William Blake Archetypes Essay
Reading Deeper
(An Analysis of Blake’s Use of Archetypes) As English poets emerged in the eighteenth century, William Blake’s name became a topic of discussion. He was a well-known poet who had one eye on mystical visions and the other on the real social ills around him. The way he expressed his mystical vision side was through archetypes, plot patterns, character types, or ideas with emotional power and widespread appeal. These were sometimes viewed as ways to describe truths about humanity. “In archetypes, there is the Nurturer and the Warrior. Different kinds of strengths that, ideally, complement each other and are equally respected.” (Bishop) Some of his poems with the best examples were written in pairs, expressing each side of the archetype in separate poems. Blake uses outstanding archetypes in The Lamb, The Tyger, The Chimney Sweeper, and Infant Sorrow. First of all, William Blake writes about the archetype of gentle and naive in The Lamb. He slightly asks the question of who created the lamb. He wants to know if their intention was to create a creature who was so kind and not knowing. As this archetype is revealed in his poetry, Blake uses nature to evolve it into something much bigger than a species of …show more content…
The poem begins when the child is being born, he describes his mother and father’s reaction. ’My mother groand! My father wept. Into the dangerous world I leapt, helpless, naked, piping loud; like a fiend hid in a cloud.” (page 752, line 1-4) When adults read this short poem they connect it to their own birth and childhood. Which helps them soon realize that their parents were unhappy with their birth and they were struggling in this world since the minute they were brought into it. This archetype is very deep and raw, especially for the time period it was written in. All around, Blake utilizes another archetype within even eight lines of a poem in Infant
(An Analysis of Blake’s Use of Archetypes) As English poets emerged in the eighteenth century, William Blake’s name became a topic of discussion. He was a well-known poet who had one eye on mystical visions and the other on the real social ills around him. The way he expressed his mystical vision side was through archetypes, plot patterns, character types, or ideas with emotional power and widespread appeal. These were sometimes viewed as ways to describe truths about humanity. “In archetypes, there is the Nurturer and the Warrior. Different kinds of strengths that, ideally, complement each other and are equally respected.” (Bishop) Some of his poems with the best examples were written in pairs, expressing each side of the archetype in separate poems. Blake uses outstanding archetypes in The Lamb, The Tyger, The Chimney Sweeper, and Infant Sorrow. First of all, William Blake writes about the archetype of gentle and naive in The Lamb. He slightly asks the question of who created the lamb. He wants to know if their intention was to create a creature who was so kind and not knowing. As this archetype is revealed in his poetry, Blake uses nature to evolve it into something much bigger than a species of …show more content…
The poem begins when the child is being born, he describes his mother and father’s reaction. ’My mother groand! My father wept. Into the dangerous world I leapt, helpless, naked, piping loud; like a fiend hid in a cloud.” (page 752, line 1-4) When adults read this short poem they connect it to their own birth and childhood. Which helps them soon realize that their parents were unhappy with their birth and they were struggling in this world since the minute they were brought into it. This archetype is very deep and raw, especially for the time period it was written in. All around, Blake utilizes another archetype within even eight lines of a poem in Infant