Blake+03

NM and AT

  Thou fair-hair'd angel of the evening, Now, whilst the sun rests on the mountains, light Thy bright torch of love; thy radiant crown Put on, and smile upon our evening bed! Smile on our loves, and while thou drawest the Blue curtains of the sky, scatter thy silver dew On every flower that shuts its sweet eyes In timely sleep. Let thy west wind sleep on The lake; speak silence with thy glimmering eyes, And wash the dusk with silver. Soon, full soon, Dost thou withdraw; then the wolf rages wide, And the lion glares thro' the dun forest: The fleeces of our flocks are cover'd with Thy sacred dew: protect them with thine influence. [|To The Evening Star]

**Analysis ** : In this poem, Blake is expressing the idea that stars bring peace and guidance to people during the normally forbidding night. Blake uses anastrophes to directly address the star. For example, Blake urges the star to "smile upon our evening beds." This anastrophe brings about a romantic and soothing essence to the poem and shows Blake's belief that the star is able to turn the dark night into a calm and dreamy situation. Blake uses another anastrophe in the ninth line of the poem, begging the star to "wash the dusk with silver." Blake also uses metaphors to compare the star to a "fair-haired angel." This metaphor is used to express the shining star as a beautiful goddess who watches over the people during the dark night. Blake also calls the star a bright torch of love, which brings about a radiant and heroic quality to the star.  Blake wrote this poem to possibly show the huge effect nature has on one's everyday life. For example, without the star, the night would be dark and forbidding. However, the star make the night beautiful, peaceful and romantic. He also goes further to show how nature even can protect our fragile lives. He claims that the star protects people from the violent lion and wolf lurking in the forest. Blake also expresses the innocence of nature. He tells the flowers to "shut its sweet eyes", which also brings about a non-threatening tone to the poem. In //To the Evening Star // , Blake successfully show how all the elements of nature can come together to create a beautiful, perfect situation. For example, the star shines brightly, the lake reflects the light, and the wind gently blows. These three actions come together to produce a beautiful scenery which many humans take advantage of every night . **Elements and Principals of Design: __Emphasis:__ //The focus of this picture is the woman in the pink dress and the center. When one first looks at the picture, the bright pink arms of the woman stands out. She is holding the child who is the second focal point of this picture. The pink sleeves are a good contrast to the white of the woman's bonnet. Her torso (brightly colored) captures the readers attention. __Shape:__ In this picture there are many different types of organic shapes. From the trees and the clouds the three humans standing in the grass. The trees can also be characterized as geometric, with their different lines and branches sticking out. Color: Blake uses a variety of different colors all through the picture. The background is a tint of light blue, while the trees are different shades of brown. For the figures standing in the grass, he provides a contrast of different colors. The upper part of the dresses are tints of brown, pink, and green respectively. The sky is a light blue bringing in a summer day time effect. __Value:__ There is a great degree of light and dark contrast throughout this picture. The upper or top part of the picture has is lightly painted, but as you move down the colors become darker. This is probably due to a sun reflection. The viewer cannot see the sun, but the tree is clearly blocking it out proving us with the contrast in color. __Lines:__ Blake uses a variety of different lines throughout the picture. The figure's dresses have curved and straight lines, making it look like there are many creases and folds in the clothing. The trees also have curved and bent lines throughout, this gives the picture a mysterious effect. //**   //**Analysis: This painting is connected to Blake's  **// <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">The Fly which is one of his famous poems. The little child in the back, is swatting away at the fly while the mother is helping/playing with her other child. The picture makes it look as it is summer, and that is why the kids are out playing and messing with the insects outside. He is just a simple fly, as only the one child seems to care about it, the mother and baby seem to be ignoring the fact that it even exists. Due to the "brushmanishp" of the trees, Blake gives the painting a very erie sense among it. The existence of the fly is also the reason of the mysteriousness. Blake's contrast of color helps bring out the focal points and the texture among the figures of the painting.

[|The Fly Picture]

Little Fly, Thy summer's play My thoughtless hand Has brushed away.

Am not I A fly like thee? Or art not thou A man like me?

For I dance And drink, and sing, Till some blind hand Shall brush my wing.

If thought is life And strength and breath And the want Of thought is death;

Then am I A happy fly, If I live, Or if I die.

[|The Fly Poem] [|The Fly Analysis] **Background:** <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">This picture by Blake, is a call to live in anticipation of the final day of reckoning and salvation (from Matthew 25:1–13)— it contrasts five maidens who have prepared for the arrival of their bridegrooms by obtaining oil for their lamps with five others who have squandered their opportunity and therefore miss their marriage feasts. He uses watercolor which is composed with a single plane resembling a classical low-relief sculpture, is the earliest of four versions of the subject to be painted by Blake. [|The Parable of the Wise and Foolish VIrgins] Never seek to tell thy love, Love that never told can be; For the gentle wind does move Silently, invisibly.
 * Analysis:** <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">How do we feel when we swat a fly away? Do we feel guilty, regretful, or do we just shrug it off? In this poem, Blake is comparing the helplessness of flies to humans. First of all, the second and fourth line of every stanza rhyme, and each line is only three or four syllables long. The shortness of each line possibly could have been used to symbolize the quick end of a fly's life when it is swatted away. Flies, who are "thy summer's play", live their lives without worry or stress, until they are swatted away and killed suddenly. He sees a similarity for some people who live their lives happily and carefree, when some random occurance brings their life to a sudden end. Blake indicates that, just like flies, the life of a human completely depends on a whim of fate. No person can guess what the next moment of their life will bring, or at which moment their life will end. Blake also states that the small, insiginificant flies are just brushed away by humans without a morsel of guilt or regret. He claims that the fly is swatted away by "my thoughtless hand." He then wonders if God's view of humans is similar to the human's view of the fly. He states "will some blind hand brush my wing?" Blake could possibly be referring to the "blind hand" as God, who just swats humans away from life on Earth. Is God all forgiving and merciful or is he cruel and fearful? He ponders whether God views Blake, one of the vast number of humans on Earth, as insignificant and easily manipulated. He questions "Then am I a happy fly...", who is just cruelly swatted away by God. Blake is also indicating his belief in God's infinite power over humans. Blake believes that God is so powerful, that he can simply end one's life in the blink of an eye. Finally, Blake also ponders the meaning of thought and happiness in the final two stanzas. He states "If thought is life and strength and breath, and the want of thought is death. Then am I a happy fly, if I live or if I die." In these last two stanzas, Blake indicates that if thought is life, and the desire of thought is death, then both life and death bring happiness.
 * Analysis/Elements of Design:** <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">In this painting, Blake use a variey of different "__lines__". Throughout the painting he uses curved lines for not only the figures in the picture, but also the the sky, hills, barn, etc. He uses colors with shades of black and mixes it with all the colors he used. For the "white" figures in the front, he brightens up the photo with __tints__ and __tones__ of white. It seems like these five bridesmaids getting ready for a wedding are greeted by five who are not. The ones not in white are trying to grab on to the five who are and pleade for and invite. The five white ones are rewarded as one can see an angel like figure blowing a horn "calling for arrival" on top of the painting. This watercolor provides a smooth __texture__ like feeling and makes it almost three dimensional. It seems like one can almost touch the bridesmaids as they wait for the grrom to arrive. Blake incorporates dark colors in the clouds depicting a stormy like day, but the five "ready" bridesmaids have bright white clothes on. It is as if they are the chosen ones. Besides the five "white" bridesmaids, he portrays everything else as dark with shades of black mixed in with all the other colors. Also, it almost seems like the five unprepared bridesmaids are falling backwards, indicating that their lack of preparation has led them to fall down to hell. The __focal point__ of this painting are the five white bridesmaids. They are the center of attention of the picture and the story behind this picture is based of these bridesmaids. When the viewer glances at the photo, he/she quickly tries to put a connection between the women in white and the ones who are not.

I told my love, I told my love, I told her all my heart; Trembling, cold, in ghastly fears, Ah! she did depart!

Soon as she was gone from me, A traveler came by, Silently, invisibly He took her with a sigh.


 * Analysis:** <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">In this poem, Blake talks about his love for a woman who he tried to desperately get but she eventually left him. In the first line the narrator keeps his love hidden from the reader, as he has not expressed his feelings to the girl he loves. In third line he compares the wind to his lover. The wind is in the air stirring up the love between them, but at the same time it is silent and invisible. That is what is causing agony for the narrator (mix between present and non-present love). In the second stanza (lines 5 and 6), he confesses his love to the woman, "I told my love, I told my love,/ I told her all my heart). He tells her all his feelings for her and poors out his thoughts. She is aghast at his confession and eventually decides to leave him ("Trembling, cold, in ghastly fears,/Ah! she did depart!"). After the narrator confesses his love to the woman, the poem changes direction and the reader begins to see the friction of expressing love to fast. In the third stanza, he finds another woman, and he is very attentive about his actions. She comes by quietly and is probably not as prominent as the first, but he takes her anyway ("He took her with a sigh"). It can also be interpreted that the narrator does not even caare for this "new" woman, but takes her as he needs someone to love.

Blake wrote this poem, to show how he feels about women. He was known to be a "womanizer" as he was a very handsome man. He had a few fall outs with some girls, but was quick to chose/get another one. Blake is trying to portray that relationships need to be taken slowly. If a man loves a woman, he should not poor out his love and feelings to her. He should show his feelings slowly and make sure the situation is working "both" ways. Blake is trying to show the reader the correct path to take in a relationship. [|Love's Secret] <span style="font-size: 150%; color: #000000; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">



**Elements of Design**: I <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">n this piece, Blake uses many of straight lines. Straight lines protrude from the clouds as rays of light, and two bright white straight lines seem to be shooting from the God's hand. The artwork also has a very distinct color scheme. The center of the painting, where God and the sun are located, is filled with bright reds, oranges, and yellows. This area comes forward and seems to pop out of the canvas, exemplifying a positive area. However, the outskirts of the painting are completely black or dark brown. In these dark areas, Blake is probably indicating that there is no implied texture: this is complete empty space. However, in the center of the picture, Blake implies a hot, smooth texture. This piece also has a high degree of value, with a huge contrast between the black surroundings and the bright center. The use of watercolor in the painting seems to bring a three-dimensional effect, especially to God. [|The Ancient of Days]
 * Principles of Design:** <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">The area of emphasis in this painting is clearly in the center, where God and the sun are located. The clashing of bright clealy brings about a region that pops out at you. The painting also uses these different colors to bring about contrast. The dark, empty region cleary differs from the bright region filled with lines. The lines in the piece also bring about movement. The two bright lines coming from God seem to be moving at a fast pace to fill the darkness. The rays coming from the sun create the same effect of proposed movement. The balance of //<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">The Ancient of Days // <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"> seems to be unevenly weighted. The bright colors and numerous lines at the top creates a lack of balance with the dark emptiness at the bottom.
 * Analysis**: <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">The picture most likely indicates God's creation of Earth. The title "The Ancient of Days" shows the the painting was directed to represent earlier times, when Earth had only existed for a short time. The contrast of colors in the photo is used to show God's power. For example, the bright oranges and reds indicate God's powerful creation of the sun, and the darkness surrounding the piece shows the complete nothingness that existed before hecreated the Earth. In the piece, Blake also depicts God as a large, muscular man, further indicating his strength <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">.