In 1794 an English poet named William Blake wrote a collection of poems. One of the poems in the compilation was "A Poison Tree". My essential question that ties to the Marxist Literary Theory is, What Social Class Is The Writer?
William Blake, in addition to being a poet, was also a dissenter who broke away from the Anglican Church. He also spoke openly in his poems his disdain for established religion and the establishment.
"A Poison Tree" was included in the collection "Songs of Innocence" in 1794. This work is regarded as being one of Blake's "hidden gems". My question is, what social class was he? Was he expressing his frustrations with the bourgeoisie? Or was he one of them, writing of the upper class suppression of the workers?
The Gordon Riots of 1780 is where we can find our answer. William Blake accompanied protesters on a march on the parliament building. According to biographers, he was in the fore-front of the mob. These protests were sparked in response to elimination of penalties against the Roman Catholic Church. The protesters were made up of an unruly proletariat as described by researchers.
Austin, Your annotated bibliography looks awesome. You've done a nice job of selecting some visuals that help to highlight what was going on at the time in terms of class upheaval. And all of your sources look reliable. Good job!
Thank you for not beginning this post with “I am writing my essay on…”. I also like that you are going to be writing on the social aspects of William Blake. How do you plan on answering your theory question? I also am interested to see how you will use the last picture. I think it is interesting and powerful.
I love how you began your annotated bibliography. The sources and pictures you put up on your blog are wonderful examples and useful for your comparative analysis. If I do get to read your comparative analysis I'll be thrilled!
I did not see any connection with socialism only thought that what goes round, comes round - a belief that justice will eventually prevail when people do wrong or carry out evil deeds. Actually, a belief in a God of Justice.
I did not see any connection with socialism only thought that what goes round, comes round - a belief that justice will eventually prevail when people do wrong or carry out evil deeds. Actually, a belief in a God of Justice.
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ReplyDeleteAustin, Your annotated bibliography looks awesome. You've done a nice job of selecting some visuals that help to highlight what was going on at the time in terms of class upheaval. And all of your sources look reliable. Good job!
ReplyDeleteThank you for not beginning this post with “I am writing my essay on…”. I also like that you are going to be writing on the social aspects of William Blake. How do you plan on answering your theory question? I also am interested to see how you will use the last picture. I think it is interesting and powerful.
ReplyDeleteI love how you began your annotated bibliography. The sources and pictures you put up on your blog are wonderful examples and useful for your comparative analysis. If I do get to read your comparative analysis I'll be thrilled!
ReplyDeleteI did not see any connection with socialism only thought that what goes round, comes round - a belief that justice will eventually prevail when people do wrong or carry out evil deeds. Actually, a belief in a God of Justice.
ReplyDeleteI did not see any connection with socialism only thought that what goes round, comes round - a belief that justice will eventually prevail when people do wrong or carry out evil deeds. Actually, a belief in a God of Justice.
ReplyDelete