William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: Exploring Romanticism and Modern Literature
Romanticism and
Modern Literature
William Blake
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
September 15, 2020
The Main Contents of
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
1.
A sequence of paradoxical
aphorisms such as “Man has
no Body distinct from his
Soul...Energy is the only life,
and is from the Body...Energy
is Eternal Delight.”
2.
Milton "was a true Poet and
of the Devil's party without
knowing it.“
3.
“Proverbs of Hell” celebrating
the holiness of the natural
world.
4.
A sequence of visionary
encounters with angels and
prophets where he criticizes
Swendenborg.
Romanticism and Modern
Literature Slide 04
2
The Two Concepts of
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
1.
The notion of “contraries,” or opposing forces: “
Without
Contraries is no progression
” meaning that Attraction and
Repulsion, Reason and Energy, Love and Hate, are necessary to
Human existence.
The reversed idea of Good and Evil
: Good is the
passive that obeys Reason. Evil is the active springing from Energy.
2.
Satirizing the notion of the Old Testament of Jehovah(Urizen).
Blake rejects the notion of
God as a ruthless, rule-making punisher
who is guided by
an impersonal, stony rationalism
. Blake
excoriated
the Christianity of his day
, both Protestant and Catholic,
as
a form of primitive idol worship
to this “Old Nobodaddy” with
his rules and regulations, rewards and punishments. He
considered
the Church of England an arm of state tyranny
, offering
an ideological framework for un-Christian practices ranging from
child labor to slavery
.
Romanticism and Modern
Literature Slide 04
3
Blake’s faith in the creative imagination
1.
For Blake,
imagination
, and not rationality or intellect, is
the
central faculty of mind that unites the human with the
creativity of the divine.
2.
Blake’s faith in the creative imagination as the link between
the divine and the human leads him to
satirize
what he
perceived as
the rational materialism underpinning
Enlightenment Christianity
.
3.
Unlike the biblical Jehovah who inscribes his Ten
Commandments for Moses,
Blake’s Devil is more concerned
about imagination than ethics.
The “fires of hell” burn away
the constricting limitations of the material world as
perceived by the five senses.
Romanticism and Modern
Literature Slide 04
4
Blake’s Gnosticism
1.
The very title indicates a quest for mystical unity capable of
transcending the apparent dualism of the body and soul
,
physical and metaphysical worlds.
2.
Ezekial’s and Isaiah’s words in one of “Memorable Fancy”
that “I saw no God, nor heard any, in a finite organical
perception; but my senses discover’d
the infinite in
everything
.”
3.
Blake’s own poetic words in “Auguries of Innocence” that
“To see a World in a Grand of Sand/ And an Heaven in a
Wild Flower/ Hold infinity in the palm of your hand/ And
Eternity in an hour.”
4.
Blake, however, did
not accept the Gnostic denial of the
reality of the body or physical world
. Blake’s infinity comes
not through denial of the senses but by their expansion.
Romanticism and Modern
Literature Slide 04
5
Blake’s idea of Jesus Christ
1.
Blake sees Christ
as an incarnation
of the eternal Logos or Word
, but
one that is at odds with a biblical
literalism symbolized by the Ten
Commandments.
2.
Blake’s devil claims that “Jesus was
all virtue, and
acted from impulse,
not from rules
.”
Romanticism and Modern
Literature Slide 04
6
A Couple of Passages from
The Marriage of Heaven
and Hell
: The Angel’s condescending offer to Devil
An Angel came to me and said: “O pitiable foolish
young man! O horrible, O dreadful state! Consider
the hot burning dungeon thou art preparing for
thyself to all Eternity, to which thou art going in
such career.”
I said: “Perhaps you will be willing to show me my
eternal lot, and we will contemplate together
upon it, and see whether your lot or mine is most
desirable.”
Romanticism and Modern
Literature Slide 04
7
A Couple of Passages from
The Marriage of Heaven
and Hell
: What Devil saw in Angel’s Hell
My friend the Angel climbed up from his station into the
mill. I remained alone, and then this appearance was no
more; but I found myself sitting on a pleasant bank beside
a river by moonlight, hearing a harper who sung to the
harp; and his theme was: “The man who never alters his
opinion is like standing water, and breeds reptiles of the
mind.”
But I arose, and sought for the mill, and there I found my
Angel, who, surprised, asked me how I escaped.
I answered: “All that we saw was owing to your
metaphysics; for when you ran away, I found myself on a
bank by moonlight, hearing a harper.
Romanticism and Modern
Literature Slide 04
8
A Couple of Passages from
The Marriage of Heaven
and Hell
: An Argument between Devil and Angel
So the Angel said: “Thy phantasy has imposed upon me,
and thou oughtest to be ashamed.”
I answered: “We impose on one another, and it is but lost
time to converse with you whose works are only Analytics.”
“I have always found that Angels have the vanity to speak
of themselves as the only wise; this they do with a
confident insolence sprouting from systematic reasoning.
“Thus Swedenborg boasts that what he writes is new;
though it is only the contents or index of already published
books.
Romanticism and Modern
Literature Slide 04
9
A Couple of Passages from
The Marriage of Heaven
and Hell
: Devil’s lesson for Angel
Once I saw a Devil in a flame of fire, who arose
before an Angel that sat on a cloud, and the Devil
uttered these words: “The worship of God is,
honouring His gifts in other men each according to
his genius, and loving the greatest men best.
Those who envy or calumniate great men hate
God, for there is no other God.”
Romanticism and Modern
Literature Slide 04
10
William Blake's "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell" delves into themes of contraries, creative imagination, and Gnosticism, challenging conventional beliefs about good and evil, and the relationship between the physical and metaphysical worlds. Blake's work critiques traditional religious notions, emphasizing the importance of imagination and unity between the human and divine realms.
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Romanticism and Modern Literature William Blake The Marriage of Heaven and Hell September 15, 2020
The Main Contents of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell 1. A sequence of paradoxical aphorisms such as Man has no Body distinct from his Soul...Energy is the only life, and is from the Body...Energy is Eternal Delight. Milton "was a true Poet and of the Devil's party without knowing it. Proverbs of Hell celebrating the holiness of the natural world. A sequence of visionary encounters with angels and prophets where he criticizes Swendenborg. Romanticism and Modern Literature Slide 04 2. 3. 4. 2
The Two Concepts of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell 1. The notion of contraries, or opposing forces: Without Contraries is no progression meaning that Attraction and Repulsion, Reason and Energy, Love and Hate, are necessary to Human existence. The reversed idea of Good and Evil: Good is the passive that obeys Reason. Evil is the active springing from Energy. Satirizing the notion of the Old Testament of Jehovah(Urizen). Blake rejects the notion of God as a ruthless, rule-making punisher who is guided by an impersonal, stony rationalism. Blake excoriated the Christianity of his day, both Protestant and Catholic, as a form of primitive idol worship to this Old Nobodaddy with his rules and regulations, rewards and punishments. He considered the Church of England an arm of state tyranny, offering an ideological framework for un-Christian practices ranging from child labor to slavery. Romanticism and Modern Literature Slide 04 2. 3
Blakes faith in the creative imagination 1. For Blake, imagination, and not rationality or intellect, is the central faculty of mind that unites the human with the creativity of the divine. 2. Blake s faith in the creative imagination as the link between the divine and the human leads him to satirize what he perceived as the rational materialism underpinning Enlightenment Christianity. 3. Unlike the biblical Jehovah who inscribes his Ten Commandments for Moses, Blake s Devil is more concerned about imagination than ethics. The fires of hell burn away the constricting limitations of the material world as perceived by the five senses. Romanticism and Modern Literature Slide 04 4
Blakes Gnosticism 1. The very title indicates a quest for mystical unity capable of transcending the apparent dualism of the body and soul, physical and metaphysical worlds. 2. Ezekial s and Isaiah s words in one of Memorable Fancy that I saw no God, nor heard any, in a finite organical perception; but my senses discover d the infinite in everything. 3. Blake s own poetic words in Auguries of Innocence that To see a World in a Grand of Sand/ And an Heaven in a Wild Flower/ Hold infinity in the palm of your hand/ And Eternity in an hour. 4. Blake, however, did not accept the Gnostic denial of the reality of the body or physical world. Blake s infinity comes not through denial of the senses but by their expansion. Romanticism and Modern Literature Slide 04 5
Blakes idea of Jesus Christ 1. Blake sees Christ as an incarnation of the eternal Logos or Word, but one that is at odds with a biblical literalism symbolized by the Ten Commandments. 2. Blake s devil claims that Jesus was all virtue, and acted from impulse, not from rules. Romanticism and Modern Literature Slide 04 6
A Couple of Passages from The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: The Angel s condescending offer to Devil An Angel came to me and said: O pitiable foolish young man! O horrible, O dreadful state! Consider the hot burning dungeon thou art preparing for thyself to all Eternity, to which thou art going in such career. Romanticism and Modern Literature Slide 04 I said: Perhaps you will be willing to show me my eternal lot, and we will contemplate together upon it, and see whether your lot or mine is most desirable. 7
A Couple of Passages from The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: What Devil saw in Angel s Hell My friend the Angel climbed up from his station into the mill. I remained alone, and then this appearance was no more; but I found myself sitting on a pleasant bank beside a river by moonlight, hearing a harper who sung to the harp; and his theme was: The man who never alters his opinion is like standing water, and breeds reptiles of the mind. Romanticism and Modern Literature Slide 04 But I arose, and sought for the mill, and there I found my Angel, who, surprised, asked me how I escaped. I answered: All that we saw was owing to your metaphysics; for when you ran away, I found myself on a bank by moonlight, hearing a harper. 8
A Couple of Passages from The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: An Argument between Devil and Angel So the Angel said: Thy phantasy has imposed upon me, and thou oughtest to be ashamed. I answered: We impose on one another, and it is but lost time to converse with you whose works are only Analytics. Romanticism and Modern Literature Slide 04 I have always found that Angels have the vanity to speak of themselves as the only wise; this they do with a confident insolence sprouting from systematic reasoning. Thus Swedenborg boasts that what he writes is new; though it is only the contents or index of already published books. 9
A Couple of Passages from The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: Devil s lesson for Angel Once I saw a Devil in a flame of fire, who arose before an Angel that sat on a cloud, and the Devil uttered these words: The worship of God is, honouring His gifts in other men each according to his genius, and loving the greatest men best. Those who envy or calumniate great men hate God, for there is no other God. Romanticism and Modern Literature Slide 04 10
