William Blake A Romantic Poet

William Blake is a seminal figure of the Romantic era and is therefore a Romantic poet because his poetry and visual artworks reflected mans state of being and the potential to be liberated from society. The title of Romantic Poet is suitable for William Blake because his themes and ideas relate to the individual, freedom, as well as symbolising human nature with nature itself. Blakes Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience provide insight into the two parallel sides of human nature, one being governed by the laws of the Industrial Revolution, the other being free to envisage their own beliefs and values. Blake is considered a Romantic Poet because his poems deal with the idea of individualism and eccentricity. The idea of society was frowned upon by all Romantic artists and poets, including William Blake. The struggle of the individual was more important than that of the larger group. This is shown in Blakes poem, London. He regards the every cry of every man and every voice, in every ban rather than London as a larger societal group. This shows he is focusing on the issues of the individual, as he never refers to London as a whole, but as an assembly of individuals. Blakes poems discuss the eternal and unbreakable bond between humans and nature, thereby making him a Romantic poet. Blake believed that humans should always be one in spirit with nature and that the free-flying characteristics are also to be within the people of the world. This concept is inferred in The Nurses Song, Songs of Innocence. In this poem, a nurse is watching over children as they play in the hills. When she calls for them to come home my children/ the sun is gone down. The children argue in protest, saying that for it is yet day/And we cannot go to sleep/Besides in the sky, /the little birds fly/And the hills are all covered with sheep. This means that while nature and her animals are still awake, the children will not stop playing and will remain awake with them. This symbolises a special bond between the children and nature, as both have spirits free from the restrictions of order and society. Liberty and freedom of ones spirit is a concept contained within many of Blakes poems and artworks, thus making him part of the Romantic Movement. Spiritual freedom was one of the most aspects of the Romantic Era. Blake believed that all people should have the right to spiritual freedom, especially children, and that the restriction of society and the Industrial Revolution was of demonic proportions. These concepts are exhibited in London. In this poem, Blake is walking down the streets of London, speculating the position London and its people are in. He sees that in every cry of every Man, /In every Infants cry of fear, /In every voice, in every ban he hears the impact society and its restrictions has had on the people, which Blake refers to as the mind-forgd manacles. Since Blake was a strong supporter of letting children be free, he was against having children as chimney sweepers. This mind set is shown in the 3rd stanza where Blake hears how the Chimney-sweepers cry/Every blackning church appalls. Blake was largely influenced by the state of 18th Century London, making him like all other English Romantic Poets. During the Romantic Era, London was a place of poverty, suffering and restriction, all of which Blake believed strongly against. This is shown in London, where as he

wandered thro' each charter'd street, he could not help but hear the every cry of every Man and the Chimney-sweeper's cry. Blake saw that no one was free from the grasps of a restrictive and degrading society, not even the children who were subject daily to hours of back breaking work which only adults should be exposed to. One prime example is the chimney-sweepers that richer families hired to clean the soot from their chimneys. Blake often symbolised an abused child that hoped for a better life as the chimney-sweeper. Some young girls were also forced to be prostitutes. Once these girls were forced upon their buyers and made pregnant, the girl would have unwillingly passed on the youthful Harlots curse onto the new-born Infants tear. William Blake is considered a Romantic Poet because of his philosophies, beliefs, influences and the context of his experiences. He was a very influential poet of the Romantic Movement and today, his work is known as one of the benchmark for Romantic poetry and art, for he believes in individualism, nature, liberty and his influences are of 18th Century London. He, as well as other poets, sparked a new way of living and thinking as a contrast to Londons degrading status. Blake will surely be remembered for centuries to come just as his works are cherished by todays people. Lewis Tran Word Count: 815