William Blake as a Romantic Poet

Many. poets. in. the. world. have. been. known. because. of. romanticism. in. their. poetry;. however,. there. is. no. match. for. William. Blake.. He. is. still. remembered. as. one. of. the. best. romantic. poets. due. to. his. poetic. verses. and. his. contribution. to. the. movement. of. romanticism.. He. does. not. follow. a. single. pattern. when. he. writes. poetry;. rather. there. are. a. lot. of. styles. that. his. readers. may. find. in. his. poems.. Thus,. his. poetry. makes. William. Blake. not. only. the. best. romantic. poet. but. also. a. visionary. man. and. a. pure. artist.. Many. other. poets. such. as. Wordsworth. are. very. much. impressed. by. the. style. in. which. William. Blake. writes. poetry.. Mostly,. the. romantic. poets. are. of. the. view. that. he. surpassed. the. two. most. famous. poets. of. his. era:. Lord. Byron. and. Walter. Scott.

Poetry. before. William. Blake. was. already. developed.. W.B. Yeats. remained. a. famous. poet. for. years. and. mostly,. the. poets. followed. him.. William. Blake,. on. the. other. hand,. creates. a. new. charm. in. poetry. due. to. his. unique. vision,. philosophy. and. artistic. qualities.. He. portrays. a. distinctive. philosophy. in. his. poems.. He. was. known. as. an. insane. person. and. a. mad. man. as. he. was. a. highly. original. and. important. poet. of. the. early. nineteenth. century.. William. Blake. tries. his. best. to. show. a. distinctive. world. to. his. readers. from. his. own. perspectives.. John. Ruskin. feels. that. William. Blake. has. a. great. and. wise. mind.

Brief History of Romantic Poet William Blake

William. Blake. was. born. in. 1757. and. died. in. 1827.. He. spent. most. of. his. life. in. London.. Many. poems. of. William. Blake. reveal. his. experiences. of. life. in. London. city.. He. started. his. career. as. a. poet. in. 1784.. It. was. the. time. when. he. recognized. his. poetic. genius.. He. wrote. the. following. wonderful. poems/collection. of. poems. 

All Religions are One
An Island in the Moon
There is no Natural Religion
The Book of the Thel
Songs of Innocence
Marriage of Heaven and Hell
The French Revolution
America: A Prophecy
The Book of Urizen
Visions of the Daughter of Albion
The Songs of Experience
Europe: A Prophecy
The Book of Los
The Four Zoa
A True Romantic Poet

William   Blake. gained. fame. in. romantic. poetry;. however,. it. may. be. wrong. to. say. that. he. just. wrote. romantic. poems.. In. fact,. he. was. very. much. interested. in. social. issues.. For. instance,. the. French. Revolution. forced. him. to. write. poetry. on. other. topics.. Like. John. Keats,. he. is. not. a. pure. romantic. poet.. He. does. not. always. do. poetry. for. the. sake. of. poetry;. rather,. he. likes. to. explore. additional. topics.. Nonetheless,. he. is. remembered. because. of. the. romantic. charm. as. one. of. the. core. ingredients. of. his. poetry..

William. Blake. puts. emotions,. senses,. imagination. and. nature. in. his. poems. being. a. romantic. poet.. Romantic. poetry. is. all. about. subjectivity.. In. his. early. days. of. life,. he. was. very. much. fascinated. by. the. nature.. He. searched. for. a. link. between. a. man. and. nature.. Every. romantic. poet. creates. a. path. to. go. in. the. world. of. imagination.. William. Blake. also. does. the. same;. however,. the. imagery. that. he. uses. in. his. poetry. is. not. supernatural.. He. sticks. to. reality. and. does. not. exaggerate. things.. Songs. of. experience. is. preferably. mentionable. in. this. regard.

Songs of Innocence and Experience

In. a. short. period. of. time,. if. someone. wants. to. judge. William. Blake. as. a. romantic. poet,. he. must. read. the. two. most. famous. collections. of. his. poems:. Songs. of. Innocence. and. Songs. of. Experience.. In. both. of. these. collections. of. poems,. the. readers. realise. a. huge. difference.. He. differentiates. a. person’s. childhood. moments. of. life. from. the. mature. life.. It. is. also. worthwhile. to. mention. here. that. he. uses. different. styles. in. his. poetry.. The. poet. shows. that. both. these. stages. are. vital. phases. of. life.. In. the. first. collection,. as. a. painter. and. poet,. William. Blake. thinks. differently. than. the. others.. Pictorial. representation. of. childhood. life. and. experienced. life. is. the. theme. of. Songs. of. Experience. and. Songs. of. Innocence. respectively.

In. these. two. books,. there. is. a. true. spirit. of. romanticism.. In. fact,. it. is. at. its. peak.. There. are. two. opposing. perspectives. in. these. poems. but. the. romantic. nostalgia. remains. the. same.. William. Blake. when. experienced. the. French. Revolution,. he. lost. his. faith. in. humanity.. The. innocent. life. and. the. world. of. imagination. never. gave. him. peace. after. that.. In. the. most. evident. sense,. he. means. to. portray. the. difference. between. the. two. worlds. through. his. poetry.. Some. beautiful. romantic. lines. from. Songs. of. Experience. by. the. poet. William. Blake. are. reproduced. as:

Little. Lamb,. who. made. thee?

Dost. thou. know. who. made. thee?

Gave. three. life,. and. bid. thee. feed

By. the. stream. and. o’er. the. mead;

Gave. thee. clothing. of. delight,.

Softest. clothing,. woolly,. bright;

Pastoral Life Depiction

Mostly,. there. is. a. depiction. of. pastoral. life. in. his. poems.. William. Blake. wrote. Songs. of. innocence. from. a. child’s. perspective.. The. poems. are. about. those. days. of. life. when. there. are. no. worries. at. all.. Songs. of. Experience,. on. the. opposite,. portrays. a. life. in. which. the. charm. of. childhood. is. lost.. It. is. about. the. condition. of. a. person. when. he. knows. everything;. especially. when. he. makes. acquaintance. with. the. sin..

“The. Echoing. Green”,. “The. Lamb”,. “The. Blossom”,. “The. Little. Boy. Lost”,. “The. Little. Boy. Found”,. “Holy. Thursday”. and. “A. Dream”. are. poems. by. William. Blake. from. songs. of. innocence. and. are. totally. free. from. dark. shadows. of. life. and. makes. him. a. romantic. poet.. In. addition,. sighting. imagery. of. “The. Shepherd”,. “The. Lamb”. and. “Spring”. strengthens. the. stance. that. William. Blake. uses. the. best. images. in. his. poetry..

Variety of Themes in Romantic Poems

Although. all. these. poems. of. William. Blake. are. romantic. yet. there. are. a. variety. of. themes. in. them.. It. is. also. a. considerable. fact,. which. we. should. not. ignore. that. the. poet. somehow. uses. such. symbols. that. illustrate. political. and. social. problems.. For. instance,. a. poison. tree. is. not. a. romantic. poem. at. all.. It. highlights. a. universal. social. problem.. In. this. poem,. the. poet. portrays. the. theme. of. anger.. It. seems. that. the. poet. uses. a. romantic. theme. and. the. style. of. the. poet. seems. romantic. yet. the. poem. depicts. a. philosophy.. Apparently,. the. poet. talks. about. a. seed. that. grows. and. the. image. of. a. plant,. a. close. relationship. of. the. poet. with. nature. but. in. symbolic. meanings,. the. poem. depicts. the. theme. of. increasing. wrath. and. endless. hate.

Similarly,. the. poem. London. is. about. the. political. tension. that. William. Blake. observes. in. his. own. city.. Industrial. development. gives. him. an. idea. to. raise. his. voice. against. the. injustice. of. industries.. Thus,. he. along. with. the. people. protests. through. his. poetic. genius..

Earlier. poems. of. the. poet. William. Blake. compel. critics. to. add. his. name. to. the. list. of. romantic. poets. yet. his. later. poems. have. another. cause.. Due. to. variation. and. diversity. in. his. poems,. other. poets. are. unable. to. add. William. Blake. into. one. single. category.. It. is,. therefore,. William. Wordsworth. said. about. him:

“no. doubt. that. this. poor. man. was. mad,. but. there. is. something. in. his. madness. which. interests. me. more. than. the. sanity. of. Lord. Byron. and. Walter. Scott.”

William Wordsworth

A Philosopher in Romantic Era

It. is. not. wrong. to. say. that. William. Blake. is. called. a. romantic. poet. because. he. does. poetry. in. the. romantic. era.. There. are. also. elements. of. romanticism. in. his. poetry. but. he. does. not. portray. imagination. at. its. peak.. He. is. a. lover. of. nature. and. it. is. the. most. important. element. of. romantic. poetry. yet. neither. does. he. escape. from. reality. like. John. Keats. nor. does. he. illustrate. imagination. like. S.T.. Coleridge;. therefore,. the. critics. use. the. word. “may”. for. him. and. say. he. may. be. called. a. romantic. poet.. Pagliaro. comments. on. William. Black’s. poetry:

“death. -laden,. filled. with. intimidating. foes,. deadly. tigers,. hypothetical. smiles,. and. constricting. social. and. religious. system. that. reduce. life.”

The vision of Romantic Poet William Blake

He. received. early. education. in. his. childhood. despite. the. fact. that. he. spent. his. life. in. poverty.. He. read. literature,. studied. the. Bible. and. also. thoroughly. perused. John. Milton’s. work.. Thus,. he. had. good. knowledge. of. religion.. He. had. a. strong. belief. in. angels,. prophets. and. spirits. when. he. was. a. child.. In. fact,. it. is. said. that. he. used. to. talk. with. them. in. his. dreams.. In. his. imagination,. he. used. to. spend. hours. playing. with. them.. He. used. to. feel. their. presence. around. him.. Thus,. he. loves. to. write. about. them.

He. himself. wrote. once:.

“The. nature. of. my. work. is. visionary. or. imaginative;. it. is. an. endeavour. to. restore. what. the. ancients. call. the. golden. age.”

It. is. also. a. strong. belief. that. the. romantic. poet. William. Blake. was. guided. by. the. spirits.. In. fact,. he. himself. believed. so.. He. wrote. a. book. on. Milton. and. in. its. introduction,. he. wrote:

“I. have. written. this. poem. from. immediate. dictation,. twelve. or. sometimes. twenty. lines. at. a. time,. without. pre-meditation. and. even. against. my. will.. The. time. it. has. taken. in. writing. was. thus. rendered. non-existent,. and. an. immense. poem. exists. which. seems. to. be. the. labour. of. a. long. life,. all. produced. without. labour. or. study.”

Thus,. it. was. his. vision. to. mix. the. world. of. nature. with. the. world. of. reality. and. present. it. to. his. readers. in. the. form. of. poetry.. Besides. being. a. poet,. he. was. a. philosopher. too;. therefore,. his. poems. have. deep. meanings.. In. his. early. poems,. he. remains. simple. and. true. to. nature. but. later. he. makes. certain. reformations. in. his. poetry. due. to. which. his. later. poems. become. vague. and. unclear;. however,. there. was. a. vision. in. them.. The. Book. of. Thel. is. the. best-quoted. example. of. it..

Mysticism Word in his Poetry

William. Blake. has. also. been. compared. with. Rumi. due. to. the. spiritualism. and. mysticism. in. his. poetry.. It. is. evident. from. his. poems. that. he. creates. his. unique. worlds.. As. a. matter. of. fact,. it. is. pertinent. to. mention. here. that. he. creates. his. own. stories.. Many. romantic. poets. revived. Greek. mythology. in. their. poems. but. William. Blake. recreated. mythology.. In. many. poems,. he. assigns. roles. to. God. and. Jesus.. He. promotes. equality.. For. example,. he. writes:

“Men. forgot. that. all. deities. reside. in. the. human. breast.”

Blake. and. Antiquity. is. a. book. that. Kathleen. Raine. wrote,. which. discusses. the. superiority. of. the. romantic. poet. William. Blake. over. other. poets. in. the. following. words:

“I. can. only. report,. from. my. own. explorations,. that. this. Lost. Atlantis. is. a. land. of. treasures. and. marvels.. Blake’s. “golden. string”. leads. not. only. through. his. own. labyrinth,. but. is. the. clue. leading. to. so. much. more.. Neo-Platonism,. with. its. mythology. and. symbolism,. is. indeed. the. local. European. idiom. (as. Coomaraswamy. would. say). of. a. universal. and. unanimous. tradition.. Those. sources. from. which. Blake. drew. his. knowledge. —. and. in. our. own. century,. Jung,. Yeats,. and. increasing. numbers. of. their. followers. —. are. learning. of. the. imagination. itself.. The. excluded. knowledge. of. the. last. two. or. three. centuries. seems. likely. to. become. the. sacred. scriptures. of. a. New. Age. for. which. spirit,. not. matter,. is. again. the. primary. reality.”

Is William Blake a Romantic Poet?

In. a. true. sense,. William. Blake’s. work. cannot. be. added. to. a. single. category.. He. is. a. philosopher,. a. painter,. a. mystical. poet,. a. political. poet,. a. visionary. artist. and. ultimately. may. be. a. . romantic. poet.. There. was. a. discussion. between. his. sanity. and. insanity. too. as. many. poets. charged. him. for. being. mad..

Mostly,. critics. of. his. era. do. not. deny. that. he. was. a. romantic. poet.. Samuel. Taylor. Coleridge. copied. his. poems. and. improved. them. while. adding. more. romantic. elements. to. them.. The. only. discussion. between. the. critics. is. that. he. was. not. a. pure. romantic. poet.. He. has. an. extended. vision. through. which. he. sees. life. differently.. He. portrays. emotions. just. like. other. romantic. poets. but. he. also. talks. about. general. issues..

It. is. not. a. poet’s. duty. to. talk. about. social. issues. but. William. Blake. considered. his. responsibility. to. talk. about. them. due. to. which. he. is. not. a. pure. romantic. poet.. He. was. happily. writing. poems. while. remembering. the. childhood. days. of. his. life. but. a. time. came. when. he. diverted. his. attention. to. other. universal. issues. and. raised. his. voice. against. social. injustice.. In. this. way,. sometimes. his. poetry. becomes. cynical..

In. short,. D.C.. William. rightly. says. that. William. Blake. was. a. romantic. poet. with. an. extended. vision. and. a. critical. view. of. the. world.. Apart. from. him,. many. other. poets. called. him. a. genius. poet.. He. used. to. write. poetry. wherein. he. depicted. an. ideal. world.. He. illustrated. Utopian. worlds. in. his. poetry;. however,. with. experience,. he. became. so. realistic. that. he. forgot. to. write. this. type. of. poetry. again.. In. view. of. the. discussion,. the. poet. William. Blake. may. be. called. one. of. the. best. romantic. poets. but. with. extended. vision.

 

KEY WORDS:

William Blake : A Poet of Romantic Era

Is William Blake the father of Romanticism?

William Blake's Romanticism

An Overview of William Blake as a Romantic Poet and His Poetry

William Blake: the Romantic visionary