Comparison of Poems by William Blake and Christina Rossetti

Compare and contrast William blake’s“the matrimony between Eden and hell” , “The Garden of Love” , and Christina Rosetti’s“promises like crust” .

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell is among the prophetic books of William Blake. These have been written by copying scriptural books of prognostication nevertheless they express the personal romantic and radical beliefs of the poet. This book describes the visit of the poet to hell, a device that had been adopted from Paradise Lost of Milton and Dante ‘s Divine Comedy by Blake. However as compared to Milton or Dante, the construct of Hell of Blake does non get down as a topographic point of penalty. Alternatively it is a beginning of unrepressed energy, as compared to the regulated and autocratic perceptual experience of Eden. The intent of Blake is to make, what he mentions as a ‘memorable illusion ‘ so that the inhibitory nature of conventional morality every bit good as the institutional faith can be revealed. In this respect, Blake writes that, “ the ancient Poets animated all reasonable objects with Gods or Geniuses, naming them by the names and decorating them with the belongingss of forests, rivers, mountains, lakes, metropoliss, states and whatever their enlarged and legion senses could comprehend. And peculiarly they studied the mastermind of the metropolis and state, puting it under its mental deity” ( Kaplan,2000 ) .

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In this manner, the theory of reverses propounded by Blake was non his belief in antonyms but alternatively it was the belief harmonizing to which the contrary nature of God is reflected by each individual. It was besides believed that moderateness in life can non be achieved without reverses. In the same manner, Blake besides explored the contrary nature of energy and ground. In this respect, he believed that there are two types of individuals, the rational organisers and the energetic Godheads of what he calls as the angels and Satans in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. In this manner, Blake believes that both these types of people are necessary for life. This text of Blake has been interpreted in several different ways.

“The Garden of Love” is a romantic verse form written by William Blake. The verse form has been written with a position to show the belief of Blake sing the neutrality of gender and besides the manner in which they organized faith, particularly Orthodox Christian Church during the times of Blake, have resulted in quashing the natural desires of human existences with their regulations and prophesying. At this point, it needs to be noted that for those times, it was truly a great statement to be made ( Griffin, 1994 ) .

The ground was that by recommending the natural desires of human existences, Blake had made a direct onslaught on the Orthodox Anglican Church. He had even mentioned ‘priests ‘ and ‘Chapel ‘ . The outrage of Blake can besides be seen in the 2nd line when he talks about seeing “what I had ne’er seen” . Therefore it is interesting to observe that Blake claims to hold ne’er seen it when he had literally spent all his life cognizing the attitude of the church towards gender. Possibly it means that Blake was talking from the point of position of artlessness that has merely entered the universe of experience and as a consequence, suffers a daze to see that the freedoms enjoyed by it in the yesteryear have been curtailed by the Church ( Cronin, 2000 ) .

In the same manner, a clear disfavor can besides be seen in the point sing the alterations that have taken topographic point in the Garden of Love. At this point, Blake is mentioning to the church and besides showing its disfavor. In these lines, there is a clear review of the church and besides the patterns of the Church related with spiritual beliefs. Furthermore, the poet has besides made an accusal that the Church is non leting them to be happy and alternatively it is seting force per unit area on the lyrical.

Seen in the context of worlds present in the eighteenth century England, in position of the patterns and philosophies that have been adopted by the Church of England, these lines besides express the feelings of the individuals who did non follow the Church of England at the clip and besides did non hold with the reading of the Bible by the Church. In this manner, although the verse form is provocative but at the same clip, it besides reflects comedies some of the worlds present in the eighteenth century ( Bentley, Jr. , 2004 ) .

In this manner, it has been expressed in the point that while walking in the ‘Garden of Love’ a batch of alterations have been made in the garden. While earlier, there were flowers in the garden but all that has changed and alternatively there is a Chapel in the garden. Furthermore, it is besides seen that now the Garden of Love has gravestones, Gravess and priests. As a consequence, these alterations have resulted in melting the beauty of the ‘Garden of Love’ . As a consequence, the feelings of choler and discouragement have been expressed in the point sing the alterations that have been made in the ‘Garden of Love ‘ . The writer is dismayed because as a consequence of these alterations, the desires and wants will non be fulfilled. As a consequence, the priests and the Chapel are considered as being responsible for the unrealized desires ( Griffin, 1994 ) .

On the other manus, in instance of “Promises like Piecrust” the focal point is chiefly on the fact that in world, it is easy to interrupt promises, possibly they are so flakey that they have been compared to a pie crust. However, an effort has non been made by Rossetti to stress that it is a negative thing but on the other manus, harmonizing to her, she accepts it as a fact of life which can non be escaped nevertheless, it does alter the quality of relationships that a individual has with others. In this verse form, the focal point is on to friends or lovers who do non do any promises to each other so that they may be “free to come as free to go” .

It would hold been really illegal for a adult female to propose this impression during the Victorian epoch. However it appears that Rossetti believes that one of the chief grounds behind the tenseness in most of the relationships is that there are excessively many unrealistic thoughts and restraints present in a relationship. These relationships have been called by Rossetti as “ Promises like Piecrust ” and these are the relationships in which no promises sing future committednesss are made and in the same manner, the past lovers are non discussed ( Kaplan, 2000 ) . As a consequence, in this type of relationships, the possibility that any spouse may be hurt as a consequence of broken remarks is wholly eliminated in such a instance. Similarly, the spouses are non worried that a promise may be broken by the other spouse.

In this manner, the verse form suggests that promises are like unrealistic restraints. Basically, restrictive barriers are imposed by these promises sing dedication and committedness due to the ground that such promises can be broken easy and at the same clip, non merely these promises ensuing duty and force per unit area of the spouses, they besides have to do important attempts for maintaining such promises ( Packer, 1963 ) . This position sing love has been explored by Christina Rossetti in this verse form which is related with the negative position that the poet has towards the promises made by lovers. She believes that promises can be broken easy, and at the same clip they do non supply autonomy to the spouses in a relationship and likewise, promises besides blind towards the hereafter ( Hassett,2005 ) . In this respect, the talker had denied promises as a consequence of the misgiving she has in promises. Rossetti had besides shown are general belief in the beginning of the verse form harmonizing to which, the metaphor of a pie crust has been used to depict the promises made by lovers.

As is the instance with pie crusts, which can be broken easy, the poet illustrate the promises made by lovers in a relationship can besides be broken easy ( Fairchild, 1939 ) . As a consequence, the poet states that “ promises are like pie crust ” and it had been used by difficult to depict her belief that promises can be broken easy. Generally, in about all instances, pie crust is the portion of the pie that can be broken off easy and it is made in such a manner so that it may be broken for protecting the more of import ingredients of the pie ( Harrison, 2004 ) . In this manner, Rossetti had used the metaphor of pie crust for mentioning to the promises made by lovers in a relationship because harmonizing to him, promises can non stand everlastingly. She believes that at one point or the other, a promise made by lovers will lose its cogency. In this manner, in the sentiment of the poet, a ceaseless cogency of a promise can non be guaranteed by the type of promise as is the instance with a pie crust that breaks irrespective of the sort of pie. Therefore, the short lastingness of the promises made by lovers has been illustrated by Rossette with the usage of pie crust as both tend to interrupt easy and besides to demo the fact that the promises made by lovers can non be considered as trustworthy.

Therefore in the terminal, a comparing of “ The Marriage of Heaven and Hell ” , “ The Garden of Love ” and the verse form “ Promises like Pie Crust ” reveals that different issues related with love have been raised by the writers in these plants. While Blake has discussed that moderateness in life can non be achieved without reverses. Therefore the “ Satans ” and “ angels ” mentioned by him are in fact two types of people, one are the “ energetic Godheads ” and the others are the “ rationale organisers ” . On the other manus, in “ The Garden of Love ” , William Blake has discussed the limitations that have been imposed by the Orthodox Church on Love. He believes that excessively many limitations have been imposed by the Church and at the same clip, the conditions in the “ Garden of Love ” have been changed by it. In her verse form, “ Promises like Pie Crust ” , Rossette had discussed the delicate nature of promises that are made by the lovers in a relationship. As promises can be broken easy and they do non hold a long cogency, Rossetti believes that individuals who are in a relationship should non be bound by promises. However a perusing of all these the plants reveal that when it comes to love, all these three plants have presented really extremist thoughts for their clip.

Mentions

Antony H. Harrison ( 2004 ) The Letters of Christina Rossetti Volume 4, 1887–1894 University of Virginia Press

Bentley, Jr, G. E.2004, Blake Records. Second edition. New Haven and London: YaleUniversity Imperativeness

Cronin, Richard. 2000, The Politicss of Romantic Poetry: In Search of the Pure Commonwealth.London: Macmillan,

Fairchild, Hoxie Neale ( 1939 ) Religious tendencies in English poesy, Volume 4 Columbia university imperativeness

Griffin, Dustin H.1994, Satire: A Critical Introduction. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press

Hassett, Constance W. ( 2005 ) Christina Rossetti: the forbearance of manner University of Virginia Press p15

Kaplan, Carter. 2000, Critical Synoptic gospelss: Menippean Satire and the Analysis of IntellectualMythology. Madison, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson Press

Packer, LonaMosk ( 1963 ) Christina Rossetti University of California Press pp13-17

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