William Blake e Mary Shelley: riassunto

Riassunto in inglese della vita, delle opere e del pensiero di William Blake e Mary Shelley (2 pagine formato doc)

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WILLIAM BLAKE E MARY SHELLEY

William Blake e Mary Shelley: riassunto in inglese.

William Blake was born in London in 1757, in 1778 he enrolled at the new royal academy of arts, and in 1789 he published his first collection of poetry “songs of innocent”. Then he published “songs of innocent and of experience” in a combined volume.
the poems illustrated each one with a picture, the lamb and the tiger. Blake elaborated a complete view of the world in a complex mythology.
In his painting and engravings he use a complex symbolism and personal reworking of myth and historical materials.

A REVOLUTIONARY ARTIST: Blake’s personality and poetry marked the beginning of the romantic age.
Politically he was in favour of French and American revolutions, his works were considered as an instrument for the oppression of men, a kind of intellectual and social tyranny.

THE TWO CONTRARY STATES OF HUMAN SOUL: Songs of innocence and Songs of experience were published in the same edition. The first was intended for children; but together the collection of poetry showed the two contrary states of human soul.
The world of innocence is apparently full of joy and happiness, it seems like a Garden of Eden, with the figure of lamb and child, both symbols of Christ.
The world of experience, was governed by selfishness, cruelty and social injustice; its symbol was the tiger.

WILLIAM BLAKE: IMMAGINAZIONE E STILE

IMAGINATION FOR BLAKE: Blake did not believe in man’s rationality, but he believed in faith and intuition as a true knowledge and refused the truth of sensorial experience.
He thought that imagination enabled man to see beyond physical reality, in the “tiger” there is a question about the possibility of understanding the universe through the senses and reason

BLAKE’S STYLE: Blake use complex symbols, he believed that the physical world could be read as the book of god.
The lamb and tiger are symbols of a supernatural reality.
He uses a simple language and syntax, often he adopts an apparently naive style; he uses Anglo-Saxon vocabulary. The repetitions and the regular scheme are typical of ballads or children’s songs.

Mary Shelley in inglese: riassunto

WILLIAM BLAKE: OPERE

“THE LAMB” p.149 It is compose by two stanzas, in stanza 1 the lamb is free and happy. The lamb is symbol of innocence and perfect harmony of its existence.
In stanza 2 there is the reply, the Lamb is identified with Christ, it is confirmed by the voice of the child. Both the Lamb and child are united in God’s name.
In this work Blake used sweet vocals and consonants to emphasize the mildness of the lamb.
The lamb was the symbol of innocence and purity but also of the sacrifice of Christ.

“THE TIGER” p.151 It was composed in 6 stanzas. The tiger was a symbol of experience, it was frightening and fascinating it was a Christian symbol.
The tiger was connect with “the forest of the night” and its fearful symmetry (is an “ossimoro”, because it contains words that are contradictory meaning)
The quality of the tiger was the fire in its eyes and the question about its origins. The tiger was the opposite of the lamb.
Blake used hard vocals and consonants to emphasize the power of the tiger, characterized as a negative element.

MARY SHELLEY: VITA

Mary Shelley. She was the daughter of radical philosopher William Godwin and of Mary Wollstonecraft, the pioneer feminist.
She fell in love with an admirer of her father and ran off to Europe, then she lived in Switzerland and Germany. Her first and best work was Frankenstein, published anonymously in 1818.
After the death of her husband he devote the rest of her life to editing and publicizing his works.