William Blake

1. William Blake

2. Jerusalem --William BlakeAnd did those feet in ancient timeWalk upon England‘s mountains green?And was the holy Lamb of GodOn England’s pleasant pastures seen?　　远古时代的步履　　是否登上过英格兰葱绿的群山？　　是否神的圣洁羔羊 曾流连于英格兰快乐的牧场？ "And did those feet in ancient time" by William Blake is from the preface to his epic Milton a Poem, one of a collection of writings known as the Prophetic Books. Today it is best known as the anthem "Jerusalem", with music written by Sir Hubert Parry in 1916. • The legend is linked to an idea in the Book of Revelation (3:12 and 21:2) describing a Second Coming, wherein Jesus establishes a new Jerusalem. The Christian Church in general, and the English Church in particular, used Jerusalem as a metaphor for Heaven, a place of universal love and peace.

3. And did the Countenance DivineShine forth upon our clouded hills?And was Jerusalem builded hereAmong these dark satanic mills?　　神的面容　　是否照耀过我们云雾缭绕的山冈？　　耶路撒冷是否建在这里　　在这些黑暗魔鬼般的磨坊？ • The term "dark Satanic Mills", which entered the English language from this poem, is often interpreted as referring to the early Industrial Revolution and its destruction of nature and human relationships

4. Bring me my bow of burning gold!Bring me my arrows of desire!Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold!Bring me my chariot of fire!　　给我燃烧的黄金之弓！　　给我希望之箭!　　给我矛枪！哦，云层，展开！　　给我火之战车！I will not cease from mental fight,Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand,Till we have built JerusalemIn England's green and pleasant land. 　　我不会停止精神之战，　　不会让手中之剑休眠，　　直到我们建造耶路撒冷　　在葱绿美丽的英格兰。

5. Auguries of Innocence To see a world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour.

6. 天真的预言（节录） • 一颗沙里看出一个世界，一朵野花里一座天堂。把无限放在你的手掌上，永恒在一刹那里收藏。（梁宗岱 译） • 在一颗沙粒中见一个世界，在一朵鲜花中见一片天空。在你的掌心里把握无限，在一个钟点里把握无穷。（《布莱克诗集》，上海三联，张炽恒译）

7. 从一粒沙看世界，从一朵花看天堂，把永恒纳进一个时辰，把无限握在自己手心。（王佐良 译） • 一沙一世界，一花一天国。君掌盛无边，刹那含永劫。（宗白华 译） • 一粒尘沙看世界，一沙一世界， 一花一天堂。 掌握无限， 刹那永恒。（MarsMan 译 #2） • 一朵野花见天堂。一只手掌握无限，一个时辰纳永恒。（MarsMan 译 #1）

13. The complete 1794 collection was called Songs of Innocence and Experience Showing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul. Broadly speaking the collections look at human nature and society in optimistic and pessimistic terms, respectively - and Blake thinks that you need both sides to see the whole truth.

15. The Lambfrom Songs of Innocence     Little Lamb who made thee   Dost thou know who made thee Gave thee life & bid thee feed. By the stream & o'er the mead; Gave thee clothing of delight, Softest clothing wooly bright; Gave thee such a tender voice, Making all the vales rejoice:   Little Lamb who made thee   Dost thou know who made thee

16.  Little Lamb I'll tell thee,   Little Lamb I'll tell thee: He is called by thy name, For he calls himself a Lamb: He is meek & he is mild, He became a little child: I a child & thou a lamb, We are called by his name.   Little Lamb God bless thee.   Little Lamb God bless thee.

17. Psalm 23 (Psalm of David) The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. from The Old Testament

19. Tyger! Tyger! burning bright In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry? In what distant deeps or skies Burnt the fire of thine eyes? On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand dare seize the fire? And what shoulder and what art Could twist the sinews of thy heart? And when thy heart began to beat, What dread hand and what dread feet? What the hammer? what the chain? In what furnace was thy brain? What the anvil? What dread grasp Dare its deadly terrors clasp? When the stars threw down their spears, And water'd heaven with their tears, Did He smile His work to see? Did He who made the lamb make thee? Tiger, tiger, burning bright In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

20. The capitalization of the second Tyger, the alliteration of the hard consonant sounds, indicate strength. • “burning bright," "burnt the fire of thine eyes," "twist the sinews of thy heart," and "furnace was thy brain," is figurative language. It is an intentially exaggerated image of the tyger creation. • The poem contains six stanzas, each containing two pairs of rhyming couplets (pair of successive lines or verse). This creates a sense of rhythm and continuity throughout the poem. William Blake writes this poem in this particular rhythm to mimic the motion of the tiger and to add a more dramatic effect. • hammering beat • In the final stanza, Blake repeats the original burning question, creating a more powerful awe by substituting the word “dare” for “could”:

22. The Chimney Sweeper From Songs of Innocence When my mother died I was very young,And my father sold me while yet my tongueCould scarcely cry 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!So your chimneys I sweep, and in soot I sleep.There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head,That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved: so I said,"Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare,You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."

23. And so he was quiet; and that very night,As Tom was a-sleeping, he had such a sight, - That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack,Were all of them locked up in coffins of black.And by came an angel who had a bright key,And he opened the coffins and set them all free;Then down a green plain leaping, laughing, they run,And wash in a river, and shine in the sun.

24. Then naked and 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, and never want joy.And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark,And got with our bags and our brushes to work.Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm;So if all do their duty they need not fear harm.

25. Analysis of "The Chimney Sweeper" • William Blake wrote "The Chimney Sweeper" of "Songs of Innocence" in 1789. In the next to last line of the first stanza, the cry "'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!" is the child's attempt at saying "Sweep! Sweep!," which was the chimney sweeper's street cry. This poem shows that the children have a very positive outlook on life. They make the best of their lives and do not fear death. • This is quite the opposite in its companion poem in "Songs of Experience" which was written in 1794. In this poem, the child blames his parents for putting him in the position he was in. He is miserable in his situation and he also blames "God & his Priest & King". This point of view is different from that of its companion poem because the chimney sweeper has been influenced by society and has an "experienced" point of view.

26. Writing About Poetry • Each poem is (or should be) unique, but many poems can be explained in terms of certain elements or conventions which are commonly used: in discussing a poem, you might consider its subject (what it is obviously about), its theme (what it is about at a deeper level, important ideas), its argument (how the ideas are organised), its structure and form (use of stanzas, rhyme, metre and so on), its key images (word-pictures, symbols, metaphors and similes) and any other effects (like sound-effects, puns, allusions). If there is not much to say on one of these, don't worry: there will always be something worth saying on some of them, if the poem is any good.

27. Good and evil1 we know in the field of this World Grow up together almost inseparably; and the knowledge of good is . . . involv’d and interwoven with the knowledge of evill. . . . And perhaps this is that doom which Adam Fell into of knowing good and evill, that is to say of knowing good by evill. As therefore the state of man now is; …The knowledge and survey of vice is in this world . . . necessary to the constituting of human vertue, and the scanning of error to the confirmation of truth. (John Milton, Areopagitica )

28. Romantic writers were aware of these changes [caused by Industrialization], which presented such a contrast between the hellish life of the city laborer and the purity and peace of nature. The industrial changes convinced many romantics the natural world was purer than the industrial one, and that nature was a place of spiritual truth, release, and renewal. In "The Excursion," Wordsworth applauds the advances in science and technology that made the mills possible, but also criticizes the exploitation of women and children, the dehumanizing work shifts, and the all-encompassing greed of the factory owners. • Romantic thinkers like Blake and Wordsworth were impacted by the Industrial Revolution on a couple of levels.  The growing embrace of conformity and materialism disturbed both thinkers, who were more about a subjective expression of the good that was rooted in distinctive authenticity.  Both thinkers were concerned about this particular rise of materialism and conformity in terms of silencing people's voices as to the dangers inherent in the increase of industrialization. 

29. William Blake wrote of the "dark Satanic mills" in which adults and children were subjected to cruel treatment and unhealthy conditions.  He felt that Nature was man's refuge and teacher.  Likewise, Wordsworth found in the individual great worth and abhorred industrialization. He worked towards more humane treatment of the downtrodden. Like Blake, he perceived nature as the refuge of man.