After our class discussion with Dr. Greenberg—regarding William Blake’s background and the societal context that influenced his poetry—I began to form various connections between Blake’s Introduction to the Songs of Innocence and Jean-François Lyotard’s The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. With regard to The Postmodern Condition, I was intrigued by Lyotard’s argument that examined the method by which individuals acquire knowledge through their own societal perspectives. Lyotard’s argument on the impact of societal perspectives in the acquisition of knowledge reminded me of Blake’s poem, Introduction to the Songs of Innocence. Considering Blake’s poems and the societal context in which they were written—Deism within the Age of
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Similarly, Lyotard argued that “knowledge is situated in meta-narratives.” Therefore, with regard to Blake’s oppositional perspective on Deism, one can draw the connection that Blake’s usage of meta-narratives in his work as a poet—to grow closer to God through a theoretical means of knowledge acquisition—was in sharp contradiction to Deism’s method of growing closer to God by empirical understanding God’s creation through illuminated human intellectual and scientific reasoning. Finally, I am led to theorize that Blake’s Introduction to the Songs of Innocence epitomized a striking connection to Lyotard’s arguments that he discussed in his work, The Postmodern Condition. Lyotard argued that individuals acquired knowledge through their own societal perspectives. One can see that in Introduction to the Songs of Innocence, Blake’s anti-Deist perspective was emphasized by his rejection of empirical knowledge acquisitions methods—through human intellect and scientific reasoning—as a means of growing closer to God. Instead, in the poem’s final two stanzas, Blake accentuated the importance of theoretical knowledge accumulation—by the utilization of language and narratives—through poetry. Finally, Lyotard contended that “knowledge is situated in meta-narratives.” One can see how Blake incorporated the meta-narrative of “poetry about poetry” to take a strong stand against Deism by incorporating his view of
Similarly, Lyotard argued that “knowledge is situated in meta-narratives.” Therefore, with regard to Blake’s oppositional perspective on Deism, one can draw the connection that Blake’s usage of meta-narratives in his work as a poet—to grow closer to God through a theoretical means of knowledge acquisition—was in sharp contradiction to Deism’s method of growing closer to God by empirical understanding God’s creation through illuminated human intellectual and scientific reasoning. Finally, I am led to theorize that Blake’s Introduction to the Songs of Innocence epitomized a striking connection to Lyotard’s arguments that he discussed in his work, The Postmodern Condition. Lyotard argued that individuals acquired knowledge through their own societal perspectives. One can see that in Introduction to the Songs of Innocence, Blake’s anti-Deist perspective was emphasized by his rejection of empirical knowledge acquisitions methods—through human intellect and scientific reasoning—as a means of growing closer to God. Instead, in the poem’s final two stanzas, Blake accentuated the importance of theoretical knowledge accumulation—by the utilization of language and narratives—through poetry. Finally, Lyotard contended that “knowledge is situated in meta-narratives.” One can see how Blake incorporated the meta-narrative of “poetry about poetry” to take a strong stand against Deism by incorporating his view of