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Enlightenment And Romanticism Marriage Of Heaven And Hell Philosophy Essay
Enlightenment, European intellectual movement of the 17th–18th century in which ideas concerning God, reason, nature, and man were blended into a worldview that inspired revolutionary developments in art . Central to Enlightenment thought were the use and celebration of reason. For Enlightenment thinkers, received authority, whether in science or religion, was to be subject to the investigation of unfettered minds. The search for a rational religion led to Deism; the more radical products of the application of reason to religion were skepticism, atheism, and materialism. The Enlightenment produced modern secularized theories of psychology , Romanticism was reaction against the Enlightenment, it emphasized the individual, the subjective, the irrational, the imaginative, the personal, the spontaneous, the emotional, the visionary, and the transcendental. a general exaltation of emotion over reason and of the senses over intellect
Romanticism , dangerous, as you will see as we do the Gothic, emotions were seen to be destructive and dangerous to society especially in women. Goethe a German poetry of the Enlightenment, although many of his writings have seemed quite Romantic, once said that 'everything thing that I call good I call the Classical and everything nasty and vile I call the Romantic.. Lets discuss it through line of plate .
P3 L8 :physical energy as contrasting the still contemplation of reason,and emotional energy like love and hate.
P3 L11-12 :religion demonized opposites and claimed that only one must be right. Therefore religion created good and evil. This could be another irony but it was also a serious concern to the Romantics and again you can see him mixing things up saying that Good and Evil are joined, now like heaven and hell.
P3 L12-13:good is the passive that obeys Reason' this could be a referral to the Philosopher Kant or his mentality. Blake is showing here what Good and Evil have been considered to be. Good is meant to be like Reason, still and passive, Christianity has often been criticized as a religion which has been passive and actively seeking anything, this can be seen in the seclusion that monks lead. A good Christian is often or was then seen as quiet and obedient to the will of God. Evil, Blake is claiming, was the label given to 'the active springing from Energy'.
P3 L14: Here Blake is using the Enlightenment labels or historical labels of 'Good is Heaven. Evil is Hell.' This is Blake being ironic again as you will see he is saying that this isn't necessarily so.
P4 7-8: Blake condemns the idea that God will torment man for 'Eternity' for being simply human: for having emotions and desires.
P4 10-12: Here he is saying the Body are Soul are one, and joined, the body is the part of the soul which is discerned by the senses The Soul and body need each other for the full human experience.
P4 13-15: Emotion and energy is the only way to live or appreciate life and this important substance for life from the Body. Reason does have its part though, for uncheck emotions and desires are dangerous, and so Reason 'is the bound or outward circumference of Energy'. This basically means that it is the fence to keep Energy running havoc and being destructive, it is not however the prison warden. Energy is now free range.
P4 L14: Energy is Eternal Delight. It is a delight to have emotions, desires, energy in general it is what makes being alive worth while. Even if we feel hate there is some joy in that. The fact that we can feel it. There is a Latin motto or dictum which sounds rather fancy to sound off if one can remember it and it is particularly important here to what Blake is saying. 'DiversitasDelectat' which means variety is the spice of life.
P5-6 L4-5: Once reason has placed its tyrant's grip over desire, desire starves and becomes weaker and weaker till it is only a shadow of itself and almost crippled. To Blake and the Romantics this would be classed as a tragedy although formerly such action may have been seen as a victory over evil.
P5-6 L15-17: The interpretation of the Devil here is open it could mean the Romantics, Milton or Job's Satan, I believe Blake was more inclined at this point to mean the Milton Devil. What the Devil stands for here is Energy , Reason being only strong enough to restrain weak desires but it also means that Reason cause a split and division causing the two great opposing forces Good and Evil. Again Blake is poking fun at Enlightened thought declaring it created an evil, the division that on one side demeans the human soul and on the other it raises it to something divine.
P5-6 L18-20: Reason is a perfectly acceptable thing to have but with out Desire one does not know how to use it. .
P5-6 L20-22: Jehovah is another name for God. When Blake talks about him dwelling in the flaming fire it could mean one or both of two things: One, that the real God is Blake's Devil or two, that the flaming fire is Energy and that is where God lives and not in the stillness of Reason.
Memorable Fancy Blake referring to the 'fires of hell', be talking about human experiences of emotion and desire. He is enjoying how these are harnessed and augmented by 'Genius' the bohemian type of life style, the life complete with both Reason and Energy.
P6-7 L8: Another humorous juxtaposition 'the abyss of the five senses,' Blake is poking fun at the 'Angels' and talking again about how the senses which link the soul and body together are found in the realm of Energy not Reason. One cannot really reason out the senses,.
The Proverbs of Hell take up the discourse of four plates. They could be seen as a satire of Old Testament. Blake displays the ideals and idioms of Romanticism as he sees it
P7 L3: Blake assumes supposedly that the wise will learn from mistakes or too much excess of something, however only by having that excess, say of drinking and then getting a hangover, do they find their way to wisdom. Christian doctrine has been to resist all temptation and therefore be called wise.
P7 L4: Prudence is a thing of 'reason' and incapacity is what becomes of desire manacled by reason. Prudence personified as a 'rich ugly old maid' means that she is a person who has squandered her life, her chance of happiness through using her riches and not answering the calls of love and so being left a virgin also meaning unmarried.
P7 L6: A worm when cut just grows the missing member back, this proverb runs on the lines of Nietzsche's what doesn't kill me makes me stronger.
P8 L1-2: Prisons are where one pays the price for ones wrongdoings to the state. A brothel is where one sells one's body and Church is where one sells one's soul. Also we have prisons because we have laws and prisons are a symbol of punishment here. We have brothels, Blake says, because we have religion which makes sex wrong or sex before marriage wrong.
P8 L6: Don't be ashamed of God's work. Woman was made beautiful and shame of her form is foolish and possibly Blake might be saying with a twist of irony that it is also irreligious.
.P8 12: Joys impregnate the soul and human experience. Sorrows bring forth from the soul possibly its endurance or those happy memories to relieve some of the pain.
P8 L21: The cistern can only contain water which may stagnate therein a fountain is constantly jetting out water; another allegory of the opposition between Reason and Energy.
P8 L22: Unclear in meaning but this could be taken to mean that the mind or soul takes up no space or all of space and so one thought may do the same.
P9 L10: When water is 'standing' it means it is still and not moving and keeping fresh it becomes stagnant and dangerous to drink. If something is kept rigidly to a certain form that form becomes stagnant. Latin is a language which has become stagnant as it no longer is used and no longer develops. Societies can stagnate through the strict enforcement of custom like This might be an allusion to religion especially Christianity which Blake might have seen as out of date at that time. In fact Christianity was seen as out of date so much by the end of the next century Friederich Nietzsche declared that 'God was dead' meaning no longer useful in society which had developed him out of existence.
P10 L7: Beauty comes not from stillness, form and order but from exuberance which is defined in my dictionary as: 'superabundance, excess, copiousness, profusion, luxuriance, lavishness.' It is lavish and in high spirits like arguably nature is.
P10 L14: Blake thinks that nature with out man is barren, again trying to join to forces together man and nature. Also can be seen as a complaint to how far man has populated the earth that he can only be found where nature is barren, like deserts.
P14 L10-11: This blessed fire or destruction will begin with an improvement of sensual enjoyment of the energies. These energies will most presumably grow and become flame, it is energy and excess of it that will strip the rotten and corrupt and make everything holy, the energy will transcend from Hell to heaven and unite the two.
P14 L12-13: Before this marriage of two opposing forces can happen on the large scale, that which separates them must be united by the populous on the small scale. The mind and body must be united the fallacy or their dual existence must be expunged. This is the only way forward.
Basically Marriage of Heaven and Hell is a satirical work which expresses many of the ideas of Romanticism. Here Blake is both insightful ironic. Blake believes that humans are not naturally good they are born with the potential for both 'good and evil'. This poem is like making an omelet, Blake is whisking ingredients together which have been separated and ordered by the Enlightenment The Enlightenment is also known as 'The Age of Reason' which is what it basically was, reason was the top of fashion, one was overcoming desire and emotions, which Blake calls energies, and governing themselves with reason . Blake says that one needs opposites to exist together for a complete human experience or life. Emotion has to come into the mix we are human after all, but in Romantic we try to putting things back together again and mixing everything up, a key word to remember with Romanticism is 'unity' unity in the arts and human life. You see how Blake doing that with his ideas about opposites, emotions and that Heaven and Hell are getting married and fusing together
Literary Analysis the Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake
By: Christopher Moon-Little
Published: March 25, 2007
Proverbs of Hell
The Proverbs of Hell take up the discourse of four plates. They could be seen as a satire of The book of Proverbs from the Old Testament. Most of the proverbs are fairly self explanatory, others are deeply ambiguous and there is no explanation within the poem that defines what they mean. Blake has told us that they are meant to be display the ideals and idioms of Romanticism as he sees it. A lot of the proverbs are on similar lines of thought so excuse any repetition in the next section. Allegedly for the exam one will only need to maybe apply and contrast a few of these if or where appropriate so don't worry about learning them all. Remember that these Proverbs are almost as serious as they are ironic.
P7 L1: In Spring or youth spend your time learning, discovering different truths and sensations. In harvest or adulthood teach what you have learned and share the fruits of your labour as it were. In winter or old age enjoy the knowledge, wisdom and memories from a fruitful life.
P7 L2: Do not give over importance to dead matter. This could be linked to the doctrine of mortalism as Milton believed in that the soul dies with the body so don't worry about the dead souls of your friends and relatives. As the philosopher Epicurus said 'Death is nothing' it wasn't so bad before you were born it will be the same when you die. The Catholic Church believe that dead souls either go to Hell for punishment, Heaven if they have been really good and desire instant reward or Purgatory if they have been not good enough so need to work off those sins by spending an allotted amount of time in labour or punishment, this time could be alleviated by 'intercessory prayers' from people still alive and there were quotas as to how many days of a sentence a person of each rank in the church could redeem each soul per prayer.
P7 L3: Irony about the virtue of meagreness as can be seen in the Nuns of 'Measure for Measure'. Excess here is of sensation or energy, Blake assumes supposedly that the wise will learn from mistakes or too much excess of something, however only by having that excess, say of drinking and then getting a hangover, do they find their way to wisdom. Christian doctrine has been to resist all temptation and therefore be called wise.
P7 L4: This links to the beginning of Plate 5, Prudence is a thing of 'reason' and incapacity is what becomes of desire manacled by reason. Prudence personified as a 'rich ugly old maid' means that she is a person who has squandered her life, her chance of happiness through using her riches and not answering the calls of love and so being left a virgin also meaning unmarried. Ugly is probably a reference to the ancient Greek school of thought that happiness came from being good and handsome and that good people were handsome or good looking. Blake is calling Prudence a wise so she is ugly. It is not because she has been so stingy with her money that she hasn't bought any Clearasil.
P7 L5: If one never acts on one's desires one becomes frustrated and that is to Blake a 'pestilence' or decease of the spirit.
P7 L6: A worm when cut just grows the missing member back, this proverb runs on the lines of Nietzsche's what doesn't kill me makes me stronger.
P7 L7: If someone desires something let their desires be fulfilled. This is could be seen as answer to P7 L5. It can also be seen as an ironical jab at baptism.
P7 L8: Self explanatory really. A fool may wander through a forest for eternity but never appreciate what he is seeing. A wise man appreciates what he sees, as this is infernal wisdom he appreciates it with his senses and aesthetic appeal a fool could be a jab of insolence towards the enlightened scientists, you could be linked to Blake's drawing of Newton.
P7 L9: The gravity of spirit which the enlightened school of thought to Blake stopped people from becoming like a 'star'. The significance of star could be interpreted as something divine or something great or something that leads. Nietzsche wrote that 'One must have chaos within oneself to give life to a dancing star'. It is a similar philosophy. Enjoy the human condition, be what existential philosophers call 'authentic' and incorporate energy into your life.
P7 L10: Ambiguous, it could mean the future will some how be indebted to the productions of the current time as the current time is to the productions of history.
P7 L11: Meditate upon the nature of the bee, it spends its day collecting sweet nectar, if it is busy and thus (hopefully) successful it has no time for sorrow.
P7 L12-13: Folly simply wastes human and thus calculable time. Wisdom can effect unknown amounts of time. Also wisdom is a pursuit which is purely productive no matter how much folly is incorporated during the quest.
P7 L14: An arguable argument for vegetarianism. I also think it could relate to that ancient philosopher earlier mentioned Epicurus, who had another maxim of 'What is good is easy to get'. The key to the proverb may be the word 'wholesome' as it indicates that which is best in this case for sustenance. Blake maybe saying that the most wholesome way of living is not requiring artifices and machines like traps, basically, the best form of life doesn't require the immense struggle to overcome human nature and energy with Reason but that the best life can be found through the natural balance of these supposedly opposing forces.
P7 L15-16: 'Dearth' is the opposite of girth, it means when there is little or famine. Blake suggests only measure things when there is famine. This can be linked to the Proverb about Prudence.
P7 L17: Again here Blake may be using the clich of comparing the soul to a bird and is probably just saying that a soul can attain its best on its own resources.
P7 L18: Do not fear the dead, another mortalism proverb. Interesting that Blake has these proverbs which seemingly incorporate the idea of mortalsim when he himself had visions of his brother's ascension into heaven as well as his brother offering him guidance for his future life.
P7 L19: This proverb appears in many religions, often using the term 'brother' instead of simply another.
P7 L20-21: Blake seemingly again shows his human optimism by saying that if a fool is allowed to continue in his folly he will eventually learn and become wise. This links to the earlier proverbs about wisdom and excess.
P7 L22: Knavery is an unprincipled or dishonest dealing or trickery. Blake seems to think that folly is the cause for such actions.
P7 L23: Most probably ironical yet self explanatory.
P8 L1-2: Prisons are where one pays the price for ones wrongdoings to the state. A brothel is where one sells one's body and Church is where one sells one's soul. Also we have prisons because we have laws and prisons are a symbol of punishment here. We have brothels, Blake says, because we have religion which makes sex wrong or sex before marriage wrong.
P8 L3: Pride is one of the seven deadly sins, yet in nature one considers it to be a piece of natural beauty for example the peacock.
P8 L4: Lust is also one of the seven deadly sins, but in the goat in grants him lots of kids which used to be taught as the bought of god, i.e. that a parent received a litter of younglings.
P8 L5: Wrath another deadly sin, the deadly sins are not biblical but medieval theology adopted and propagated by the Catholic Church. The Lion is a highly symbolic creature and also a biblical creature. To survive it must be wrathful to scare off rivals and that is the lion's wisdom. Another interpretation could be that wrath in justice is seen as wisdom.
P8 L6: Don't be ashamed of God's work. Woman was made beautiful and shame of her form is foolish and possibly Blake might be saying with a twist of irony that it is also irreligious.
P8 L7: Possibly this could be taken to mean that once one has reached the bottom the only way forward is up and vice versa.
P8 L8-10: Rather ambiguous and problematic a possible interpretation would be the immensity of these powerful and destructive events has occurred too many times for man one man to exist or for history to know of.
P8 L11: Man blames captors and not himself for his wrongs and down fall. Scooby Doo is a good example 'Yeah and I would have got away with it too if it hadn't been for those meddling kids!'
P8 12: Joys impregnate the soul and human experience. Sorrows bring forth from the soul possibly its endurance or those happy memories to relieve some of the pain. Think of the poem 'Love to faults is always blind'.
P8 L12-13: This might be considered sexist but Blake is saying that man should wear the courageous or possibly wise mantle while woman that which is possibly submissive or innocent. In biblical terminology sheep were always seen as prey to lions, and sheep live in flocks while Lions can be lonesome creatures.
P8 L14: Each animal has its habitat and for man his habitat is among other people, among friends. Two pieces of ancient thought that might have influenced or agreed with this idea, one being the Greek philosopher who said that man was 'Zoon politikon' or a social animal. Also Epicurus thought that friendship was one of the highest goods in life.
P8 L15-16: The selfish smiling fool is possibly a knave and the other possible a victim of prudence. That they may be used as 'a rod' seems to indicate that either they shall be used as a punishment, 'spare the rod and spoil the child' or a rod as in a staff and so a support to possibly the community, the clear meaning here is ambiguous and one can only suppose this is another one of Blake's ironies that escapes me at the moment.
P8 L17: Possibly don't underestimate the power or potential of science for consider the advances it has made.
P8 18-20:The ignoble scavengers of this world have their eyes on the ground looking for leftovers as it were. However, the noble creatures keep their eyes on the up and coming, the new, the fresh.
[Низкие твари этого мира направляют взор вниз на землю в поисках падали (объедков, или остатков). Однако, благородные создания, смотрят вверх и вперёд на новое и свежее.]
[ "The rat, the mouse, the fox, the rabbet watch the roots, the lion, the tyger, the horse, the elephant watch the fruits." Крыса, мышь, лиса и кролик ищут падаль средь корней, лев, тигр, конь и слон плоды находят средь ветвей. ]
P8 L21: The cistern can only contain water which may stagnate therein a fountain is constantly jetting out water; another allegory of the opposition between Reason and Energy.
P8 L22: Unclear in meaning but this could be taken to mean that the mind or soul takes up no space or all of space and so one thought may do the same.
P8 L23-24: Be individual and unashamed of your opinion and a person you is intolerant and base will avoid you, which to Blake is arguably a good thing for a freedom from baseness allows one to 'become a star'.
P8 25-26: If you can imagine something it exist because you imagine it only if it exists as an image that image exists.
P8 L27-28: For the wise and noble it is a waste of time to study from the base and ignoble. Link to the proverb about time, fools and the wise.
P9 L1-2: A fox may scavenge and survive but a noble being will be provided for by god which is much better.
P9 L3-4: Link to first proverb. Plan and prepare in youth, act on those plans in adulthood, grow wisdom and 'chew the cud' in later life and rest when you are dead.
P9 L5-6: If you impose upon someone, possibly in the sense of taking up their time or lodging, then they get to know you.
P9 L7: [As the plow follows words, so God rewards prayers. (№ 43) Как плуг следует за словами, так Бог воздаёт за молитвы.]
The idea expressed in this proverb is called Deism, it was very popular in England as part of Protestantism. It believes god created the world and every thing but does not interfere in human affairs. The plough follows horses and not words and so God does not answer prayers.
[Идея выраженная в этой пословице называется Деизмом, который был очень популярен в Англии как движение в рамках протестантизма. Деисты полагали, что Бог создал мир и всё прочее, но не вмешивается в человеческие дела. Плуг следует за лошадьми, а не за словами и так же Бог не отвечает на молитвы.]
P9 L8-9: This might be alluding to the 'tyger' as an autonomous creature, it controls itself. A horse does not really, they are domesticated animals and are taught to behave. Because they are taught how they should be and don't discover that themselves they are not as wise as a wild creature which may never be tame.
P9 L10: When water is 'standing' it means it is still and not moving and keeping fresh it becomes stagnant and dangerous to drink. If something is kept rigidly to a certain form that form becomes stagnant. Latin is a language which has become stagnant as it no longer is used and no longer develops. Societies can stagnate through the strict enforcement of custom like China did for a long period of time. This might be an allusion to religion especially Christianity which Blake might have seen as out of date at that time. In fact Christianity was seen as out of date so much by the end of the next century Friederich Nietzsche declared that 'God was dead' meaning no longer useful in society which had developed him out of existence.
P9 L11-12: Again Blake expounds his idea that one needs excess to understand what is sufficient, compare this to the road to excess parable.
P9 L13: Possibly meaning that is a fool reproaches you it is good for it is a kingly title, meaning it is worth something great unlike is a wise man reproaches you it means you are in the wrong.
P9 L14-15: This is a bizarre proverb for it does not read like the others it lacks any verbs which makes it more ambiguous. If one's eyes are of fire they burn down what is veneer and artifice to reveal what is true and indestructible. Nostrils of air seems self explanatory. Mouth of water may be a reference to having smooth and steady eloquence of words and thoughts as pure as water. Not corrupted by the artifice of reason or made to taste better but simply as it is. Humans are hairy like most mammals and this reminds them that they are of the earth and not celestial beings. These are just my interpretations. Of course Blake is ascribing the four elements to the human face which is rather interesting as elemental philosophy was well cast out of the scientific spectrum by his time.
P9 16: If a man has an enemy then but is a coward he will plot his enemy's downfall rather than take active part in it. The fox is an animal that hunts only the weak for example chickens but is very cunning when it comes to getting what it wants. Here Blake may be providing an explanation of what his foxes in this poem are: i.e. moral degenerates and the Iagos of this world.
P9 L17-18: Do not seek counsel from unconnected or wrong sources. If you are to be something learn from those who are like your destiny. Do not learn to cat burgle from a nun.
P9 L19: A person who is grateful and makes use of the wisdom bestowed upon them will reap the rewards of it.
P9 L20: If others hadn't been foolish before us so that we may have learned we would be foolish ourselves. Blake highlights the importance of fools in the development of humanity over and over again.
P9 L21: A soul that takes sweet or good pleasures for its delectation cannot be defiled by one that does not. A person who loves nature and walks in the fresh morning air will not find any enjoyment in those who like to have raves in fields leaving their litter everywhere.
P9 L22-23: When one sees a noble, free individual one sees a portion of genius for that person has sought for themselves that which they desire and will make them happy so one should take notice.
P9 L24-26: As a creature of nature finds the best place to let things grow a priest and unnatural religion do the opposite where they find something beautiful or good they curse it for example sex, women, emotions and nonmonogamy (the having of more than one partners).
P9 L27: To create something small, simple and beautiful takes a long time and a lot of work.
P9 L28: Damn confines and those things which hold people down. Bless that which relaxes human constraints.
P9 L29: Another ambiguous one, possibly meaning the best wisdom is the oldest, which might explain or validate the Greek references, and the best energy or life is the newest.
P9 L30: Link to the proverb about the plough following words. Words do not get the work done and feed people. Praises do not bring the harvest home and prepare it. Deism again.
P9 L31: It isn't necessary that Joy should create laughter and it is not necessarily so that sorrows prompt weeping.
P10 L1-2: Like 'The eyes of fire' proverb this one is rather difficult to determine its meaning. I think Blake is ascribing what the Enlightenment held as ideals very closely to parts of the body and not just to the sectioned off soul. The head is probably called 'Sublime' because it contains the brain and can have wondrous flights of fancy. The heart is given dramatic pathos. Why the genitals are given beauty could be multi-purposed. The genitals are responsible for conception and therefore the creation of human beings who Blake sees as beautiful, it could be because they are beautiful in themselves although their functions have been openly deplored but secretly enjoyed, because the function they serve can promote love and keep it going. As I said in my ramblings about the Enlightenment symmetry was very important to their aestheticism partly and symmetry can be seen as proportion or equal proportions. Blake is saying that humans sense of proportion in fact sense of any of these qualities comes from the body and not soul.
P10 L3-4: Each creature is happy in its element and can only exist in its element. Therefore the contemptible can only exist when surrounded by contempt, possibly because social stigma causes the contempt and not the contemptibles own acts?
P10 L5-6: Villains wish for a world of evil and low morality but an owl a wise creature wishes that everything was moral and a kingdom of goodness.
P10 L7: Beauty comes not from stillness, form and order but from exuberance which is defined in my dictionary as: 'superabundance, excess, copiousness, profusion, luxuriance, lavishness.' It is lavish and in high spirits like arguably nature is.
P10 L8-9: Similar to earlier proverbs, a noble being is taught by a coward or something mischievous or cunning he would learn those skills and not his natural nobility.
P10 L10-11: This proverb could be extolling the virtues of what we call lateral thinking or 'thinking out side of the box'. It could also mean that one who gets to his destination through the laid down direct roads made by progress is not a 'Genius' like the person who takes the wandering meandering road during which of course they see more and cover more area.
P10 L12-13: If one has desires and does not act on them then it is a waste of life and it is better one was never born. Link to the 'He who desires but acts not' Proverb.
P10 L14: Blake thinks that nature with out man is barren, again trying to join to forces together man and nature. Also can be seen as a complaint to how far man has populated the earth that he can only be found where nature is barren, like deserts.
P10 L15-16: If one tells the truth then if they are understood they must be believed. If something is true then to understand it is to know its truth.
