William Blake Research Paper

William Blake was a radical poet who encompassed the ideals of the Romantic Era while also promoting social change with his work. The first goal of the Romantic Movement, God in nature, is a huge part of Blake’s writings. He was also a strong believer in the second objective, putting desire back into the world. Besides that, he also wrote about social issues that he thought should be changed. Blake was a revolutionary poet who fully embraced the spirit of the Romantic Era and radical ideas. William Blake shows God in nature throughout his poetry. In his poem “The Little Black Boy,” Blake shows how God’s love was equal and widespread. He writes, “Look on the rising sun: there God does live / And gives his light, and gives his heat away. / And …show more content…
In his work “There Is No Natural Religion,” Blake shows how much of a romantic poet he truly was in terms of his feelings on desire. He writes, “If the many become the same as the few, when possess’d, More! More! is the cry of a mistaken soul, less than All cannot satisfy Man” (Blake 2). The Poetic Genius that Blake believed that everyone possessed must be replenished with new passions so that the world does not become dull and repetitive. In “There is No Natural Religion,” he also makes the point that human’s passion is the infinite part of us. According to Blake, “The desire of Man being Infinite the possession is Infinite & himself Infinite” (Blake 3). Because humans have an infinite amount of desire, it is the immortal part of us all that we should all treasure and put to good use. In his poem “The Tyger,” his feelings regarding desire continue to shine through. He writes, “Tyger Tyger, burning bright, / In the forests of the night; / What immortal hand or eye, / Could frame thy fearful symmetry” (Blake 1-4). Blake was a strong believer in expressing desire and never trying to repress it, because that containment would be Hell-like. He continues to promote following one’s passion in his poem “Eternity.” According to Blake, “He who binds to himself a joy / Does the winged life destroy; / But he who kisses the joy as it flies / Lives in Eternity’s sunrise” (Blake 1-4). As life goes on, one must …show more content…
Unlike most British people in this era, he had the opinion that women should be regarded as completely equal to men. In his poem “The Angel,” he tells an empowering story about an angel who leaves a woman alone. According to Blake, “So he took his wings and fled: / Then the morn blush’d rosy red: / I dried my tears & armed my fears, / With ten thousand shields and spears” (Blake 9-13). Even though the angel abandoned this woman, she learns to fend for herself and live an independent and headstrong life. He continues to show his strong feelings about gender equality in “A Little Girl Lost” where a girl is happy until a father in white comes over and seems to scold her. He writes, “To her father white / Came the maiden bright: / But his loving look, / Like the holy book, / All her tender limbs with terror shook” (Blake 25-29). Women are not allowed to be free as they should; they are controlled by men and don’t have the option to create their own life and happiness. He even contrasted this with his poem “The Little Boy Found.” He writes, “The little boy lost in the lonely fen, / Led by the wand’ring light, / Began to cry, but God ever nigh, / Appeared like his father in white” (Blake 1-4). God is there to support and help the boy, but the girl was scolded for her actions, showing the biased regarding gender. He also addresses how women were looked down upon for their