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Essay / Analysis of William Blake's Views of Life
William Blake presents two contrasting views of life in his Songs of Innocence and Experience: the innocent and idyllic world of childhood contrasts with the dark and worrying about adulthood. Several poems in this collection can be read in pairs, each representing one end of the spectrum of innocence or experience. The usefulness of looking at poems in pairs is the observation of the same phenomena through opposing worldviews. This black and white vision, however, is more complex than it seems. The world of innocence can seem naive and overconfident in its optimism and positivity; he seems to turn a blind eye to the evils of the world. At the same time, the world of experience or the “bad” world seems a little too cynical and does not present, in its own way, the complete reality of existence. However, together they form a balance between the forces of light and darkness in the world and present a picture of reality that recognizes both forces. It is important to note that the poet himself does not fully agree with one or another worldview, but is as objective as possible about each of them. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay A pair of poems that can be compared in this way are The Tyger and The Lamb, representing experience and innocence respectively. In both poems, the poet questions the nature of the creator of each animal, however, the nature of the animal concerned as well as the tone of the poet creates the contrast between the two explorations of the Creator and creation itself . As Blake is distanced from the poet's voice in the poems themselves, even the nature of the questioner helps to add to the contrast between the two poems. In The Lamb, for example, the tone is one of joyful, innocent wonder and awe toward the seemingly benevolent creator who created the gentle lamb, as the lines show. As the poem progresses, the questions asked with joyful wonder in the first verse are answered with serene faith in the second verse: here the questioner identifies himself – he is a child too “ gentle and gentle” than the lamb itself, a symbol of childhood and innocence. Furthermore, the benevolent creator is identified as a similar gentle spirit, as shown in these lines: “He is called by your name, for he calls himself lamb. He is gentle and he is gentle; He became a little child. I a child, and you a lamb, We are called by his name. Little Lamb, God bless you! The Tyger, on the other hand, has an unidentified observer who is equally amazed and amazed by the creator and the creation – the tiger himself – but the tone is completely different. The fear is tinged with fear and a touch of horror: the benevolence of the creator is no longer a self-evident precedent. Words related to death and terror are used throughout the poem: “fearful,” “frightened,” “deadly.” The creator is no longer a meek or meek child but a blacksmith who has forged something as immense and formidable as the tiger. The speaker is anonymous, but when he asks the question, “Did He who created the Lamb create you?” ", one wonders if this is the same young child who transitioned from his innocence and became an experienced, cynical, darker adult man. This supposition is reinforced by the fact that this question is preceded by these lines: “When the stars threw down their spears / And watered the sky with their tears: / Did he smile at his work to see? The unspoken terror in these words at the smile of the fearful creator juxtaposed with the cries of the celestial stars reinforces the feeling..