William Blake의 詩 연구

Abstract

It is in the 20th century, nearly 100 years after his death that Blake is fully appreciated. He was a poet who had keen eyes for dehumanization of the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution, though it had largely developed English societies, prepared the very basis of inhuman conditions, in which human beings were regarded only as a means, rather than as an end. Never failing to notice all these pathetic and ugly sides of the industrialized city lifer its wretchedness, and above all, dehumanization, Blake sought for the way to recover the humanity in his poems. Blake is, to be sure, a poet of Imagination, but this does not mean that he neglected reason. Blake did not completely reject the Enlightenment trend. He just couldn't accept Locke's epistemology which, instead of thinking highly of intuition, mainly depended on memory. According to this theory, men always repeat the same style of action in the given situation. Inevitably Locke's Reason understands the total experiences of human being through the fixed ideas, that is, following the principles of generalization, abstraction and passivity. Blake rejected the traditional dichotomy of Good and Evil. Traditional Morality defines Good as what is obedient to Reason and sees that Evil comes from Energy. But so far as Blake is concerned, this active Evil is truly Good, and all evils result from the restraints on Energy. Energy is beyong the level of food and Evil, and it is the basic impulse to escape from all the restraints. Blake expresses these thoughts with intensive imagination and passion. Blake's poetry aims at getting Harmony through the conflict of contraries. Contraries are indispensable for progressing toward Harmony, and even in the world of harmony, there coexist many contraries. Innocence and Experience are contrary to each other, but still open to higher woald. The world of Innocence which is connected with Beulah's vision, is highly pastoral enough for dream to rule the reality, and harmonious. But this harmony cannot but be superficial because there are no strong conflicts of contraries. Harmony through the strong conflicts can be true Harmony. To reach more higher Harmony, Blake naturally moves into the world of experience. The world of experience is a society full of restraints of morality and the law, and filled with violence and hypocrisy. The only true life, active Energy, is in bondage, while violence, oppression, corrupted churches, are in full swing, But from these bitter experiences comes true wisdom through which we can regain our lost innocence and unity of being. Blake believes liberated Energy can lead to a world of harmony, so Le embodies it as Orc. But Orc, unable to escape from the natural cycle, fails to achieve the eternal harmony. Eventually Blake, as a moms of salvation, presents Christ who is an incarnation of Love as well as of Energy. He liberates human beings from all the oppression through the great act of Love and Forgiveness. In conclusion, what Blake seeks for his life is an open and harmonious world of soul. Only in this harmonious state of soul, it is possible "To see a World in a Grain of Sand/And a Heaven in a wild Flower."