William Blake
(1757-1827)
Now I first have to say that I am appalled that now of Blake’s paintings of Dante’s Inferno were in this book, because Blake was not only a poet but also a great painter and I felt that that was one of his better works. I will also say that I am not a sadist or a devil worshipper but I did love his depiction of Heaven and Hell. It seemed to me that his ideas were so far out there that it often got him in trouble and made him a outcast of society. I think though that he was just showing his artistic right which was to be able to express himself in any way that he wanted. One of things that I got from his readings were that good and bad is apparent in all people. Lets look at one of his more shorter poems, “A Poison Tree.” In this he shows that in one case a person is able to forgive a person that he is angry with, which shows good human nature. Now, this same person poisons another person simply because this one is a foe. And the thing that gets me is that the person is happy that his enemy is dead by his hand. This means that he has no remorse for the death, which shows revenge and very evil human nature. This type of good and evil was used often where I believe others wrote good versus evil. I mean if he did not write about it who would because that part of human nature is very much a part of society world wide.
3 comments:
I like your comment of how he contrasts good and evil and not good vs. evil. I think I can see that in his writings because of the feelings that he expresses.
Antoine,
Interesting observations on Blake's "Poison Tree" and on the poet's exploration of Good and Evil. I also agree that the anthology would benefit from more color illustrations of Blake's paintings.
You know, I think you ask a good question and one that I don't know if anyone has entertained. You ask if Blake had not tackled the issue of good and evil...who would have? Sometimes I wonder if Blake did not do it for that reason? Maybe he is not as deep as we think? Maybe he just said the things other people were afraid to say and that makes him seem so different from his contemporaries. I mean...all of these writers had to eat! Perhaps Blake was just trying to make a little noise by being controversial and by being controversial-get some attention...and with attention make a "little bread" if possible? Probably not but we will never know for sure. Maybe there is good and evil amongst the writers' guild?
-kyle
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