English literature and linguistics with ASMA SHEIKH

William Blake: From - Auguries of Innocence CRITICAL APPRECIATION
Context

William Blake, an English poet and artist, was born in 1757.
He became part of the famous Romantic Movement along with poets such as Wordsworth and Coleridge.
Romantic poetry is characterised by lyrical, descriptive language and central ideas which embody Nature and Art. Its themes often examine the principles of Freedom and Equality.
Blake’s poetry often rebelled against injustice, rigid class systems and the hypocrisy inherent in organised religion at the time.

Subject and Structure

Subject

The poem is a stark warning about the inevitable consequences for society when there is wanton mistreatment of people and nature.

The poem is a list of cruel situations and auguries (signs) about what might happen if these kinds of injustice continue.
In each of the rhyming couplets we see the juxtaposition of innocence and cruelty.

This poem seems to express Blake’s political views about class structures, slavery, and inequality among other things. He condemns oppression and cruelties against the innocent and vulnerable members of society.

Structure

The poem begins with a quatrain which captures how the beauty of nature and the universe is often in the small everyday details: "To see a world in a grain of sand,/And heaven in a wild flower,/Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,/and eternity in an hour."

This could reflect how children see the world.

The remainder of the poem illustrates how human cruelty towards nature has consequences that may not be felt immediately but will, nevertheless, prove catastrophic.

Auguries of Innocence is written as a series of rhyming couplets, creating a nursery rhyme quality to the poem. This quality serves to highlight further the horror of injustice and inhumanity.
Each couplet contains a paradox, juxtaposing a scene of innocence and vulnerability with one of brutality or fear. Through this Blake succeeds in showing some essential truth about injustice, cruelty or inequality in each couplet.

Language

Think about how the language the poet uses helps convey his ideas. Here are some points to consider:

• An augury is a sign of something to come and the poem is a series of auguries which suggest that human cruelty will be judged eventually and there will be consequences. The reader can see this judge-mental and warning tone throughout the poem.
For example, "Every wolf’s and lion’s howl/Raises from Hell a Human Soul" and "He who shall hurt the little Wren/Shall never be beloved by Men".

• The opening reflection of the poem contains very well known lines. The metaphorical imagery used by Blake reminds us that the small, seemingly insignificant "grain of sand" or "wild flower" can hold universal beauty and importance.

• Blake incorporates a lot of animal imagery in his poem. He uses this imagery to comment on the inequalities, injustices and cruelties of the world, against both people and animals. For example he draws attention to the captivity and servitude of animals such as the "Robin Red breast in a cage" and the "Dog starv’d at his Master’s gate". Each of these images is accompanied by a warning of the consequences of such treatment.

• Blake’s use of symbolism often reflects the innocence of vulnerable members of society; the animals seem to symbolize certain groups in society which are cruelly treated. The Robin Red breast could symbolize the prisoner; the horse, "misus’d upon the road" could symbolize the slave; and the dog might symbolize the beggar.

• This theme continues as Blake explores more examples of man’s careless treatment of creatures who are at his mercy. He describes how "He who shall hurt the little Wren/Shall never be belov’d of men" and how "He who the Ox to wrath hath mov’d/Shall never be by woman lov’d." Lines such as these reinforce the idea that all life can be seen through nature (as seen in the opening lines) and that man has a responsibility not to treat nature thoughtlessly but rather must nurture and appreciate it.

• The verbs ‘hurt’ and ‘torment’ are examples of emotive language. The ‘wanton’ treatment of the vulnerable will have irreversible consequences as seen in Blake’s use of verbs such as "‘howl’" and "‘calls’" to suggest the animals are crying out for help, creating sympathy in the reader. The use of the word "‘outcry’" in the line "Each outcry from the hunted Hare" also creates a sense of the hare appealing to be saved.

Attitudes and Ideas

Blake seems to use a rather righteous tone in his poem, warning the reader of the consequences of abusing the vulnerable and innocent.

There are frequent examples of this type of judgemental prediction throughout the poem, for example, "A dog starv’d at his Master’s gate,/Predicts the ruin of the state", and the final apocalyptic warning, "Kill not the moth nor butterfly,/For the last judgement draweth nigh".

This apocalyptic imagery seems to reflect Blake’s belief that mankind must stop these injustices or there will be dire consequences for society and humanity.