent the Prolific. The dancing man in the twelfth line and the plants in the fifteenth line are both symbolic of new life and growth free from restraint.
I chose to analyze plate 1 in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell for many reasons. The first plate combines Blake’s ideas and conveys his message of the importance of contradictions. He distinguishes Heaven from Hell in his drawing but does not draw a line that separates them from each other, because they cannot be divided. Interestingly Blake presents Heaven at the top of the plate and Hell at the other lower half of the plate; however, Heaven takes a larger scalar in the drawing.
ReplyDeleteIf we look closely at the drawing we notice that the couples at the center of the image are communicating in Hell. They are the clearest characters in the plate and the center of attraction. Blake through the couples presents the importance of communication. I personally believe that Blake did not succeed in overturning the idea of communication which enlightenment presents. Though he introduces several paintings centering the human in the picture and isolating him form the world, most of his paintings include couples and a source of communication.
Blake tries to convince his readers about the necessity for contradictions not only through his drawings but also his colors. In plate 1, Blake balances his colors and merges the calmness of the blue with the fume of red to prove that Heaven and Hell are combined and presented as one whole picture not separate drawings.
As well as that, Blake shows communication between couples to show that contradiction leads to attraction; specifically contradictions serve as complements.
Plate 4
ReplyDeleteBlake praises the contraries. Energy is created by the tension between contraries, and Blake thinks we should seek them out actively. The body and soul do not separate into "two real existing principles" nor does a man - as the Enlightenment thinkers and a great number of religious scholars have implied - get tormented by God for following his energies and desires.
In Plate 4, Blake uses both words and images to support his claim. He corrects the "Errors" of the bible by setting up his own contraries, where Energy, which practically translates to desire, "is Eternal Delight". The illustrations on the plate further underline his arguments, especially through the dynamics between the two characters. The sun is placed next to the flames of hell, and the two characters are both dragged towards each other and towards the extremities. For some reason, this reminds me of "The Creation of Adam", and it does not seem unlikely that Blake drew inspiration from Michelangelo in creating this plate.
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ReplyDeletePlate 4
ReplyDeleteIn Plate 4 of William Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, Blake emphasizes his romantic principles through a critique of enlightened views and his title “The Voice of the Devil.” The first lines seem to stress that Blake doesn’t believe the ideas of the Bible are of ultimate rule, in reality these words are what have caused the following three “errors.” First, enlightenment, being the separation what is rational and irrational, correlates with Blake’s argument against the separation of body and soul. Since the body is characterized as the evil, and our soul as the good, it seems that Blake believes that the body is a pathway for emotions that reach the soul thus both must be unified. Blake moves to state that energy is the medium through which we appreciate life, that is, to live in desire and emotions. However, reason is the “outward circumference,” which represent a threshold where desires can become destructive. He gives credit to reason having the ultimate restriction of desire, but still affirms that desire itself is free of authority. Finally, Blake conveys the idea that energy is the delight to have desires, and human emotions. Essentially the fact that we can feel emotions and temptations from desires that arise in us is what makes us be of real existence because we are free to believe and act in inspired ways. Blake sees reason as passive, a barrier that limits the energies, which stem our inner imaginative potential.
The image itself portrays a person coming from the right, with an aura of flames trying to reach for a baby that is being grasped by another person. This other person seems to signify the reason part that Blake argues against, while the person coming out of the ‘eternal light’ is advocating the wonders of irrationality and emotions by trying to grab a hold of a baby. The romantic and enlightenment ideals seem to clash throughout this image as well as with Blake’s argument against authority and his support for eternal delight.
Plate 16
ReplyDeleteIn Plate 16 and the beginning of Plate 17 of Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, Blake demonstrates the fundamental balance between reason and illogic, the Devouring and the Prolific. The image at the top of the plate portrays a miserable old man surrounded by equally as miserable people burying their heads. This image portrays the chained Giants that are, “the causes of its [the world’s] life and sources of all activity,” that Blake mentions in the beginning of the plate who are enslaved by the, “weak and tame minds which have power to resist energy.” These powerless Giants represent the effort of the weak and overly reasonable to enchain and devalue the Prolific who produce life, art, energy, sensuality, and desire. Blake uses this metaphor of limitation to emphasize that reason alone fails to recognize and illuminate the beauty of life and the world. Enlightenment thinkers exclude the possibility that human kind can be prolific. Instead, they devour facts and science and physical evidence from nature and from God, contributing nothing themselves to humanity or the world. Blake and the Romantics believe that the Prolific cannot be tamed, although the Devouring might think so. Instead, because God, “Acts & Is, in existing beings or Men,” every human has the potential to be prolific and create and conceptualize a personal version reality consisting of truth, beauty, love, life, activity, and energy.
Blake goes on to point out that the Prolific and The Devouring must exist simultaneously as enemies. One counteracts and takes from and builds off the other. This goes with Blake’s overarching idea of the law of contraries that he explores throughout the work. Hell, the Prolific, energy, and the body cannot exist without Heaven, the Devouring, reason, and the soul. That is the definition of the workings of humanity and the world. To believe that one side is absolute and purely good does injustice to the complexity of life. The Romantics, including Blake, examine both sides of a contradiction, recognize the validity of each, but most importantly aim to free the human mind, allowing people to contemplate, appreciate, and analyze their own versions of reality, not simply swallow the scientific and factual version fed to them by force.
Plate 16
ReplyDeleteThe image on this plate depicts five huddled figures against a dark background, their faces despairing or turned away. I think in it we can find references to Blake’s discussion of the idea of a partial view of the world. Romanticism champions the idea that we might not be able to ever have perfect knowledge of the world – that we will always only have a partial view – but also emphasizes that we must be aware that there is more out there. We should be constantly striving to get beyond what we see of reality now. Blake’s contrast of the Prolific to the Devourer demonstrates this point: the Devourer “only takes portions of his existence and fancies that the whole.” He is constrained by his passivity and accepts what he can already understand as all there is. At least to me, this sentence and the image bring to mind Plato’s cave: the figures cluster together in a dark space, bound by Blake’s metaphorical “chains”– unaware of the real world beyond the shadows they can see.
The central figure is intriguing to me, for not only is he the only one to look out straight ahead, but his outstretched arms seem to almost pull the faces of the two men on either side into him, turning their heads and eyes away from whatever he stares at so fearfully. This may be taking it a bit far, but could this figure perhaps represent God? The depiction fits the standard image of God as an old, bearded man, and Blake writes on this plate of how God “acts and is among existing beings or men,” so it would make sense that God would sit surrounded by humans. If so, then the implication is that God, or just organized religion in general, keeps us in a passive state of accepting our partial understanding, and prevents us from striving to see more clearly.
The text of plate 16 begins with a metaphor by Blake about the creation of the world by Giants into its natural “sensual existence.” However, he argues that they “now seem to live in it in chains.” He describes that these giants are “in truth the causes of its life and the sources of all activity.” He continues with the metaphor to describe the “cunning of weak and tame minds” as the chains holding the giants down.
ReplyDeleteBlake explains the consequence of this occurrence. He argues, while making a generalization, of the existence of only two classes of men that he argues are irreconcilable. Blake states, “Whoever tries to reconcile them seeks to destroy existence.” One portion is Prolific the other Devouring. Blake elaborates on the necessity of both and their dependence on each other.
Looking at the image on the plate, at first glance, we see a huddled group of 5 people. Only the man in the center is looking at the viewer, and only he differs in the color of his robes from those surrounding him. One possibility is that these people are the Giants that Blake refers to at the beginning of the plate. The people clearly have signs of consternation and seem to be withdrawing amidst a background of darkness. Although we can’t visibly see chains, the expressions of the people seem to indicate imprisonment. The central figure seems to be trying to offer comfort to these Giants, and we can see him placing his arms around those two nearest him.
PLATE 16
ReplyDeleteIn Plate 16 Blake discusses the two types of beings that exist: the Prolific and the Devouring. The way I understand it, the Prolific serves as forces that produce existence, whereas the Devouring are those that consume existing things; the Prolific, in his terms, would be those beings who don't rely on energy and appetitive impulse, whereas the Devouring do. He explains that the Prolific and the Devouring must coexist because the Prolific would not be a Prolific if it did not provide things for the Devouring to consume, whereas the Devouring believe to have the Prolific under control because they consume the work of the Prolific. It is a reciprocal relationship, and religion exists to separate these two forms of existence by drawing the line between God--the existence of the Prolific in human beings--and humankind.
The image on the plate shows a circle of people huddled together with their heads between their legs except for one man looking out at the reader. These people are lit by one source in the far left of the image, as is clear by the shadows and the brighter background there. Presumably, the bearded man looking out of the circle is looking toward the light source because his face is illuminated, whereas all the others see nothing in the dark. I think that the man could represent the middle ground between Heaven and Hell--one side is heavily illuminated whereas the other sits in darkness, as good and evil are represented traditionally; as well, the person in the middle is aware of the world around him like nobody else in the image is. In that sense, he is free from the chains of ignorance by understanding the bifurcation in the world around him, the same split that religion attempts to elucidate upon. Some of the decorations in the text reinforce that sense of opposites coming together. For example, in the line where Blake talks about God only acting and existing in beings or men, there is a rough drawing of what appears to be two human beings jumping together, one from the flames of Hell, and one from the clouds of Heaven. I think that that figure is there to emphasize the understanding of the role of God in human beings as central to reconciling and balancing Energy and Reason in one's life.