Blake help

Hey, Im just wondering how you guys are going about struturing the blake essays - would u do it language, struture form, or themetically. Could someone clear up what is meant about 'context' as well. Im quite confused if you can't tell by my jumbledness. thanxxx

Reply 1

RobbieC

For context I can clear it up. They are asking for you to show knowledge of how a writer's environment and society has informed meaning, and seeings as the ideas of poverty, bad-religion and abuse of children are implicit in a huge no. of Blake peoms it shouldn't be hard to work context into your essay. The examiners will look for main things including:
-Industrial revolution, and the break from natural existence, which Blake wasn't a fan of!
-The selfishness of charity, but especially religious charities, and ladies societies etc.. which were seen by Blake as a chance for women to pity poverty, not aid it! (MPPAL)
-Bad-religion and how Blake uses the idea of Urizen to embody religious flaws.
And many others besides!

Reply 2

Jenni_Kitten

I would strucuture by context, purely because a lot of the contexts are linked, for example children and the Romantics, society > conformity > church. That way, if you've got a good plan, you can move from context to context, linking in poems and your main language/themes/whatever points.

Reply 3

twinkledust

Who/What is Urizen?? I've never even heard of it before from eng.

Reply 4

Jenni_Kitten

twinkledust

Who/What is Urizen?? I've never even heard of it before from eng.

Where's that?!

Reply 5

RobbieC

Basically (which is all I know this in) Urizen was Blake's figure of false-worship, which he felt conformist Christians believed in. Urizen is the type of God that is not benevolent, but is instead selfish- and as Blake puts it a "selfish father of men". Urizen is the type of God that would have punished Eve for following her natural tendencies toward the forbidden fruit, and who would punish mankind in the same way. Blake in this sense is going against a lot of the traditional notions of Christianity in his mockeries and criticisms of Urizen, and indeed Urizen's followers. Hope that cleared it up.