William Blake. Songs of innocence and songs of experience. The lamb, the tyger, the chimney sweeper
Riassunto sulla vita e opere di William Blake. Analisi e commento di: songs of innocence and songs of experience. The lamb, the tyger, the chimney sweeper (3 pagine formato docx)
William Blake was born in London in 1757.
He was the first great romantic. He began his career as an artist, he was an engraver: he engraved drawings on copper plates. Inspired by the Middle Ages, he painted his works with the technique of the illuminated printing, so he used two codes of communication: linguistic and figurative. His masterpiece is a collection of poems: “Songs of Innocence” and “Songs of Experience”.
Blake wasn’t indifferent to the political and social issues of his time. In fact, he responded to the cruelty of slave trade or to the exploitation of children.
“The French Revolution, a Prophecy” and “America, a Prophecy” celebrated the Revolution in France and the independence of the American colonies. “Visions of the daughters of Albion” denounced the subordination of woman.
In other poems, there is the symbolism, that is hard to decode because it is based on the poet’s own mystical and metaphysical systems. He suffered because his works weren’t understood and appreciated. He lived in poverty, bat the last years of his life were happier, in fact he met a young artist who appreciated his art and helped him. Black died in 1827, while he was illustrating the Divine Comedy.
Black was rediscovered in the middle of the 19 century.