William Blake - Attitude Towards The Society He Lived In

In this essay I will be looking at pre 1914 poetry written by William Blake. I am going to discuss how Blake conveys his attitudes towards the society that he lived in. The 4 main poems that I am going to study in detail are, ‘The Ecchoing Green’, ‘The Garden of Love’, ‘London’, and finally ‘The Human Abstract’. These 4 poems can be linked to the other poems that I will be mentioning; in the way that Blake presents us with the images of where he used to live.

‘The Ecchoing Green’ conveys Blake’s idea of an idealised society. He does this through exploring the themes of nature, community, relationships (between adult and child,) and the states of innocence and experience. In the poem there are two generations of people speaking, adults and children. The children tell of their freedom and happiness, whilst the adults tell us of the darker more sinister things that go in society. The poem begins with the beginning of the day, ‘the sun does arise,’ which also gives the poem a positive tone, ‘the merry the bells ring.’ He also uses the phrase, ‘the birds of the bush,’ because it gives you a picture of nature and a sense of freedom which suggests a carefree society. In the first stanza Blake uses the human sense of sound to get across the cheerfulness on ‘the Ecchoing Green.’ For example,’ sing louder around.’ Also stanza 1 symbolises the beginning of spring which can be associated with nature and joy. The end of the stanza,’ while our sports shall be seen on the Ecchoing Green,’ suggests that you should make the most of what you have as it may not last. Here Blake is trying to get across his idea that in society everything may not be as it seems and you should enjoy it while it lasts.

In stanza 2 there is a change in the tone of the poem, it presents you with Old John who is watching the children, whilst he sits under the old oak. The oak tree suggests wisdom and experience as the oak is the tree of knowledge. The second line,’ does laugh away care,’ shows that he has probably seen it all before. This stanza gives us the experience of Old John and then gives us a contrast with the innocence of the children. 

In stanza 3 Blake changes the tone of the poem again and it becomes more serious and an adult is speaking instead of a child, this indicates that Blake’s idea of the society is changing hi is now starting to show us his thoughts on how things in society can change and how dangerous it could become. You can tell that there is a change in voice because (from child to adult) from the line,’ when we were all girls and boys.’ The line suggests that the adults are now looking out for their children and Blake is saying that they were safe to play when they were children but now the society is not safe and neither are the children. This clearly shows Blake’s change in his attitude towards his society.

In the final stanza it is the end of the day and the choice of language used by Blake suggests this, he begins to use words such as ‘weary’. Also the last stanza has a negative tone to it. The line,’ round the laps of their mothers,’ sounds like everyone is ready to go home and it is as if they are being confined to their houses as it is not safe anymore. ‘Like birds in their nests,’ is personification and the use of the simile makes it sound as if the birds are ready to rest and they are not as active. This also indicates a natural bond and a sense of protection between mother and child. Also at the end,’ sport no more seen,’ suggests that it is getting dark and there is nothing left to do, and the last line,’ darkening Green,’ sounds very threatening and quite sinister. The last stanza is also a contrast to the 1^st stanza, as there are not any sound senses unlike in the 1^st. Blake uses this to present his idea of sinister things happening, and that the society he lived in is not as safe as it used to be. ‘The Ecchoing Green’ has the same structure as that of a story, it begins with the rising of the sun and ends with the sun setting and everything coming to an end. This structure helps, as you can clearly see the way in which Blake’s attitudes towards the society he lived in change.

The poem ‘The Laughing Song’ can be closely linked to ‘The Ecchoing Green,’ as it conveys the same ideas and themes of nature and community. It also links nature with joy and happiness like the first poem,’ when the meadows laugh with lively green.’ Also ‘The Laughing Song’ has the same positive tone as ‘The Ecchoing Green.’ There is also a sense of community in the poem like in the first one as it says,’ and be merry and join with me,’ showing that everyone comes together in society.

‘The Garden of Love’ conveys Blake’s idea of disappointment and upset as his idealised society turns into a living nightmare. The poem is told from one person’s point of view. The poem begins in a negative tone and it presents us with the themes of death and despair. In stanza 1 Blake shows disappointment,’ saw what I never had seen,’ this shows that he had happy memories of the garden and that he feels let down by society. When it says,’ Garden of Love,’ it sounds romantic and happy and the name gives us an implied meaning, but as you read on through the poem you realise the title is ironic. As you get to the end of the 1^st stanza you begin to get an eerie feeling,’ in the midst,’ so you cannot see the chapel. The stanza ends with the line,’ used to play on the green,’ this is a link with ‘The Ecchoing Green,’ as he used to play there and he remembers how it was when he was young, as he did in the 1^st poem.

In stanza 2 Blake shows how much he relied on the Garden and how it let him down,’ turn’d to the Garden of Love,’ it also shows how Blake’s attitude changes as he loves the Garden at the beginning but then he is let down and he feels despair and hate towards the society for letting the Garden get so bad. Also in stanza 2 Blake conveys images of life and happiness,’ so many sweet flower bore,’ this is a contrast to stanza 1. Stanza 2 also includes images of the church, when he mentions a sign on the gate which reads,’ thou shalt not,’ this is a command and Blake is forbidden to enter, this upsets Blake and the use of the law conveys Blake’s real feelings about the society he lived in. He feels like he has been locked out and abandoned by the society. This feeling is also shown in the line,’ gates of the chapel were shut,’ where again it is very unwelcoming and restricting. At the end of the stanza Blake chooses nature,’ so I turn’d to the Garden of Love. The garden represents the Garden of Eden which was made by God, so again he chooses God, and he rejects a man-made interpretation of religion.

In the final stanza Blake again mentions the themes of death and despair,’ filled with graves.’ Also the ‘tomb-stones,’ are a contrast with the flowers in the 2^nd stanza, this is a contrast between life and death. This contrast and the structure of the stanzas, (the way they are ordered,) convey Blake’s views on society and how life can quickly change to death without any notice. The second line of the stanza,’ priests in black gowns, were walking their rounds,’ is again very unwelcoming and depressing and it gives you an image of the grim reaper which is associated with death. The line sounds like the priests are in a trance, that they have to do this; also they seem emotionless and uncaring. The final line of the stanza,’ binding with briars, my joys and desires,’ sounds like Blake’s hopes are tied up and cannot be accomplished. The poem leaves Blake feeling trapped and lonely, and this structure and the adjectives on the last line convey how alone
Blake feels and it is like the society is against him.

The poem ‘Holy Thursday’ can be closely linked to ‘The Garden of Love,’ as they both convey the same ideas of nature and theme of despair, and life turning into death. Also the line,’ rich and fruitful land,’ implies happiness and life, like it does with the flowers in ‘The Garden of Love.’ In ‘The Garden of Love,’ Blake is left disappointed and in this poem,’ babes reduced to misery,’ so again people are left alone and sad. Also the line,’ fed with cold and usurious hands,’ means that the children have no love or care shown towards them, this is just like in ‘The Garden of Love,’ when Blake is not welcome in the garden and he feels like an intruder, and no-one wants him there. In ‘Holy Thursday,’ the historical context of the poem influences the misery caused. Children used to be left on the doorstep of a church on Thursdays if they were not wanted or if their parents could not afford to keep them, therefore this caused the poverty and misery in the society. The nature and joy in’ Holy Thursday’ turns into misery,’ can it be a song of joy,’ it sounds impossible for it to be a happy song, like in the previous poem the contrast is clear. There is also another link which is, that in the previous poem all the priests seem as if they are in a trance, and this is also witnessed in ‘Holy Thursday,’ when it says,’ it is a land of poverty,’ this implies that everyone is poor and living a life of misery, so these people would seem lifeless like they were also in a trance. The poems are also similar in the way that Blake feels towards his society he feels betrayed and alone, and both poems end with Blake feeling restricted and alone in the society he lived in. His attitude changes from caring about his society to feeling he doesn’t belong there and this is clearly shown in the way that Blake structures each stanza and the way the language he uses emphasises this.

‘London’ conveys Blake’s idea of a lower class social commentary. The poem begins in a negative tone and this continues throughout the entire poem. In the 1^st stanza, Blake describes how sad and upset all the people of London are,’ Marks of weakness, marks of woe.’ This shows how Blake is being affected by the sadness of others in the society he lives in, and the line,’ and mark in every face I meet,’ emphasises this by the word mark. It does this because, mark sounds permanent like it will last forever, as will the sadness of the people. So we can already see how Blake’s attitude is changing. Also in the 1^st stanza Blake shows a clear emphasis on the word ‘every,’ which shows that it the sadness is going on in every street throughout London. On the 2^nd line the word ‘charter’d,’ indicates a sense of restriction that the streets and even the Thames have been restricted, just like the people.

In the 2^nd stanza, Blake revisits the idea of fear within the society, when he says,’ in every infants cry of fear.’ The choice of the infants within the poem suggests child suffering and poverty, which tells you how bad things really are in London. This part of the poem has been influenced by the historical context of the poem, as in pre 1914 times children were seen as a lower class, and they were not wanted, and used as slaves, so Blake uses this idea to get across the real impact and suffering of the time, so his negative attitude towards his society is really coming across in the language he is using. The line,’ in every ban,’ a ban is a curse and this symbolises frustration which Blake is trying to get across, also anger and corruption is presented to us.

In the 3^rd stanza, Blake mentions,’ how the chimney-sweepers cry,’ this again refers to the social and historical context of the poem, as the chimney sweeps would have been children and they would have been forced up the chimneys, and some children even died, they were treated as slaves. He again uses the word ‘cry’ to emphasise the real pain of the children. You begin to feel that Blake hates his society for this. The next line,’ every blackning Church appalls,’ a church in these times was a social institution, and Blake felt that the church was cruel to those in need. The church was thought to be evil and sinister and progressively getting worse, this is a contrast to the image of innocence that the church is supposed to emit. The 3^rd line,’ the hapless soldiers sigh,’ is also an example of the lower class people in London, because the soldiers did not get paid very much, for risking their lives. They also experienced suffering and the structure of the 3^rd stanza shows the change in Blake’s increasingly unhappy attitude towards the society he lived in. The last line of this stanza,’ runs in blood down palace walls,’ is a contrast to the rest of the poem because, this gives you an idea of the monarchy, as they are rich and in the upper class, whereas the rest of the poem focuses on the lower class of society. The walls of the palace are probably to keep out the poor, as they were believed to be diseased, and the walls are very restrictive. At the end of the poem Blake feels left out again as he has in the other poems that I have looked at.

In the final stanza, the negativity of Blake is at its worst, when it says,’ how the youthful harlots curse,’ it is linked to the diseases mentioned earlier on as Harlots would have not had any protection and they would have spread STD’s across the society, which refers again to the social and historical context of the poem. The last line of the poem,’ the marriage hearse,’ is ironic because, marriage is meant to be happy but then Blake ruins the only happy part of the poem by adding the word hearse, which is related to death. So yet again the poem ends on a negative phrase, this really shows us how Blake dislikes his society, as it has let him down before. Also the structure of the poem and the rhyme scheme which is, ab, ab throughout the entire poem, makes the poem sound more serious.

‘London,’ is a complete contrast with the ‘Ecchoing Green,’ as the tone in this poem is much more negative than before. It can also be linked with the progression of ideas in ‘The Garden of Love,’ as Blake makes us believe that there is something positive to come, whereas he is really building us up for a big drop in his attitude and the tone of the poem. Also Blake starts off in each poem with a bad vision and then they progressively get worse until the poem reaches the end.

‘The Human Abstract,’ conveys Blake’s idea of death and God, which are contrasting ideas. The poem is again set in a negative tone. In the 1^st stanza, ‘pity would be no more if we did not make somebody poor,’ is a contrast in ideas, as it means that you cannot have virtue without sin. The last two lines of the stanza are exactly the same as the first two as they are using the same contrast. This shows that there cannot be good without bad, so Blake is saying that nothing can ever be good in his society.

In the 2^nd stanza, the first line means that if you fear people, then if you don’t do anything it will result in peace by default, which is again a contrast. The next line,’ selfish loves increase,’ is again in a very negative tone as Blake is saying that there needs to be more of this even though it is bad. This shows that he would do anything to improve his life and society. The word ‘cruelty’ appears in the next line, and the first letter is a capital which signifies the importance of it. A sense of restriction is mentioned in the line,’ knits a snare,’ this sounds like cruelty is trying to trap all the people in the society and they are all being hunted. The last line of the stanza, ‘and spreads his baits with care,’ is personification, and it sounds as if cruelty is being careful, but really it is sinister signifying death and suffering. The adjectives that Blake has chosen so far in this poem help to emphasise his real hate towards the society, and that he feels that nothing can be done to make it better.

In the 3^rd stanza, Blake begins with,’ holy fears,’ so now Blake is having fears about religion, and fears of hell and the consequences, that are death. Then Blake gives us images of someone crying, and feeling guilty, this gives us images of growth, and it may be the beginning of personal growth. He may be starting to believe that his society could change and he could be happy. The word ‘roots’ on the 3^rd line also present us with a thought of growth and progression.

In the 4^th stanza, the tone changes from slightly positive back to negative as the poem began in this way. ‘Spreads the dismal shade,’ sounds creepy and dark and miserable, so Blake’s attitude is changing back to feeling alone and left out, he does this in this stanza by using dull adjectives. Blake is then presented with an air of mystery, on the 2^nd line, and he begins to feel confused and he does not know what is happening around him, in society. The stanza ends, with the mentioning of a ‘caterpillar and fly,’ these are known as pests today and parts of nature, which is supposed to be happy and positive. But really they spread diseases and feed on other peoples feelings. But the caterpillar also transforms into something beautiful so Blake obviously now feels that something good could come from his society, so yet again Blake’s attitude changes back to a positive one.

In the 5^th stanza, Blake feels tricked by temptation as the fruit of deceit is used to make him believe that everything will be alright, whereas really he is being deceived. In the 3^rd line it says,’ the raven his nest has made,’ the raven is used because it is associated with cruel, evil things and is known as a bad omen. The stanza finishes with the line,’ in its thickest shade,’ this gives a feeling that something dark and sinister is going on. Also the surroundings emphasise the negative image of the raven. This stanza leaves Blake feeling confused about his attitude towards his society.

In the final stanza, the 1^st two lines, present us with a well hidden tree, which seems mysterious as it is unknown to the society. On the first line it mentions ‘Gods’ which are the creators of humans, but there is a hidden cruelty in this line, as Blake is presented with more than one God so he does not know what to believe. In the last line of the stanza it says,’ human brain,’ this shows that it is in everyone, and the whole poem is summed up in this line, the poem seems insignificant after this line. It means that there is good and bad in everyone. At the end of this poem Blake’s attitude towards his society changes, he begins to think that maybe his society could change and become a place that he would like to live in.

‘London’ can be linked to ‘The Human Abstract,’ because they both convey the same idea of how people and humanity in general are presented. It can also be linked with ‘The Lilly,’ because this poem also mentions nature and its positive and negative images. The poem also begins with a negative line,’ the modest rose puts forth a thorn,’ put as you get into the poem positive images come through in the language that Blake chooses.

Overall, I think that throughout all of the poems mentioned in my essay, there is a clear trend in the way that Blake conveys his attitude towards the society that he lived in. He uses language, structure, images and contrasting ideas to do this. He uses powerful adjectives and a clear tone in each poem to emphasise his true feelings about the society he lived in. I also think that overall Blake feels confused about his attitude, but more than often Blake feels disappointment and hatred about his society. He feels this way because, in most of the poems he is left feeling trapped, restricted or left out of his society. He does not entirely hate his society because, in the final two poems we witness a change in the tone and Blake begins to feel that he could change his society.