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TSR Wiki > Study Help > Subjects and Revision > Revision Notes > English > Blake - Context Summary
Revolution
- Blake continued to support the french revolution during the "terror" when other romantics turned away
- French revolutionaries were called tigers
- agreed with Rousseau on revolution ideologies
- Tom Paine - supported the revolutionaries
Religion
- took Swedenborg's philosophy of the god being in Jesus one step further - god is in all of us
- believed religion shouldn't restrict you from love/sex etc
- "the church is cold"
- lambs - Jesus was the lamb of god?
Child Labour
- Blake was against this - he believed children should be "free" as "birds" to do what they want
- child labour was on rise in 18th century due to industrial revolution
- children were sold -chimney sweeper "father sold him before he could scarcely cry weep weep"
Children
- children are born innocent and DO NOT become corrupt if they have experience
- children trust their instincts - that's how it should be
- believed humans were innocent by nature but corrupt by society - view of Rousseau
Education
- Blake wasn't completely against education, just that children should not sit and learn out of a "textbook" but rather learn from life
- if children do not learn NATURE-aly they wont know how to cope in later life
Slavery
- slavery was on the rise in 18th century
- the little black boy "i am black but oh my soul is white"
- thought black people were closer to god due to their suffering
Science
- Blake didn't believe in science
- didn't agree with newton
- believed in Adam and Eve and creation story
Comments
These notes are aimed at A Level English Literature students at A2 level.
Originally written by little one on TSR Forums.
