"For all must love the human form. " William Blake simply, but beautifully, claims as fact in his poem A Divine Image, taken from his Songs on Innocence. Poetry, elicits emotion. The beauty of poetry is that it can be interpreted; the meaning is held entirely by the reader. Here, a strict reading of the text as well as two very different interpretations will be presented. One takes the content of the poem, uses it as a tool to analyze good versus evil and provides a beneficial alternative to the original text. The other, questions how this poem is representative of the poet's style and voice.
[...] For Pease, this is the case with A Divine Image. The author believes that this selected poem can be defined more as piece from the Modernist period, rather than the Romantic. It's themes of God and man's image are progressive, although slightly romanticized. Pease struggles to place the poem in a period, with the attempt of better understanding Blake's voice. The work holds a romantic element, Pease writes, because narrative formulates almost nothing explicitly, and leaves everything to the imagination.[7]” In Pease judgment, Blake was very heavily influenced by the work of John Milton. [...]
[...] Divine Image is a picture of the God of this world, Urizen,[6]” opens Stephen Larrabee in his commentary Interpretation of Blake's a Divine Image.” Larrabee contends that if man is created with qualities of God, so too is he created to contain qualities of Satan. Larrabee outlines how the stanzas of the poem would read if the poem were created with the example of the Devil, instead of God. He writes that “Cruelty, Jealous, Terror and Secrecy are human qualities” and would replace mercy, pity, peace and love. [...]
[...] While both critical analyses provide creative discussion on A Divine Image, the latter is less impactful than the former. Pease struggles to express himself. Larrabee, while slightly simplistic, effectively employs, and showcases another view to the subject. A Divine Image is an impactful piece of work, open for interpretation. While the reader can never assume to know the mindset of the poet, a very interesting discussion arises when we are able to question what inspired the poet. Pease's most valuable contribution came when stated that he believed Blake was highly influenced by Milton, and by religion. [...]
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