Essay Example on William Blake Confusing You Since 1790

William Blake’s attitude toward religion is one that is abstract from what others perceive religion as or how to act His critical perspective is seen throughout his works of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell Blake saw religious institutions as useless creating indirect personal connections by introducing a middle man while blocking personal direct relationships and connections to God something Blake emphasized greatly in his work A Memorable Fancy In addition to A Memorable Fancy he uses the poem Songs of Innocence to emphasize the point that institutions are damaging connections but to also shed light to a bigger meaning For every thing that lives is Holy William Blake criticizes the role of religious institutions as well as the ideas of hell to prove that we are all naturally dedicated to God William Blake's religious view on institutions is overwhelmingly negative He claims that these institutions are misguiding in their preaching by painting Hell in a negative light while also claiming the ability to see their future Blake recounts an event in which the angel claims his actions are pushing him towards hell Blake asks if he can see what his future is like and is taken through a stable and then a church So he took me thro a stable thro a church down into the church vault at the end of which was a mill ii 4 3 After some time the angel leads Blake till a void boundless as a nether sky appear d ii 4 3 4 These statements lead upon Blake s perspective that institutions are mis preaching about Hell Blake uses the location of his future a hot burning dungeon ii 

4 1 to represent the idea that Churches are the entrances of a trap he took me thro a stable thro a church down into the church vault ii 4 3 Furthermore churches in still the idea that Hell is for those who sin Their use of harsh tone and words usher the idea that hell is nothing but a fiery void in which fire symbolizes punishment while angels see hell as torment and insanity ii 1 1 Blake on the other hand is unaffected by the images of black white spiders ii 4 9 and a scaly fold of a monstrous serpent ii 4 11 Instead of seeing the nether black as a sea ii 4 10 he finds himself sitting on a pleasant bank beside a river by moonlight hearing a harper who sung to the harp ii 4 15 16 William Blake uses the differences in how we portray hell to emphasize his point that For every thing that lives is Holy In order for Blake to see his spot in hell he had to travel through a church which paints the church as the entrance towards a trap He argues that these institutions are not needed to connect with God and that our perception of hell being a fiery place of torment is only if we allow ourselves to listen to the words of the institutions that being churches Our connection with God is naturally Holy Blake furthers the idea that institutions are unnecessary by claiming that everyone is naturally inclined to go to God In Blake s work The Divine Image from Songs of Innocence he draws out arguments which support his bigger point For every thing that lives is Holy In the second stanza of The Divine Image mankind calls out for Mercy Pity Peace and Love which are the qualities of God Is God our Father dear i 5 6 Mankind s cry for help is met by God's response addressed to who called out TO Mercy Pity Peace and Love and expresses 

And to these virtues of delight Return their thankfulness i 1 3 4 Blake uses the first two stanzas in order to prove there is a direct and personal relationship towards God when we are in distress Blake also highlights the bigger point as mentioned earlier that we are all holy in one way or another specifically in the second and third stanzas The author personifies each trait of God Mercy has a human heart Pity a human face Love the human form of divine And Peace the human dress i 5 8 Looking closer it appears God assigned each trait when creating mankind This alludes towards the biblical idea that God created mankind as an image of him When one asks for mercy he or she is hoping that God will be kind with his heart but in reality it is us who are kind with our heart These morals and values are cemented into mankind because God desired mankind to be the human form of divine i 11 Blake concludes that where Mercy Love and Pity dwell There is God dwelling too i 19 20 and thus For every thing that lives is Holy As a whole Blake s publication of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell is aimed to enlighten all of mankind of the detrimental effects certain religious aspects hold In A Memorable Fancy Blake synthesizes the idea that religious institutions such that of churches are mere tricks in order to degrade the personal connection that is naturally found with God The Divine Image from The Songs of Innocence further adds onto the idea that For every thing that lives is Holy by pointing out the same qualities of God Mercy Pity Peace and Love are instilled within his creation mankind These two works further solidify his critical perspective on key aspects of religion i William Blake The Divine Image part of Songs of Innocence i line ii William Blake A Memorable Fancy 1 4 part of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell ii Which A Memorable Fancy line pls have mercy