A* Response essay to the question, 'Protest against The Church is the primary focus of Blake’s writing. To what extent do you agree with this view? ' Thorough use of quotations, range of poems cited, context, author's intention and analysis. This essay can be used for most Blake essays.
Protest against The Church is the primary focus of Blake’s writing. To what extent do you agree
with this view?
Blake’s protest against The Church is thread throughout the collection, he advocates for a pure
relationship between man and God, and criticizes the Church’s obstruction of that relationship, through
indoctrination and oppressive teaching. Blake’s idyll of the Echoing Green sees to a synchronization of
man and God through nature, ‘many sister and brothers like birds in their nest,’ the simile alludes to the
bound relationship of man and nature, and therefore an attunement to God. This ‘Innocence’ poem ends
with the ‘darkening green,’ suggesting both a physical and metaphorical dissolution of light, when the
‘sun does arise,’ there are ‘happy skies,’ but the final line is rid of this light, and in turn rid of the youthful
days that the poem’s ‘Old John’ character reminisces on. Where the collection next meets the green, in
‘Experience,’ it has been obstructed, ‘A chapel was built in the midst.’ The physical imposition of a
building that perpetuates organized religion has been metaphorically used by Blake to convey his protest,
that the pastoral connection of man and God has been corrupted. The Garden of Love itself is now a place
for ‘tomb-stones where flowers should be,’ this morbid imagery emphasizes Blake’s intention to see the
extent at which the Church has pervaded into the lives of the people it teaches. These teachings that Blake
implores his reader to criticize are that of constructions – The Human Abstract’s ‘Pity,’ ‘Mercy,’ ‘Peace’
and ‘Love.’ The words are capitalized within the poem, suggesting their constructive origins, they
become nouns that had been made, and Blake argues that it is the oppression of the Church that has given
way to the creation of these man-made ‘emotions.’ The ‘holy fears’ and ‘mutual fear’ is cast upon people
through the Church, thus birthing the need for ‘Mercy’ and ‘Pity.’ These false constructions are what
further distance man from God himself, and religion ‘spread a dismal shade... over his head,’ the ‘shade’
metaphor suggesting that the Church has, as with the ‘darkening green,’ prevented people from their own
enlightenment and comprehension. The chiasmus structure of the poem is a disruption to the form, which
that in itself mirrors the disruption of what Blake believed to be right – a pure relationship with God.
Blake’s own faith was with the Swedenborg Church, and though this may seem hypocritical in the protest
of his poetry – the liberality of this church would have differed from the heavily practiced and imposed
Christianity that prevailed through England in the Eighteenth Century.
Comparatively, perhaps the irony of Blake’s own binding to the Church is to suggest that he does not
protest the Church specifically authority, and what the power of it enables. In Blake’s poetry, arguably the
dichotomy between Innocence and Experience is presented through a contrasting presentation of before
and after the corruption of power. The Church seems to infiltrate the lives of the characters within the
poems as a means of restricting their liberty, ‘A Little Girl Lost’ the ‘maiden bright’ is met with her father
and ‘his loving look, like the holy book, all her tender limbs with terror shook.’ Whilst the simile
compares the father’s expression to a doctrine of the Church, a direct criticism of the church, what Blake
also presents is a conformation. Authority, in its oppressive nature, demands confirmation – which is
what the father represents through his ‘loving look’ that made his own daughter ‘shook.’ When ‘parents
were afar’ and ‘strangers came not near’ the maiden forgets her ‘fear’ which the Human Abstract
describes to be ‘holy.’ Without the Church, and without her parents the ‘maiden’ is free from fear of
oppression – by both the authority of her parents, and the higher authority they perpetuate – the Church;
not only this, but the maiden is ‘bright’ when liberated from these authoritative figures which alludes to
this metaphorical motif of ‘light’ throughout the poetry – that without restriction, people become
enlightened. Perhaps it is not the Church itself but the authority it has once people conform that is Blake’s
true protest. Infant Sorrow, sister poem to Infant Joy where the child names itself ‘Joy,’ has a child
‘struggling in (their) father’s hands’ which emphasizes the restriction by adults (of the Experience world.)
The contrasting liberties for the children of each poem furthers that dichotomy, and the evident difference
between them is an authoritative force.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller willowmay. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $6.63. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
