Songs of Good and Evil - 1545 Words

Simple, limited, and unadventurous all describe William Blake’s life (Greenblatt, Abrams, Lynch, Stillinger). Blake was born November 28, 1757 in London, England and his artistic ability became evident in his early years. Blake had a very simple upbringing and had little education. His formal education was in art and at the age of fourteen he entered an apprenticeship with a well-known engraver who taught Blake his skills in engraving. In Blake’s free time, he began reading writing poetry. At the age of twenty-one, Blake completed his seven-year apprenticeship and began to work on projects for book and print publishers. He also attended the Royal Academy of Art’s Schools of design, where he began unveiling his own personal works†¦show more content†¦Blake wanted to show that there are two sides to every situation by writing companion pieces for most of his works. â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper†, for example, has the same title in Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, as well as â€Å"Holy Thursday† that appears in both. â€Å"The Lamb† and â€Å"The Tyger† are also paired poems contrasting the concept of good and evil that Blake focused on through out his poems. â€Å"The Lamb† in Songs of Innocence, and â€Å"The Tyger† in Songs of Experience were written with biblical influence, and Blake demonstrates his biblical upbringing through out these poems. â€Å"The Lamb† is represented through a pastoral story line, allowing a connection with agriculture and nature, much like many stories in the Bible. â€Å"The Tyger’s† storyline, however introduces the question of theodicy, or why there is evil in the world. How can God make a lamb so innocent and pure, and in turn create something so evil and cruel? Throughout â€Å"The Tyger†, Blake asks hypothetical questions, â€Å"When the stars threw down their spears And water’d heaven with their tears, Did he smil e his work to see? Did he who made the Lamb make thee? (â€Å"The Tyger† 17-20). Blake wanted people to read this poem and understand his concept of questioning God, for how could God make something so innocent and pure as the Lamb and then in turn make something so evil? The situation is very similar to theShow MoreRelatedTheme Of Innocence And Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde1054 Words   |  5 Pages Duality Songs of Innocence Songs of Experience, by Blake, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Stevenson, are two stories, which present a case of duality. At the beginning of each of these novels, the author presents two different extremes: Blake presents innocence and experience and Stevenson presents good and evil. In both of these novels, as the story progresses, their two extremes struggle to coexist and one ultimately dominates over the other. Both Songs of Innocence Songs of Experience andRead MoreThe Pearl Song Essay736 Words   |  3 PagesThroughout The Pearl, we see several different songs that the protagonist, Kino, hears. The four main songs are the Song of Family, the Song of Evil, the Song of the Enemy, and the Song of the Pearl. Each of these songs is imperative in its own way. They each tell an important part of the book that otherwise would not have been portrayed. In chapter one of The Pearl, Kino awakes to the Song of Family. He hears the small waves before the ocean crashing to the shore. He hears his wife, Juana, makingRead MoreExamples Of Evil In The Pearl771 Words   |  4 Pagestoday’s day in age. For example, good versus evil. This is a theme that is set upon many different movies and books such as any Disney movie known to man. The Pearl shows that the family and their life before the pearl was good and happy, so the family represents good. The text supports my views when it says, â€Å"In his mind a new song had come, the Song of Evil, the music of the enemy, of any foe of the family, a savage, secret, dangerous melody, and underneath, the Song of the Family cried plaintivelyRead MoreThe Rock And Roll Band1361 Words   |  6 PagesFormed in the sixties, The Rolling Stones consisted of Brian Jones, Ian Stewart, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman, and Charlie Watts. Referring to themselves as the World’s Greatest Rock and Roll band, the song â€Å"Rollin’ Stones† written by Muddy Waters is what stemmed into the band s name. The Stones recorded and sold what is estimated to be more than a quarter million albums until the early 1980s when Jagger and Richard had a fight over musical direction and the group grew apart from eachRead MoreSong Of The Family Song Analysis857 Words   |  4 Pages‘Safe and Sound’ by Megan Hilty for the Song of the Family, because in my mind, the tone of the Song of the Family is soft and calming. The song ‘Safe and Sound’ is very soft. Also, in the book it says, â€Å"Kino felt all the warmth and security of his family behind him, and the Song of the Family came from behind him†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I think that what the quote is saying is that the Song of the Family symbolizes peace, love, harmony, safety, and protection. I think the song ‘Safe and Sound’ symbolizes the same thingsRead MoreTheme Of Foreshadowing In The Pearl By John Steinbeck1153 Words   |  5 Pageswhen they say, â€Å"What a pity it would be if the pearl should destroy them all† (22). Coyotito’s death seemed very sudden and shocked many readers, but all along they were foreshadowed that something like this would happen. Readers should have seen the evil of Coyotito’s death as well as all of the other unfortunate things that happened. Such as Kino’s canoe being ruined, their house destroyed, and Kino’s killing of a man. The canoe was foreshadowed slightly when it says, â€Å"Kino’s canoe which was the oneRead MoreOpposition in William Blakes The Lamb and the Tyger689 Words   |  3 PagesLamb and The Tyger William Blakes Songs of Innocence and Experience contain some of his most known poems including The Lamb from Songs of Innocence and The Tyger from Songs of Experience. These two poems are intended to reflect contrasting views of religion, innocence, and creation, with The Tyger examining the intrinsic relationship between good and evil. Blake utilizes contrasting images and symbols to examine opposing perspectives of good and evil. In The Lamb, Blake uses symbolsRead MoreRomantic Characteristics in Blakes The Marriage of Heaven and Hell525 Words   |  3 Pagesbattle between good and evil, the presence of the supernatural and an affinity for nature. Most likely inspired by Emanuel Swedenborg’s â€Å"Heaven and Hell†, Blake used common romantic symbolism to demonstrate the prophetic meanings of the pieces in the book. In â€Å"The Marriage of Heaven and Hell†, Blake alludes to the idea that, â€Å"Attraction and Repulsion, Reason and Energy, Love and Hate, are necessary to Human existence. From these contraries spring what the religious call Good Evil. Good is the passiveRead MoreThe Original Production Of Jekyll Hyde1381 Words   |  6 PagesBroadway do not know when to leave a well made musical alone. One of the best examples of this instance is Jekyll HYDE!, the story of a grief-stricken Doctor Henry Jekyll, who tries to understand insanity by creating a potion to split the â€Å"good† and â€Å"evil† within himself, and succeeds by creating one Mr. Hyde, but loses control of Hyde, who just ends up killing everyone who tried to stop Jekyll from continuing his experiments. When Jekyll HYDE! was first released, it was greeted with an openlyRead More The Action of The Pearl Essay1219 Words   |  5 Pagesand Juana lived a happy, humble and quiet life. Kino heard the little splash of the morning waves on the beach. It was very good - Kino closed his e yes again to listen to his music.(Pg. 1-2) Kino loved the simple life; nevertheless whenever things were beginning to look good and simple something went wrong. At the beginning of the book Kino and Juana lived a happy good life until their first and only child Coyotito got stung by a scorpion. The one-second that it took the scorpion to bite Coyotito