William Blake Biography

     William Blake was an English poet and printer who was born in 1757 and died in 1827.  He lived a long, fulfilling   and eventful life.  The picture above was painted of William Blake in 1807.  Blake lived in London for all of his life, except for three years where he lived in Felpham.  He was taken out of school when he was ten, then was home schooled.  When his parents realized his amazing drawing skills, they entered him in drawing classes.  Also during this time, Blake had been working on his own poetry as well.  
     Blake eventually married a woman, and taught her how to read and write.  She ended up printing all of his work and would be there for him through hard times like when his father died.  Although many things in his life had changed, Blake still had the same ideas and opinions he had previously.  Blake was thought to be mad by many people, because of his unusual poems and his artwork as well.  In all of Blake's poems, he uses symbolism to represent objects in nature, everyday life, and even things in the bible.  Romantics poets were all against Christianity in one way, and all believed nature was a sacred thing.  The reason for them disapproving Christianity was because it had replaced the idea of nature creating beautiful things with God creating them.  In some of Blake's poems the message to people is that we are destroying nature, and taking it for granted.  Romantic poets did not understand how people could treat something so beautiful as nature like it was nothing important.  If Blake was concerned about the way society was back then, I could not imagine what his thoughts would be now. 
     Blake used very descriptive language in his poems that would create a beautiful picture in the reader's head.  Blake died a very dramatic and traumatic death with his wife sitting right by his bedside crying.  They exchanged their words of love to each other because they knew it was the end, he painted a portrait of her, then he died.  One of the most remarkable and touching things I have ever heard about Blake were the words from a female who was present when he passed away.  These words were "I have been at the death, not of a man, but of a blessed angel". 

Memories

It all started back in the years, that was the life.
In your young years it feels like weights off your shoulders.
No work, no chores, it's the life of a lazy old lady.
The best times are when you could hang out with friends all you want.
To go along with the good times, there always has to be that sunday church session where you have to get all dressed up for.
Some things were good about childhood, but the injuries brought the hatred to my childhood.
Stiches, broken bones and torn muscles lead me to believe that my pre teen years would be horrid. . . who am I kidding, life just kept getting better because I began my favorite sport golf.
Grade school was a tough time, this was the period of time when you meet new kids, this is when you begin to experience that slight awkward feeling in your stomach.
It's like you have butterflies in your stomach.
None of this stopped me from having a great time and meeting new people.
Basically this age was about overcoming fears,
I remember when I was afraid of heights, it didn't take long until I was flying high in airplane.
This age was great and many would say the best time ever, but a teenager meant more freedom.
As a teenager you begin to loose the aspect of cooties, and actually think that girls are human.
In middle school, it was like a competition, who was the best in sports?
But when you had free time, and didn't have actual homework for the first time ever it was the best feeling in the world. Middle school really didn't get me ready enough for high school.
High School is both amazing and can sometimes be frightening.
Occurring in your late teenage years, this is when you begin to get those papers where you just want to pull your hair out. With moral support and help from peers I began to look into the future and begin my career choice. Now days I can look back on all the memories I had.

Community Post on William Blake

William Blake

     After reading the post "The Songs and of Experience," I have learned many new facts about William Blake. This article consisted of many aspects. The part that I thought was most interesting was how the author of this post, Katelyn Meeks focused on discussing how Blake used biblical references and also how he helped our era. In her post, she mentioned how Blake had a huge imagination. Being a poet in the romantic era required one to have a large imagination. A big part of the romantic era was having a flexible imagination.
     A key part of William Blake's poetry is his imagination. Early in the post Katelyn talked about how William Blake uses personification to relate to biblical references. Out of their whole blog I chose this article because it had many interesting facts and I liked how Katelyn talked about how Blake uses his character's in more than one poem. I believe that the most valid point made in this article was that how Blake would use his imagination to form his poetry. Whether it be how Blake used animals to describe humans, or even some of his views on nature. I think that this blog is important because it speaks the valid truth on William Blake and it has many great facts about how Blake forms his poetry. I think that everyone who sees this blog will learn how Blake wrote and developed his poetry. One who knows nothing about Romanticism could learn how the romantic era reflected a lot about nature and imagination from this blog post.
      I believe that this blog post is accurate and valid. Many that look at this blog post will realize that William Blake was also a painter, along with a great poet. In this particular post, she talked about how children are truly different than adults. Blake had many different topics as a poet. Even though he had different topics, Blake often used the same characters. Someone with no experience with romanticism can learn a lot from this blog post. I enjoyed how she used many facts about William Blake, I learned many new facts.

The Chimney Sweeper

The Chimney Sweeper
William Blake

When my mother died I was very young,
And my father sold me while yet my tongue,
Could scarcely cry weep weep weep weep,
So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep.

Theres little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head
That curled like a lambs back was shav'd, so I said.
Hush Tom never mind it, for when your head's bare,
You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair

And so he was quiet. & that very night.
As Tom was a sleeping he had such a sight
That thousands of sweepers Dick, Joe, Ned, & Jack
Were all of them lock'd up in coffins of black,

And by came an Angel who had a bright key
And he open'd the coffins & set them all free.
Then down a green plain leaping laughing they run
And wash in a river and shine in the Sun.

Then naked & white, all their bags left behind.
They rise upon clouds, and sport in the wind.
And the Angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,
He'd have God for his father & never want joy.

And so Tom awoke and we rose in the dark
And got with our bags & our brushes to work.
Tho' the morning was cold, Tom was happy & warm
So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.

       The first interesting thing I noticed about this poem is how terrible of a life this young boy has, but he still is happy for the most part.  This can be compared to every day life, because it seems everyone who has had difficult situations are always the most hopeful and thankful people.  It is very sad that it has to take something bad in life to make someone realize how important life truly is.  The boy in this poem has had a rough time, but he believes that he will have a better life in heaven after he dies.  This dream keeps the boy hopeful and able to make it through each day.  This poem brings up the everyday lesson that before someone can understand another person, they must walk a mile in their shoes.  Back when this poem was written, chimney sweeps were very common, but most people would not take the time to talk to any of them.  I think it is significant how Blake wrote about a chimney sweep, because people do not know what it is like to live as one.  Also some people think their life is hard, most of the time they realize others have it so much worse than them.  It is important that Blake shed some light on this darkened thought to make sure people realize the conditions others have to live in.  
       I thought it was really interesting how in a city where there are chimney sweeps, the boy dreams of things in nature, like a river and a green plain.  This shows that the boy dreams of feeling a sense of freedom and happiness. Also in the boy's dreams the angel told him if he was a good boy, he would go up to heaven where he could be free and he would never want joy, because he would already have everything he needed.  This angel's promise made the boy warm even though he was chimney sweeping in the cold.  If they all did their job, and were good, they would be safe.  One thing I really like about this poem are the promises, hopes and dreams included.  It shows that if people who live in these low of conditions can have hope, then everyone should be able to as well.  

SONGS OF INNOCENCE

IPING down the valleys wild,

Piping songs of peasant glee,

On a cloud I saw a child,

And he, laughing, said to me:

 

'Pipe a song about a lamb!'

So I piped with merry cheer.

'Piper, pipe that song again;'

So I piped: he wept to hear.

 

'Drop thy pipe, thy happy pipe;

Sing thy songs of happy cheer!'

So I sang the same again,

While he wept with joy to hear.

 

'Piper, sit thee down and write

In a book, that all may read.'

So he vanished from my sight;

And I plucked a hollow reed,

 

And I made a rural pen,

And I stain'd the water clear,

And I wrote my happy songs

Every child may joy to hear.

     "Songs of Innocence," written by William Blake is a poem that is about a piper. William Blake does a great job in this poem of describing the setting so that the reader can see what is happening. What is amazing about William Blake's poems is that all of them have a deeper meaning than what most readers would think. Most of the time Blake writes about a happy situation. In the poem ''Songs of Innocence" Blake shows emotion through a child's glory. At the beginning of the poem Blake has a child that is in a valley and then sees a piper. The piper then walks up to the child and the child says, "Pipe a song about a lamb."

      A typical reader probably wouldn't see the religious tie that William Blake made in this line, but I know that Blake uses the Lamb to symbolize Jesus. Blake makes the reader think that all along the child wants to hear a song about a lamb, but what makes Blake a great poet is his use of non humane objects and tying them into his romantic poetry. Another great aspect of this poem is how cheerful the piper and the child are.

      Blake does a great job of making the voice of this poem merry and exciting. In the last stanza, I believe that Blake is trying to get a message across. I think that Blake is trying to say that every child should enjoy listening to merry music about Jesus. In reality, most teenagers do not do this. I know for a fact that the music I listen to does not have a merry sound, or have anything to do with the bible. Now all kids listen to are songs with great beats or songs that are on the radio. What happened to the music about Jesus? What happened to all of the merry music? I believe that Blake did a great job of showing his symbolization through personification. Blake is a great poet and has written many great poems, because of this we look back on him and see how he has helped our era.

William Blake's Painting

     This is an image that was created by William Blake. As you can see there are many specific uses of characters in this painting. William Blake was known for many certain talents in his era. One talent he had was writing romantic poetry. Blake was admirable at writing poetry because he could connect with the reader, and paint clearly detailed pictures with his words. Most of Blake's poetry reflected something from the bible, whether it be Jesus himself or a story form the bible. But Blake was special because he was one of the only poets that would paint and also write poetry. I believe that William Blake used this task as an advantage for writing his poetry. Since he paints along with writing, he had great descriptive writing skills.
      As a young child Blake grew up wanting to be a famous painter. During his teen years Blake went to art school to practice his artistic skills. Not only was unique for painting and writing poetry, he was one that related his pictures and writing to biblical references. Blake being the the detailed poet he was, could clearly present symbolism to the reader. He often would use things to represent other objects, for instance Blake would use non humane objects to represent the differences between heaven and hell. Most of the time he would use a lamb to symbolize Jesus. Even though in this painting of his there are many animals, I believe that Jesus is the man in the red clothing protecting the angel from the animals.
      I think the moral to this story is that Jesus himself can protect society, or an angel in this case from any living object. This painting by Blake consists of many rare features. One thing to point out is the sun rising with stars in the sky. Blake also chose a rare species of animals to partake in this painting. I believe the most important aspect of Blake's painting's are the true symbolic meaning of them. Many of Blake's paintings are magnificent, I like the way Blake uses unrealistic situations and makes you feel like this can occur. Blake is a great poet, but he is also an amazing artist.

A Poison Tree

     William Blake was a rather interesting poet. Blake was known for his unique topics and ways of relating the romantic time period back to the bible. In the Poem "A Poison Tree," Blake writes about one who was deeply expressing their anger towards a friend. Not only does Blake list that he was mad at a friend, he stated an obvious line, " I was angry with my foe." Why wouldn't a foe, meaning an enemy or someone who feels hatred get hatred if he is an enemy anyways? I believe this poem has more of a darker voice. In stanza two, Blake begins to talk about how this person is enjoying the anger that is being brought forth to his or her foe. What makes Blake a great poet is his descriptive words that help a reader picture what is going on.
      The essence of someone who is crying and smiling while they are angry at someone clearly tells the reader that the person is liking the fact that their anger is growing with rage. Throughout the poem Blake uses terms that show the characters anger growing. I find it easy to relate Blake's poem " A Poison Tree" to modern day life. Most every day a typical teenager gets in a fight with a friend. Depending on how serious the fight is, one will either continue to develop anger or they will put aside the fight. In most of William Blake's poems he has many ties to the bible. Many different readers have different opinions, but after I got done reading this poem I thought of the Garden of Eden.
      The last stanza of "The Poison Tree" briefly describes the story of the Garden of Eden. In the poem Blake speaks of an apple. Blake's foe in this poem is the apple, just like Eve in the story of the Garden of Eden. Eve is astonished by an apple that she sees, even though it looks rather well she is told not to eat the apple. Eve did not listen and ended up taking an apple from the tree, she paid the price and ate a poisonous apple. Like the Garden of Eden story, Blake ended his story at the base of a tree. Overall I believe that the main purpose of this poem is to release your honest feelings to the public.