Blakes View of the Church, Government, and God :: William Blake Poetry Poems Essays

Blake's View of the Church, Government, and God William Blake 1757-1827 was born is Soho, London. He lived in London throughout most of his life and during his life witnessed many things that affected him. While walking through London Blake had a long time to think. He acknowledged that England was a very rich and powerful country and then wondered why poverty was still in existence. Blake did not go to school but he was taught at home using references from the Holy Bible. Blake was highly critical of the church the government and God because he thought that they could do more to end poverty; he was also critical of the injustices that were exposed upon society. He was a very religious man; he had a great deal of influence from the Holy Bible. He believed that the soul was split up into two halves, good and bad. He created four visions from which he saw the world. After witnessing the poverty and inequalities that were in London Blake translated them into highly meaningful and significant poetry. He also displayed his thoughts as forms of art; Blake was a keen artist and worked as an engraver in Westminster Abbey. Blake did not enjoy seeing poverty but what he hated seeing the most were children or babies having to face the harsh realities. He believed them to be signs of innocence and was disgusted when they were exploited. â€Å"I have no name†¦ Joy is my name†¦ Sweet joy befall thee.† These are lines taken from Blake’s poem Infant Joy; they clearly display Blake’s love of children. The poem is showing a new born baby who is happy and full of life. The first sentence where the baby has no name could mean that the baby could not be placed into any category of visions. At present the baby is in two fold visions which is where it could move into three fold vision and live a good life with education and happiness. Alternatively the baby could move into single vision which is a harsh life where the baby would be repressed. The baby then calls itself joy so that it can be happy and live a joyful life. The last line shows that the mother is wishing the baby a life full of joy. This poem, Infant Joy, has been taken from a collection of poems called ‘Songs of Innocence. ‘Songs of Innocence’ and ‘Songs of Experience’ are two collections of poems that were written by Blake. They are Blake’s most famous poem collections and they only found popularity after his death. Blake uses examples of contrast in his work, from his vision we can