Speaker/Voice
The poem "The Fly" details a man's experience accidentally killing a fly and learning a lesson from its death. Who is the speaker of this poem?
A man speaking in first person
What is this poem based on the summary? The Bard tells everyone to hear his voice. He can see the past, present, and future, and he can hear the words of God. He addresses humanity that God weeps over and tells them to renew their light. The Earth is reluctant to the poet's call, but he tells it that it cannot refuse anymore. He assures that the radiance of the Sun would spread and stop the darkness.
Introduction (Songs of Experience)
Where did Blake live (this is also the setting of many of his poems)?
London, England
In the poem, "Earth's Answer", Blake writes about the Earth’s loss of light and imprisonment from the lack of morality in organized religion. He uses phrases like “stony dread”, “prison’d”, “jealous”, “heavy chain”, and eternal bane”. What is the tone of this poem?
Somber and plaintive
In the poem, "The Angel", the readers learn of the emotional hardening of the speaker after her guardian angel leaves. The words that create the mood are “fled”, “armed”, “vain”, and “gray”. What is the mood of this poem?
Solemn
In the poem, "My Pretty Rose Tree", the main character is faithful to his “rose tree”, who represents his partner or wife. He gets offered another flower, but passes it over in favor of his rose tree. Who is the speaker of this poem?
A man speaking in first person
What poem is this summary for? The speaker says that they have ended a fly’s joyful flight by swatting it without thinking. The speaker implies he is a fly and the fly is a man like him, since he can only be alive and dance until a hand wipes his life away. He says that if thought comes from living bodies and death is the absence of thought, then he will be a joyful fly whether he is alive or dead.
The Fly
What literary movement/era was Blake a part of and what was this era known for?
Romanticism, which investigated the human spirit and how it connected to nature. Essentially, it glorified elements of the natural world.
The poem "Introduction" uses words such as “here”, “calling”, “renew”, “O Earth!”, “return”, “rise”, and “away”. What is the tone of this poem?
Emphatic and passionate
In the poem "A Little Boy Lost", the readers are exposed to the cruelty of the church when they burn the young boy. Words like “trembling”, “seiz’d”, “little”, “fiend”, “weeping”, “vain”, “chain”, and “burn’d” help to create the mood for the reader. What is the mood of this poem?
Desperation and sadness
In "The Little Girl Lost", the speaker is used to detail Lyca’s experience with being lost in the desert and finding comfort with the lion. Who is the speaker in this poem?
A third person narrator
What poem is this summary for? The speaker says that she had a dream where she was a maiden queen and her guardian angel who was not deceived or lured. The speaker cried all day and her angel comforted her, though she had to hide the happiness in her heart from it so it would continue to comfort her. The angel understood this and left. The morning came, so the speaker embraced her fears and prepared herself. The angel returned after the speaker had armed herself, so it was not needed anymore. The speaker had grown older and had been hardened by life.
The Angel
Blake's poems in this collection often reflect a human transition to experience and selfishness. What time period/significant event did Blake go through that gave him experience with this new aspect of human nature?
The Industrial Revolution
In the poem, "Holy Thursday", Blake uses the rhetorical questions and creates a powerful, critical message about the treatment of the poor children in London. He uses phrases like “reduced to misery”, “cold and usurous hand”, “trembling cry”, “eternal winter”, and “the mind appall”. What is the tone of this poem?
Despairing and outraged
In the poem "The Fly", the readers are encouraged to think about the view about life and mortality that the speaker is expressing. The mood is created through the rhetorical questions and the words “if”, “thought”, “live” and “death”. What is the mood of this poem?
Thoughtful and contemplative
In the poem "The Little Vagabond", the lines detail a child's complaints with the church, since he is uncomfortable and cold, and he believes that it would be better if it was warm and full of good food like the pub. Who is the speaker of this poem?
The speaker of the poem is a child speaking to his mother in first person
What is this poem based on the summary? The Earth lifted her head from the terrible darkness. She had a lack of light, a look of terror, and her hair was gray. The Earth says that she is imprisoned on the coast and that jealousy keeps the cell cold and frosty. She can hear the God of men from long ago crying above her. She then asks a series of questions, including if the spring is shy when its flowers are blooming, if planters plant seeds in darkness, and if the plowman can only work at night. She then asks to be freed from her cold chains, exclaiming that self-serving misery holds love captive when it should be freed.
Earth's Answer
What was Blake's career that allowed him to create the unique format of "Songs of Experience"?
Engraver and book illustrator ("Songs of Experience" was engraved, hand printed, and colored by Blake)
In the poem "Nurse's Song", the tone is developed through the speaker’s reaction to watching the children play. The phrases that develop this tone are “green”, “pale”, “night arise”, “wasted in play”, and “night in disguise”. What is the tone of this poem?
Disgusted and cynical
The poem "The Human Abstract", the speaker details the failings of organized religion. Words like “poor”, “fear”, “selfish”, “tears”, “spreads”, “Deceit”, “vain”, and “grows” help to create the mood for the reader. What is the mood of this poem?
Disapproval and resentment
The poem "A Little Boy Lost" displays the dialogue of a young boy and details the following events. This allows Blake to showcase the different view of the young boy and how it is received negatively in a religious institution. Who is the speaker of this poem?
A third-person narrator who recites the boy's dialogue and recounts the following events.
What poem is this summary for? The speaker says that there would be no need for pity if humans did not create poverty, and mercy would not be needed if everyone was as happy as those with wealth. They say that there is only peace if the people are afraid of each other, since it gets destroyed when people’s selfishness increases. The modesty of religion takes root beneath the tears from cruelty. Overhead, the shadow of religious mystery spreads like branches that the bugs feed off of. This tree grows fruits made of lies, which look healthy and taste sweet. There is a raven living in the darkest nook of the tree. The Gods searched everywhere to find this tree, but they could not locate it, since it resides in the human brain.
The Human Abstract
What were Blake's views on the English monarchy?
His views leaned radical, and he opposed the English monarchy and tyranny.
In the poem "The Little Girl Found", the speaker discusses the struggles that the parents go through in their search for their daughter. Words that convey the tone are “woe”, “deep”, “weep”, “tired”, “shadows”, “starved”, “pale”, “famished”, “piteous”, “weary”, “sorrow”, “followed”, and “lonely”. What is the tone of this poem?
Observant and sympathetic
The poem "The School Boy" begins with one mood in the first stanza as the speaker expresses his delight with summer mornings. Words that create this mood are “love”, “summer”, “sings”, and “sweet”. However, the mood switches as the boy points out the faults of the school system. Words that create this later mood are “cruel”, “sighing”, “dismay”, “drooping”, “anxious”, “dreary”, “nipped”, “stripped”, “sorrow”, “griefs”, and “mellowing”. What are the beginning and ending moods of the poem?
Beginning: Lighthearted and joyful
Ending: Sorrow and sadness