William Blake And Romanticism
William Blake lived from 1757-1827. He based most of his works in the
style of
Romanticism. Much like William Wordsworth, Blake wrote from the
heart, letting
natural expression take over. Many of the writers of the
Romantic period felt
they had entered an imaginative climate, which some of
them called "the Spirit
Age." During this "Spirit Age," many authors felt
that freedom and
spontaneity were the key elements in poetry. Before this
creative revolution, a
poem was considered a classical work of art,
assimilated to please an audience.
In Romanticism, the "rules" hanging
over poetry were dropped and a piece of
work could become, as Blake
described, "an embodiment of the poet’s imagine
vision." Blake used these
free-formed ideas and concepts in his later works.
These essays, All
Religions Are One, There is No Natural Religion (a), and There
is No Natural
Religion (b), all show Blake’s views against Christian Orthodox,
religion
based on ancient scripture and against "Natural Religion," the
belief that
God is as natural organism, much like man. Blake was opposed to the
idea that
God is only what the church believes him to be but he was also opposed
to the
notion that God was here before we were. Blake believed that
man’s
"Poetic Genius," or imagination helped create the God of today.
Many of the
writers of the Romantic period were highly influenced by the war
between England
and France and the French Revolution. During the war, Blake
was faced with
charges of "speaking against his King and country." People of
this era felt
his works tested the boundaries of good art. Many of the other
writers of this
time also challenged previously accepted ideas. Mary
Wollstonecroft wrote "A
Vindication of the Rights of Women." Her work
stood up against the female
stereotypes and preconceived notions about women.
In the midst of all these
changes, Blake too was inspired to write against
these ancient ideas. All
Religions Are One, There is No Natural Religion
(a), and There is No Natural
Religion (b) were composed in hopes of
bringing change to the public’s
spiritual life. Blake felt that, unlike most
people, his spiritual life was
varied, free and dramatic. Growing up he had
no formal education. At the age of
ten he joined a drawing school and later
studied for a short time at a
prestigious art school, the Royal Academy of
the Arts. From this point in his
life, art had the strongest influence. Later
on, his work diminished and he went
to a friend who was an artist, William
Haley, for help. Haley attempted to
change Blake’s free art into conventional
and breadwinning art. Blake soon
rebelled, calling Haley the enemy of his
spiritual life. After all of this, he
began to write poetry, hoping to revive
his free expression and flow. He wrote
three works around 1788, to illustrate
his views on religion, All Religions Are
One, There is No Natural
Religion (a), and There is No Natural Religion (b). He
wrote All Religions
Are One directed against Deism or "Natural Religion" and
against Christian
Orthodoxy. Blake felt that God is not a natural or organic
being, he is a
creation of man’s imagination or "Poetic Genius." He states
that "The Jewish
and Christian Testaments are an original derivation from the
Poetic
Genius," supporting his theory that man has imagined God. In There is
No
Natural Religion (a), he speaks against the argument that man
naturally
perceives God. He states that the desires and perceptions of man
are not natural
or organic, but are things taught to us. In the end, Blake
reminds us that is
all things in this world were accepted as "natural," then
"the Philosophic
and Experimental would soon be at the ratio of all things,
and stand still
unable to do other than repeat the same dull round over
again." We as humans,
are too dependent upon acceptance and not enough on
independence. In There is No
Natural Religion (b), Blake tries to
persuade his audience that our knowledge is
not limited to the physical
sense, it is free and unbounded, much like Blake’s
ideal spiritual life.