Blake+04

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=Art =

[[image:http://www.metmuseum.org/special/William_Blake/images/14.L.jpg]]

 * Uses dull colors, lacks vibrance, only the blue and green stand out
 * Organic lines, flowing, mostly implied, besides some instances of shading
 * Parts are shaded, but the painting doesn't have a sense of depth-resembled the flattened Medieval style
 * The Divine Presence holding Adam and Eve's hands creates movement between the two characters by linking them
 * The Divine Presence creates unity in the piece, the darkness and water merge behind him
 * Does not employ single point perspective, Medieval style
 * Heirarchical scaling-the Divine Presence is the largest figure, makes Adam and Eve appear childlike
 * The skin of all three characters is a pale white, the skin and nudity symbolize innocence and purity
 * Associates purity with nature by including trees, fruit, and water
 * Fruit is often associated with the benevolence and kindness of God ([|Symbolism Link] )

[|Divine Presence Bringing Adam to Eve]

The Angel of the Revelation


In “The Angel of the Revelation,” William Blake uses an unusual medium of watercolor, pen, and black ink on paper to create the soft and ethereal atmosphere of the work. Though the work presents a soft image, there is an underlying sense of power reminiscent of the Biblical text which it illustrates. The contrast in size between the small figure of St. John and the massive presence of the angel demonstrates the higher importance of the divine, along with the soft but powerful burst of color behind the angel’s head, the only real color in the painting. The angel’s outstretched hand creates a flow from the top to the bottom of the paper, from the light of heaven to the fires of hell about his feet. The gust of wind covering his body makes use of organic lines to also create a sense of movement. It is possible that the image of the angel was inspired by the ancient Colossus at Rhodes, a giant statue of the god Helios which was said to stand over one hundred feet high over the harbor in Rhodes, Greece. The background figures on the cloud representing the seven thunders of heaven are given the illusion of movement through the use of lines and color. The painting relates to the Romantic age by emphasizing the spiritual and supernatural point of view common to the time period. Though it is an illustration of Biblical text, it shows Romantic themes through the use of color, movement, and a creative interpretation of the excerpt. This work is a perfect example of the use of the sublime. The observer’s senses are completely overwhelmed by the power of the angel because of the use of contrasting color and movement. One can feel as if the angel is about to step out of the drawing and take power on Earth.

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Pity
In this illustration, Blake borrows from Shakespeare's Macbeth text in which Macbeth himself describes the feeling of pity felt towards Duncan's death: //And pity, like a naked newborn babe, Striding the blast, or heaven's cherubin horsed Upon the sightless couriers of the air, Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye, That tears shall drown the wind.//

This particular drawing, made with pen, ink, and watercolor, lacks a certain depth that Blake's other artwork contains. There is no one focal point of color, though the dull shading of green about the mother's body could represent the difference between earthly life and the divine, represented by the cherubs on a pegasus. As with many of Blake's art, there is a definite sense of movement in this piece. The visible wind in the hair of the cherubs allows the viewer to imagine the winged horse flying away, whisking away the small infant which represents pity. The lines in this drawing are very delibrate and pronounced, creating a one dimensional texture which is very smooth. Even the subject of the art is simple. Neither the woman nor the cherubs wear elaborate clothing or have outstanding features. There is little variation of color or lines. All the lines flow in the same direction, from left to right of the drawing. This artwork represents the Romantic age mostly because of its use of the imagination. A vision like this is not created through rational thought; rather the appreciation of nature, the supernatural and creativity. Even the fact that Blake is illustrating Shakespeare, a Renaissance playwright, presents Romanticism by stepping away from the rational and straight-laced tendencies felt during the Age of Reason. This drawing is meant to give a sense of the ethereal, connecting the natural process of birth and life to the heavenly cherubs

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=Poetry =

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**A Poison Tree**


** The Artsy Analysis **
// -The lines are really what makes this image what is is. The tress branches are simply wispy lines and it looks as if the tree altogether was first created by a sketch, as well as the body, which seems to look a bit unfinished. // // -The shading of this piece is what gives it life. The tree has nooks and notches thanks to the use of darker of deeper shading and the sky looks the way it does thanks to the way it is darker at some spots and lighter at the other. // // -This piece of very organic mostly because of the tree's shape. Instead of being straight and stiff this tree is crooked and wavy almost as if making it become apart of the sky if it were not for it's deep brown color. // // -The groud of the piece is something that I find very interesting. Instead of being green is is green and blue with deeper shades than of most floors. You can also see the shadow of the human form outstretching from the head above. -The human form itself is something you could gaze at very long since it is white instead of a nude color. It seems like it does have a purpose, almost as if to show that the poison tree can suck all of the life out of you leaving you to look bland and colorless. -The way that the tree envelops the body with its roots outstretching over the form, it almost looks as if you are looking underground at the corpse of someone. -To build upon that it seems as if the tree has grown out of the fertile soil of death. //

** The Poetic Analysis **
//Blake discusses how easy it is to overcome a quarrel with a friend, but when you try to overcome a quarrel with an enemy your are more likely to permit it to grow.// //To me this poem brings several ideas into my head. The first being that this may be about what happens when eve eats the forbidden fruit. It shows how someone may look like your friend, but in the end it turns out that they hurt you, or in this version of the story kill you. Another idea is that it may be about revenge on a friend and the story of how that friend can turn into a foe when they really anger you. At first the poem sounds like it's talking about two different people, but read it again and it sounds like a transformation and how when you backstab a friend, you turn into their foe. Another big theme is how satisfaction only occurs when your opponant has been annihilated. It seems almost as if the aggressed cannot fully go on with his life until the agressor has been revenged or taken care of, kind of how an elementary school student uses the golden rule. I definitly think that this poem is about the death or harm of another from what they have done to someone else. The prevelant theme is no doubt revenge. You can get a sense of this from both the painting and the language used.//

[|Posion Tree]

The Argument
Rintrah roars & shakes his fires in the burden'd air; Hungry clouds swag on the deep Once meek, and in a perilous path, The just man kept his course along The vale of death. Roses are planted where thorns grow. And on the barren heath Sing the honey bees.

Then the perilous path was planted: And a river, and a spring On every cliff and tomb; And on the bleached bones Red clay brought forth.

Till the villain left the paths of ease, To walk in perilous paths, and drive The just man into barren climes. Now the sneaking serpent walks In mild humility. And the just man rages in the wilds Where lions roam. Rintrah roars & shakes his fires in the burden'd air; Hungry clouds swag on the deep. //[|//The Argument//]

In order to fully understand// The Argument//, first we must examine __The Marriage of Heaven and Hell__ as a whole. According to the analysis of the __The Norton Anthology of Literature__ the entire work satirizes the church by reversing traditional values and challenging the moral norms of his time. Taking this into account, we can better understand// The Argument//.//

The title itself indicates the purpose of this poem//.// //The Argument// is the first piece of writing in __The Marriage of Heaven and Hell__ and attempts attempts to explain the metanarrative of humanity as a backdrop for his biting criticism. Essentially //The Argument// can be interpreted as Blake's version of the Bible. The Norton Anthology of Literature proposes that the poem is divided up into four segments. "Once" indicates the beginning of time and the creation of man, "Then" indicates the birth of Christ, "Till" represents the era of the church where Blake believes the church was perverted, and "Now" is the time of the French Revolution (Greenblatt 1431).

One notable aspect of //The Argument// is the refrain:

//Rintrah roars & shakes his fires in the burden'd air; Hungry clouds swag on the deep.//

In Blake's work, Rintrah symbolizes an "angry Old Testament Prophet", Elijah as well as John the Baptist (Greenblatt 1431). Taking the poem as a summarization of the Bible, there was a prophecy in the Old Testament that Elijah would return and prepare the way for Jesus. Perhaps presence of Rintrah at the end of the poem indicates the closeness of the second coming. The second coming would return the just man who rages in the wilds to his rightful place and send the villan away. The hungry clouds indicate the impending nature of this event.

As we mentioned earlier, the first stanza is most likely a retelling of the time of creation. The growth of roses and the presence of hummingbees indicate prosperity and growth, despite living in the vale of death; despite their mortality. The second stanza describes the coming of Jesus. "Red clay brought forth" describes the birth of Jesus and the rivers and spring reference Jesus's claim to holding the secret of eternal life.

In the third stanza it is important to understand the significance of the paths. The evil way is consistently described as the wide path of ease. Blake is saying that evil men have left the path of ease, and intruded on God's people who are traveling the narrow "perilous path". Traditionally, the serpent represents evil and here the serpent can be taken as synonymous with the villan. In the last stanza of the poem, we find the serpent walking in "mild humility". The phrase "mild humility" mocks the church of Blake's time. He sees the church as walking in false humility, but jokes that it is "mild humility". In essence, Blake uses the "villain" to represent evil that he feels has penetrated the institutional church; a common comment from romantic writers.

This poem's attack on the institutional church exemplifies the Romantic view on established religion. The Biblical imagery is not standard fare for Romantic writers, but he uses it to achieve Romantic goals. His frequent references to nature also make //The Argument// distinctly Romantic

Greenblatt, Stephen. __The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume B__. New York: W. W. Norton, 2006.