Ideologies of religion in William Blake's writing

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The Ideologies of Blake and his beliefs towards the society which he lives in.

Intro:

William Blake was born and brought up a Baptist, though he did not conform to any value within the Christian faith and even though he was married, he strongly believed that marriage should not be controlled under a legal procedure done by the authority, which at the time was the church, but instead should be fully based on what two persons feel towards each other and should be free to express that feeling. This idea is illustrated in Blake's poem, within the "Songs of experience", "A Little Girl Lost" where he asserts that "But his loving look, Like the holy book; All her tender limbs with terror shook". This passage features irony within the simile used in the line “like the holy book” which is then followed by the phrase “All her tender limbs with terror shook”. This suggests that the loving look given by her father had made her feel the terror that could have been done by the holy book.

Blake uses both religious imageries and literary devices derived from his profession and his religious status; where he’s essentially a Christian but he had his own set of personal views about any significant events within Christianity. Both poems belong to “Songs of Experience” where William Blake seems to be dismissing religion as unnatural, exclusive and restrictive and he also believes that the human soul withers due to the oppression of the society; where influences from the outside world such as: social norms, social statuses, influences from the Church and more hinders the freedom and spontaneity of one’s soul.

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“A Little Boy Lost” is a poem which portrays a boy of age about 10 – 12, and during this age he has brought upon the need for knowledge; where he contemplates whether one can love their self more than they love God. Upon hearing this, a priest then grabs him and punishes him for questioning God; where the priest believed that to some question something means to eventually rebel against it and doubt it.

“A Little Girl Lost” is a poem which portrays a girl disobeying her father by having an informal and secret affair with a boy; where ...

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