AN ANALYIS OF SPIRITUAL SYMBOLS IN WILLIAM BLAKE‘S POEMS

v

AN ANALYIS OF SPIRITUAL SYMBOLS IN WILLIAM BLAKE‘S POEMS

A THESIS

BY

IRNAWATI TARIHORAN

Reg no: 110705050

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

FACULTY OF CULTURAL STUDIES

UNIVERSITY OF SUMATERA UTARA

MEDAN 2016

UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA

vi


vii

Approved By Department of English, Faculty of Cultural Studies University of Sumatera

Utara (USU) Medan As a Thesis For The Sarjana Sastra Examination.

Head, Secretary,

Dr. H. Muhizar Muchtar, Ms Rahmadsyah Rangkuti, MA. Ph.D

NIP: 19541117 198003 1 002 NIP: 19750209 200812 1 002


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Accepted by the Board of Examiners in Partial fulfillment of Requirements for the Degree

of Sarjana Sastra from Department of English, Faculty of Cultural Studies University of

Sumatera Utara, Medan.

The Examination is Held in Department of English Faculty of Cultural Studies University

of Sumatera Utara on October 14th

, 2016.

Dean of Faculty of Cultural Studies

University of Sumatera Utara

Dr. Budi, Agustono, M,S

NIP: 19600805198703 1 001

Board of Examiners (signature)

1. Dr. H. Muhizar Muchtar, M S .....................................

2. Rahmadsyah Rangkuti, MA. Ph.D .......................................

3. Dr. Siti Norma Nasution, M.Hum ......................................

4. Drs. Parlindungan Purba, M.Hum .....................................


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AUTHOR'S DECLARATION

I, IRNAWATI TARIHORAN, DECLARE THAT I AM THE SOLE AUTHOR OF THIS

THESIS EXCEPT WHERE REFERENCE IS MADE IN THE TEXT OF THIS THESIS.

THIS THESIS CONTAINS NO MATERIAL PUBLISHED ELSEWHERE OR

EXTRACTED IN WHOLE OR IN PART FROM A THESIS BY WHICH I HAVE

QUALIFIED FOR OR AWARDED ANOTHER DEGREE. NO OTHER PERSON’S

WORK HAS BEEN USED WITHOUT DUE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS IN THE MAIN

TEXT OF THIS THESIS. THIS THESIS HAS NOT BEEN SUBMITTED FOR THE

AWARD OF ANOTHER DEGREE IN ANY TERTIARY EDUCATION.

Signed : ...……………….

Date : October 17th

, 2016


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COPYRIGHT DECLARATION

NAME : IRNAWATI TARIHORAN

TITLE OF THESIS : AN ANALYSIS OF SPIRITUAL SYMBOLS IN WILLIAM

BLAKE’SPOEMS

QUALIFICATION : S1

STUDY PROGRAM : ENGLISH LITEARTURE

I AM WILLING THAT MY THESIS SHOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR

REPRODUCTION AT THE DISCRETION OF THE LIBRARIAN OF DEPARTMENT

OF ENGLISH, FACULTY OF CULTURAL STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF SUMATERA

UTARA ON THE UNDERSTANDING THAT USERS ARE MADE AWARE OF THEIR

OBLIGATION UNDER THE LAW OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA.

Signed : ….……………..

Date : October 17th

, 2016


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ABSTRAK

Skripsi ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis spiritual symbol yang terdapat di dalam 7 puisi

William Blake yang berjudul ―The Angel‖, ―The Lamb‖, ―The Tyger‖, ―Hear the voice‖, ―A

poison tree‖, ―The divine image‖, and ―Jerusalem‖. Beberapa symbol yang dianalisis dalam

skripsi ini adalah symbol yang berhubungan dengan hal-hal spiritual khusus nya tentang ide

keTuhanan yang di gagas William di dalam puisi-puisinya. Tujuan penulis menganalisis symbol

dalam puisi William Blake ini adalah untuk mengidentifikasi makna simbol-simbol tersebut.

Tulisan ini menggunakan metode penulisan deskriptif kualitatif, karena metode ini fokus pada

mengambilan data dan penerjemahan nya. Di dalam puisi-puisi ini terdapat beberapa spiritual

symbol, contohnya di dalam puisi ―The Angel‖ merupkan symbol dari ciptaan Tuhan yang

memiliki tugas untuk menolong, ―The lamb‖ merupakan symbol dari Tuhan Jesus, :The Tyger‖

adalah symbol dari kekuatan Tuhan dalam menciptakan sesuatu yang sangat kuat dan

mengerikan. Harapan penulis skripsi ini dapat memberikan pengetahuan tentang analisis simbol

puisi kepada pembaca, khususnya tentang simbol yang ditulis oleh William Blake.

Kata kunci : William Blake, symbol, spiritual symbol, symbol analisis.


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ABSTRACT

This thesis deals with an analysis of spiritual symbols in the seven poems of William

Blake, such as "The Angel", "The Lamb", "The Tyger", "Hear the voice", "A poison tree", "The

divine image", and "Jerusalem". The symbols that analyzed in this thesis is a symbol which

related to the spiritual matters specifically about the idea of deity in William‘s poems. The

purpose of the authors analyzed the symbols in William Blake‘s poems is to identify the meaning

of these symbols. This thesis uses qualitative descriptive method, qualitative method focuses on

collecting data and makes interpretation based on the data. In these poems there are some

spiritual symbols, for example, in The Angel poem, "The Angel" is symbol of divinity creature

who has duty to help, "The lamb" is a symbol of the Lord Jesus, ―The Tyger "is a symbol of the

power of God in creating something very powerful, and etc. The author hopes this thesis will be

beneficial to the readers who want to understand about the symbols analysis of poetry, especially

the symbol that was written by William Blake.

Keywords : William Blake, symbol in poem, spiritual symbol, and symbol analysis.


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ACKNOWLEDMENTS

First of all, I would like to thank to my Lord, Jesus Christ, for being my only Savior. For

all tears and smiles, sorrow and happiness during my ages, I thank God, gratefully.

I would like also to give my gratitude to Dean of Faculty of Cultural Studies, Dr Budi

Agustono M,S, the Head of English Department, Dr.H. Muhizar Muchtar, MS, the Secretary of

English Department, Rahmadsyah Rangkuti, MA.ph.D., and all of lectures for all guidance

during my academic years in English Department.

It is also a high appreciation to my Supervisor, Dr. Siti Norma Nasution, M.hum and my

Co-supervisor, Dra, Diah Rahayu Pratama,M.pd, for all positive advises which been given to me

and for all your valuable time during the thesis writing. Thank you for everything I learned.

My deepest thank is highly dedicated for both of my parents; my beloved father, B.

Tarihoran and my wonderful mom, R. Panjaitan, for all your love and affection, good care and

sincerity, for all compassion efforts you have been taking for us. And definitely, my big brothers,

Olinhart and John, my younger brothers, Dicky, Ferdi, and Aldo. It is always a pleasure for

having family of us and the last for Bibi Pagit Maria Tarigan, Thank you for sharing and giving

me advices. I love you all.

My special thanks is also delivered to all of my friends, my roommates in dormitory

USU, Yuke, Putri, Eca, Stephani, Ruth, Beta and Satria, Thank you for being such a wonderful

friend. For my adventure friends Andreas Gozali, Yuke and Septa,Thank you for our adventure

times unite with the nature and also for my class mates Hanna Gabe, Dj and again asepgo, thank


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you for being nonsense together for almost 5 years :D I will never forget you all, may God

always be with you

Last but not least, I thank the silence for being my faithful companion of my life. That‘s

all.

Medan, October 17th

, 2016

The Writer

Irnawati Tarihoran

Reg no: 110705050


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

AUTHOR DECLARATION ............................................................................................ v

COPYRIGHT DECLARATION ..................................................................................... vi

ABSTRAK ......................................................................................................................... vii

ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................................ ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. xi

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

1.1 The Background of the Study ............................................................... 1

1.2 The Problem of the Study ..................................................................... 5

1.3 The Objective of the Study ................................................................... 5

1.4 The Scope of the Study ......................................................................... 5

1.5 The Significance of the Study ............................................................... 5

CHAPTER ll REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 Definition of Literature .................................................................... 7

2.2 Definition of Poetry ......................................................................... 7

2.3 Romanticism .................................................................................... 9

2.4 Hermeneutic Theory ........................................................................ 10

2.5 Term of Symbol ............................................................................... 12


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2.5.1 Conventional Symbol ............................................................ 14

2.5.2 Personal Symbol .................................................................... 15

2.6 The Meaning of Spiritual ................................................................. 16

2.7 Types of Poem ................................................................................. 16

2.8 Kinds of Poem ................................................................................ 17

CHAPTER lll METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH

3.1 Research Design................................................................................ 21

3.2 Data Collecting ................................................................................. 22

3.3 Data Analysis ..................................................................................... 23

CHAPTER lV ANALYSIS AND FINDING

4.1 The Spiritual Symbols Analysis in William Blake‘s Poems

4.1.1. The Angel .................................................................................... 25

4.1.2 The Lamb ...................................................................................... 28

4.1.3 The Tyger ..................................................................................... 30

4.1.4 Hear the Voice of the Bard ........................................................... 34

4.1.5 A Poison Tree ............................................................................... 36

4.1.6 The Divine Image ......................................................................... 39

4.1.7 Jerusalem ...................................................................................... 42


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CHAPTER V CONCLUTION AND SUGGESTION

5.1 Conclusion ........................................................................................... 46

5.2 Suggestion ............................................................................................ 48

REFERENCES .................................................................................................................. 49

APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1: WILLIAM BLAKE’S BIOGRAPHY

APPENDIX 2: WILLIAM BLAKE’S POEMS


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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

The thesis which entitled an analysis of spiritual symbols in William Blake‘s

Poems deals with an analysis of William Blake‘s poems which are related to the spiritual

symbols. The poems were chosen as the main subject of the analyzing. Poem is a

product of literature and literature talks about life.

Literature is about life and living means the portrait of what happened in human

lives such as birth, death, happiness, sufferance, love, hatred, loneliness, togetherness

and other human living experiences. The definition of literature cannot stuck on the

Latin term ‗letter‘ which the word literature was taken, literature here involve the artistic

merit which have more value. Shortly, literature is about people‘s idea and feelings, the

true one or kind of imagination. People who want to express their feelings or emotion

can use this product of literature called literary works. Literary Genre, Mode and Style at

the Victoria web say ―There are 3 kinds of literary work, they are poetry, prose, and

drama.‖ But in this thesis I want to focus on analysis poetry.

It is very difficult to define what poetry is, because there are many definitions of

poetry, and they come from a pen of a great poets and critics. Dunton in Pardede (2006:

105) states that poetry is the concrete and artistic expression of human mind, in

emotional and rhythmic language. Actually, poetry is a means to convey the poet‘s idea

and emotion. Poem is the arrangement of words that contain meaning and musical

elements. It is a piece of writing that expresses the writer‘s thought and feelings in order


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to set a mood; it can be happy or sad, simple or complex. In just a few words, a poem

can say a lot. It can inspire and we and can be a welcome escape into something that is

totally wonderful. A poem can either be rhyming, or non-rhyming. It uses symbols and

has lines and stanzas that have sentences, fragments of sentences or both.

Symbols were first used a lot in the Romantic poems, where the poets often want

to express their sense of unseen world in the imagination. Peck and Coyle (1984:71)

state that a symbol is an object which stands for something. In a poem it is a word which

also signifies something beyond itself. Steven‘s uses the symbols of the things are not

only to express his desire but also to express his senses of an unseen world in the

imagination. Imagination and understanding the characteristics of the symbol in a poem

are needed to identify the implied symbols as something that means more than what they

are. Steven was concerned with the transformative power of the imagination. Concerning

the relation between consciousness and the world, in Stevens's work "imagination" it is

not equivalent to consciousness nor is "reality" equivalent to the world as it exists

outside our minds. It becomes problems, because many people think imagination

becomes true. The reality is that the product of the imagination as it shapes the world.

Because it is constantly changing as we attempt to find imaginatively satisfying ways to

perceive the world, reality is an activity, not a static object. We approach reality with a

piecemeal understanding, putting together parts of the world in an attempt to make it

seem coherent. To make sense of the world is to construct a worldview through an active

exercise of the imagination. There is no dry, philosophical activity, but a passionate

engagement in finding order and meaning


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William Blake for example, uses symbols to convey his idea through his poems.

He wanted to express his sense of unseen world in the imagination. Blake did not belong

to the romantic period. But actually he is a romantic poet. William Blake was born in

London in 1757, the son of a London hosier. He was one of four children. Already at the

age of nine, he told his parents that he had seen vision, mostly of angels, Blake began

experiencing visions, and his friend and journalist Henry Crabb Robinson wrote that

Blake saw God's head appear in a window when Blake was 4 years old. He also

allegedly saw the prophet Ezekiel under a tree and had a vision of "a tree filled with

angels." Blake's visions would have a lasting effect on the art and writings that he

produced, and he continued to see such visions for the rest of his life. To Blake,

"reality was spirituality". In other words, he believed that the visible, audible, and

tangible world is not reality. Reality, or the "real" world, can only be grasped by the

human spirit with the help of imagination.

“William Blake is one of the great mystics of the world; and he is by far the greatest

and most profound who has spoken in English. Like Henry More and Wordsworth, he

lived in a world of glory, of spirit and of vision. At the age of four he saw God looking in

at the window, and from that time until he welcomed the approach of death by singing

songs of joy which made the rafters ring, he lived in an atmosphere of divine

illumination.” ("Caroline F. E. Spurgeon, Mysticism in English Literature, (1913))

In this case I would like to analyze William Blake‘s poems which contain the

spiritual symbols. The poems that I‘m going to analyze are ‖The Angel‖, The Tyger,

‖The Lamb‖, ―Hear the voice of the Bard‖ , ― A poison tree‖, ―The divine image‖ and


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―Jerusalem‖. In these seven poems, there are so many spiritual symbols that used by

William Blake, The lamb‖ for example, for Christian people the lamb refers to Jesus

Christ, and in ―The tyger‘ refers to a wild animal. It is challenge me to find out, what

William Blake means through those symbols.

In analyzing the problem in this thesis, the writer will use hermeneutic theory.

Through hermeneutic theory, the writer will focus on analyzing and interpreting the data.

To do those analyses the writer uses descriptive qualitative method. As the opposition to

quantitative method, qualitative method focuses on collecting data and makes

interpretation based on the data. The main field of this method is about the thoughts and

actions human which is suitable to this thesis.

Through this thesis the writer wants to show the reader that poem is not about words

or about the arrangement of words. Poem as a beautiful language is rich of meaning.

Behind those beautiful language there may be hidden a beautiful or even a sorrowful

meaning. Poem is more complex than what is seen, it has meaning even message. The

selected poems of William Blake (The Angel, The tyger, The Lamb, hear the voice of the

Bard, A poison tree, The divine image and Jerusalem) are full of meaning and history.

Through the analysis of this thesis, the writer hopes that the reader will understand the

spiritual symbol in William Blake‗s selected poems, in which the reader can feel the

situation or the history when those poems were created.


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1.2 Problem of Study

1. What are the spiritual symbols in William Blake‗s selected poems?

2. What are the meanings of those spiritual symbols?

1.3 Objectives of Study

The objectives of the study of this thesis as to answer the problem of the study

above are:

1. To show the spiritual symbols in William Blake‘s poems.

2. To identify what are the meaning of those spiritual symbols.

1.4 The Scope of the Study

This thesis is based on William Blake‘s poems. The poem itself is the main

source of this analysis. In this thesis, I am going to focus on the spiritual symbols in

Blake‘s poems. At last, I limit this analysis to seven of Blake‘s poems, they are: The

Angel, The Tyger, The Lamb, Hear the voice of the Bard, A poison tree, The divine

image and Jerusalem.

1.5 Significance of Study

There are some of significances of the analysis. First of all, the analysis is

significant to add the literary vocabulary for poem analysis. Secondly, to find the

characteristic of poem that contain the symbols trough the lyrics related to life. This

theoretical purpose is to show that reading a poem is not difficult as people thought

because the poems can be about anything. The reader can interpret, express and grasp

idea of the poems freely depending on their perception, expression, and feeling. And the


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practically purpose to make the reader can describe the poet with the clear meaning

should be clearly expressed and writer consists of their life and their presumption.


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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 Definition of Literature

Moody (1968:2) says literature springs from our inborn love of telling story, of

arranging words in pleasing patterns, of expressing in word some special aspect of our

human experience. It is usually set down in printed characters for us to read, though

some forms of it are performed on certain social occasion. There are number of different

branches such as Drama, Poetry, the Novel, the Short story; all these are works of the

imagination or the capacity for invention. The greatest pleasure and satisfaction to be

found in literature occur where it brings us back to the realities of human situation,

problems, feelings and relationships.

Taylor (1981:1) Literature, like other arts, is essentially an imaginative act, that

is, an act of the writer‘s imagination in selecting, ordering and interpreting life-

experience, in the case of literature, words are the medium of expression and it makes

little difference whether those words are recorded in the living memory of a people or by

some mechanical means such as writing, sound recording, etc.

2.2 Definition of Poetry

Wordsworth defined poetry as the ―The spontaneous overflow of powerful

feeling: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility‖. Poetry is a part of

writing which has substances of feeling and emotions. The substances express by

carefully selected words and become an aesthetics opus.


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Miller (1981: 44) said, ―Poetry is the kind poets write‖. To define poetry is not

easy because not everything can be named or explained. So, it is enough to sharpen your

perception as a reader and to permit a fuller understanding of what it is in the poem that

gives pleasure and creates form and meaning. Literature is a term used to describe

written or spoken material.

Harry (972:214) says, ―Poetry is a literary work in metrical form or patterned

language.tha art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken is designed to produce

pleasure through beautiful, elevated, imaginative, or profound thought‖.

Barber (1083: 4) says, ― poetry I literature written I verse but poetry too is

fiction: when a poet offers us events, moods, attitudes, emotions, or whatever, he does

not invite us to believe that they are the transcription of something that has happened;

rather he invites us to experience them‖.

Poetry also observes a sense of pattern that put into consideration of the words

that connect to each other, either in terms of sound or original meanings.

Edgar (1993:5) says, ―Poems are often about subjects that never experienced

directly.‖ This statement shows if the experience of the poem to recapture, understand

the language, ideas, attitudes, and frames of references that will make the poem come

alive and he according to him, only a short poem could sustain the level of emotion in

the reader that was generated by all good poetry.

Robert (1993:547) said that poetry and poem describe a wide variety of subjects.

The poem, however, is in itself concerned with the figurative and slippery nature of truth


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and knowledge, the disappearance of hard fact in fiction and dream, the inability of the

wandering mind to envision a paradise other than a glimpse.

2.3. Romanticism

Romanticism was a literary movement that swept through virtually every country

of Europe, the United States, and Latin America that lasted from about 1750 to 1870.

However, the Romantic Movement did not reach France until the1820's. Romanticism's

essential spirit was one of revolt against an established order of things-against precise

rules, laws, dogmas, and formulas that characterized Classicism in general and late18th-

century Neoclassicism in particular. It praised imagination over reason, emotions over

logic, and intuition over science-making way for a vast body of literature of great

sensibility and passion. In their choice of heroes, also, the romantic writers replaced the

static universal types of classical 18th-century literature with more complex,

idiosyncratic characters. They became preoccupied with the genius, the hero, and the

exceptional figure in general, and a focus on his passions and inner struggles and there

was an emphasis on the examination of human personality and its moods and mental

potentialities.

Romanticism stresses on self-expression and individual uniqueness that does not

lend itself to precise definition. Romantics believed that men and women ought to be

guided by warm emotions rather than the cold abstract rules and rituals established by

Bourgeois society. The bourgeois, who promoted, defended, and openly profited by the

Revolution of 1830, brought with them, when they rose to power, certain social customs.

No doubt all the Romantics would have furiously denied that they were bourgeois, and


https://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist255/jkr/courtship.html

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many of them would indignantly have repudiated Napoleon III, rather than declare

allegience to whom Victor Hugo went into exile for 18 years. In the period of its most

active fermentation, the Romantic Movement was nothing more than a protest against

bourgeois conventions, bourgeois society and morality. To be extreme and

flamboyant and unusual and violent even at the risk of becoming grotesque was the

desire of every young Romantic. The Romantics were, in fact, bourgeois origins, who

were trying hard to escape from their own shadows.

2.4 Hermeneutic Theory

Schleiermacher in Keserci (2013:1) Hermeneutics is a methodology for

interpretation of all texts. Hermeneutics, the art of interpretation, was firstly used for the

definition of Scripture and other texts by ancient Greek philosophers. In this sense,

hermeneutics has a long history, reaching back at least as far as ancient Greece. In

ancient Greek mythology, Hermes was the messenger of God who interpreted messages

from the God to human and explained wishes of God to them, so, the word Hermeneus

―hermeneutics‖ or the art of interpreting hidden meaning. By Schleiermacher, the

philosophy of modern hermeneutics has been developed. Hermeneutic was generally

understood as techniques for understanding passages of a text that may be difficult to

understand. Schleiermacher challenged this assumption and presented differences

between the author and the reader-interpreter with respect to their personal histories, the

use of language, culture, worldview, and stressed misunderstanding, rather than

understanding in textual interpretation. Schleiermacher transformed hermeneutics from a

technique to a general theory of understanding and interpreting texts. Schleiermacher


http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist255/bohem/

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist255/bohem/

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mentions about three basic problems dealing with understanding: Difficulty in

understanding, not understanding, and misunderstanding.

The goal of interpreting a text for Schleiermacher is to recover the author's

originally intended meaning. Therefore, according to Schleiermacher, interpretation has

two, equally important, aspects: grammatical (objective) or psychological (subjective).

According to Schleiermacher, grammatical interpretation refers to understanding and

interpreting a text in 17 the context of the language with its possibilities and limits. As

distinct from grammatical interpretation, psychological interpretation aims to reconstruct

the author's mental. Primarily, Schleiermacher does not make a distinction between

understanding and interpretation of texts unlike traditional hermeneutics. Because, he

believes both are completely connected with each other. Each sense at the same time is

an interpretation. In the same way each interpretation also is an indicative of a meaning.

While these actions are done by reviewer using their concepts, he converts a foreign text

into their own language.

Schleiermacher removes understanding from being a special case that only

applies to written texts and wants to convert to an indispensable element for situations

such as mutual dialogue speech which as the principal tool of communication among

people. However, in doing so in any kind of dialogue occurring among people does not

want to act from the point at where understanding of actions occur. In summary,

Schleiermacher maintains that while grammatical interpretation is a method of

understanding how meaning is determined by the way in which language is used;

psychological interpretation is a method of understanding how spoken or written


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language represents the thoughts of the person who is speaking or writing Grammatical

and Psychological elements which are always combined in discourse. Thus,

hermeneutics and criticism is concerned with understanding the similarities and

differences which may occur between these objective and subjective elements. Also, the

development of hermeneutics is still very much an ongoing process both as it concerns

the nature of interpretation itself and as it concerns the scope and significance of

interpretation

2.5 The Term of Symbol

Symbol Etimologically, a symbol is ―something thrown together‖. The ultimate

source is Greek, sumballein, it formed from the prefix sum-―together‖ and the suffix

ballein ―throw‖. So symbol is something thrown together (Ayto:1990). The notion of

‗throwing or putting things together‘ led on to the notion of ‗contrast‘ and so sumballein

came to be used for ‗compare‘. it was derived from sumbolon, which denoted an

‗indentifying token‘—because such tokens were compared with a counterpart to make

sure that were genuine — and hence an ‗outward sign‘ of something‖. According to

dictionary of word origins, Arcade (1990).The word symbol which is derived from the

Greek word symbolon in ancient Greece it was a custom to break a slate of burned clay

into several pieces and give each individual in a group one piece as a mark of

identification. When, at a later date, they met and fitted the pieces together (Greek

symbollein) it confirmed that the persons were the same ones, or representatives of

those, who had received the pieces of clay in the first place.


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The use of the word symbol was widened to include the engraved shells that were

employed by those initiated in the mysteries, both as marks of identification and as

essential components in ritual gatherings. It was only a short step away to the word‘s

eventual meaning, in which an object, either through a visual similarity or a common

agreement between those using it, represented something other than itself. Camte Goblet

d'Alviella, in his book on The Migration of Symbols says a symbol is: "Might be defined

as a representation which does not aim at being a reproduction.

Originally, as he points out, used by the Greeks to denote the two halves of the

tablet they divided between themselves as a pledge of hospitality," It came to be used of

every sign, formula, or rite by which those initiated in any mystery made themselves

secretly known to one another. Gradually the word extended its meaning, until it came to

denote every conventional representation of idea by form, of the unseen by the visible.

(Literary Symbolism:9) For example, Angel is a symbol of Hope, goodness, purity,

protection, comfort and consolation. They also represent the spiritual nature of the being.

A word, a phrase, or an image used with some kind of special reference (which is what a

symbol is usually taken to mean) are all symbols when they are distinguishable elements

in critical analysis. From the word symbol came the concept of symbolism where one

object is used to refer to something else. Even the letters a writer spells his words with

form part of his symbolism in this sense: they would be isolated only in special cases,

such as alliteration or dialect spellings, but we are still aware that they symbolize sounds.

Criticism as a whole, in terms of this definition, would begin with, and largely consist of,

the systematizing of literary symbolism. It follows that other words must be used to

classify the different types of symbolism.


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Symbolism is used in literature to give to the literary work meaning that goes

beyond what is evident to the reader. Symbolism helps in giving the piece of writing

feeling and mood without the writer having to actually spell out the same. By giving

certain things human like characteristics and also defining them with certain qualities,

the writer can manage to give the novel another level that may refer to things that are

completely alien from what is mentioned in the piece of writing A symbol, in a broadest

use of term, is anything which signifies something else; in this sense, all words are

symbols. As commonly used in criticism, however, ―symbol‘ is applied only to a word

or phrase signifying an object which itself has significance; that is, the object referred to

has a range of meaning beyond itself. Some symbols are conventional and public, Klarer

(1976:140) says a symbol is a thing that suggest more than its literal meaning in a

literary text. He divides symbol into two kinds; they are conventional and private

symbol.

2.5.1 Conventional Symbol

Conventional symbol is a symbol is easily that has an understood or widely

accepted interpretation. There are some conventional symbols that are easily University

of Sumatera Utara recognizable, for example, a flag which is a physical, representation

of a country. Even as children people know that the flag isn‘t the country, but that it

stands for a country. Conventional or traditional literary symbols work in much the same

way, and because they have previously agreed upon meaning, they can be used to

suggest ideas more universal than the physical thing itself. Conventional symbol has

meaning that recognized by a society for example: Red can symbolize blood, passion,


15

danger, or immoral character and stars are the symbols of Moslem. The following

objects have been considered as conventional symbols for centuries, some of which are

reflected in religious customs, mythical story and literature. The universal symbol

usually have known by many people or groups in society that when a writer puts a

symbol in the story and the symbol is known as universal symbol, the groups in society

and some people have same perception of the meanings of symbol when they recognize

the symbol firstly.

2.5.2. Personal Symbol

Personal symbol or private symbol is a symbol that made and put by the author

in a literary works as individual works. The symbol isn‘t known by majority of a society,

it‘s the one that requires special or private knowledge to understand the meaning of and

according in the context of specific story. The problem with private symbol is the

readers do not understand much about the symbol. It is a relation between the reader and

the author because The author needs to present or create a symbol using the context of

literary work and the reader understand the symbol according context of text, the reader

must recognize an object or things as a symbol. That‘s why a reader must to relate the

interpretation to the total meaning.


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2.6. The Meaning of Spiritual

There is no single, widely agreed definition of spirituality, Surveys of the

definition of the term, as used in scholarly research, show a broad range of definitions,

with very limited similitude. These range from very narrow and un-dimensional

definitions such as a personal belief in a supernatural realm to broader concepts such as a

quest for an ultimate/sacred meaning, transcending the base/material aspects of life

and/or a sense of awe/wonderment and reverence achieved via connection with the

universe.

In modern times the emphasis is on subjective experience. It may denote almost

any kind of meaningful activity or blissful experience. It still denotes a process of

transformation but in a context separate from organized religious institutions, termed

"spiritual but not religious. Houtman and Aupers suggest that modern spirituality is a

blend of humanistic psychology, mystical and esoteric traditions and eastern religions.

2.7 Types of Poem

There are five types of poems in particular. They are descriptive, reflective,

narrative, lyric, and sonnet. Each kind has much common features though the difference

is connected to form and style of expressing idea. Since the poems that are going to be

analyzed consists of descriptive, reflective, and lyrics, I will focus on those types of

poems.


17

a. Descriptive

Descriptive poem is a poem which describes people or experience, scenes

or objects.

b. Reflective

Reflective poem is a thoughtful poem often containing a great deal of

description which the poet comments on as form, upon which draws a

conclusion.

c. Lyrics

Lyrics is the simplest form of poetry like a song which usually the

expression of mood or feeling.

2.8 Kinds of Poem

There are ten kinds of poem; they are ballad, ode, elegy, pastoral, sonnet, epic,

dramatic monologue, satire, confessionals, free verse, (Kasim, 2007. Introduction to

Literature)

a. Ballad

Ballad is a short narrative song preserved and transmitted orally among illiterate

or semiliterate people. Some characteristics of ballad are: first, ballad focus on a single

crucial episode or situation. The ballad begins usually at a point where the action is

decisively directed towards its catastrophe. The second, ballads are dramatic. We are not

told things happening: we are shown them happening. The third, ballads are impersonals.


18

The narrator seldom allows his own subjective attitude toward the events to intrude

ballads often contain dialogues between characters.

b. Ode

Ode is the most formal, ceremonious, and complex, organized form of lyric

poetry, usually of considerable length. It is frequently the vehicle for public utterance on

state occasion, such as a ruler‘s birthday, accession, and funeral.

c. Elegy

Elegy is the words derive from the Greek word ―elegeia‖ which means ―lament‖.

Elegy is formal in tone and diction; it usually contains the commemoration of the death

of actual person or the poet‘s contemplation of the tragic aspects of life. Elegy is also

written to express felling of sorrow or loss.

d. Pastoral

Pastoral is a type of poetry that describes rural life. It often deals with the love of

shepherd and shepherdesses.

e. Sonnet

Sonnet is a poem that consists of fourteen lines. It rhyme scheme has, in practice,

been widely varied. The confessional poems are basically autobiographical in nature. It

is the poet speaking specifically about himself. And free-verse it is the kinds of poetry an

author doesn‘t use either rhyme- scheme or metrical devices.


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f. Epic

Epic is the most ambitious kind of poetry deals with great heroes whose actions

determined the fate of their nation or of mankind.

g. Dramatic monologue

Dramatic monologue is a type of poetry in which a person expresses the though

and feeling which are uppermost in his mind to another person who keeps silent all the

time with a view to convincing to hearer of what he thinks. It is essentially a study of

character, of mental states or moral crisis, made from inside. It is predominantly

psychological, analytical, meditative, and argumentative. In a dramatic monologue, the

speakers speaks and addresses his argument to another person who generally keep mum,

which infuses great dramatic quality into it

h. Satire

Satire is a type of ridicule and criticism, and it can be erected against many

different object universal human vices of follies, social evils or political short coming. It

is often engendered by the desire to improve society, to right a wrong.

j. Confessionals

Confessional poetry is a style of poetry that emerged in the United States during

the 1950s and 1960s that has been described as poetry "of the personal." The content of

confessional poems is autobiographical and marked by its exploration of subject matter

that was considered taboo at the time. This subject matter included topics like mental

illness, sexuality, and suicide.


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k. Free Verse

Free verse is a type of poetry that does not require any rhyme scheme or meter.

Poems written in free verse, however, do tend to employ other types of creative language

such as alliteration, words that begin with the same sound, or assonance, the repetition of

vowel sounds. But i focus on pastoral poem.


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CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH

3.1 Research Design

The method of the study in this paper is descriptive qualitative approach. A

qualitative approach is defined as a description of observations which is not

ordinary expressed in quality terms. Nazir (1998:64) says that descriptive method is

a method of research that makes description of the situation of event or

occurrence.

Neuman (1997:331) classified six characteristics of a qualitative research:

a. The importance of context.

Qualitative researchers emphasize the importance of social context for

understanding the social world. They hold that the meaning of a social action or

statement depends, in an important way, on the context in which it appears. When a

researcher removes an event, social action, answer to a question, or conversation

from the social context in which it appears, or ignore the context, social meaning and

significance are disorted.

b. The case study method.

The researchers might gather a large amount of information on one or a few

cases, go into greater depth, and get more details on the cases being examined.


22

c. The researcher’s integrity.

The researchers ensure that their research accurately reflects the evidence and

have checks on their evidence.

d. Grounded theory.

A qualitative researcher begins with a research question and little else.

Theory develops during the data collection process. This more inductive method

means that the theory is built from data or grounded in the data.

e. Process.

Qualitative researchers look at the sequence of events and pay attention to

what happens first, second, and so on. Because qualitative researchers examine the

same case over time, they can see an issue involve, a conflict emerge, or a social

relationship develop. The researcher can detect process and casual relation

f. Interpretations.

The data are in the form of word, including quotes or descriptions of

particular events. The researcher interprets data by giving them meaning, translating

them, or making them understandable.

3.2 Data Collecting

There are some sources of data for this thesis taken by the writer. The first

source is the texts of selected poems by William Blake: The Divine Image, The

Angel, The tyger, The Lamb, Hear the voice of the Bard, A poison tree, the divine


23

image and Jerusalem. The second source is from the biography of William Blake

which is help the writer to know the background of life of William Blake. The third

source is from the some related critical books and thesis which have close relation to

the topic of this thesis. The writer also gets some information from the internet sites

to support the topic of this thesis.

3.3 Data Analysis

In analyzing the problem of this thesis, the writer combined all the important

data that has been collected from many sources. The writer uses kind of library

research and applied the qualitative descriptive method to analyze the problem. Here

are some steps that uses by the writer from the beginning in the process of doing the

thesis:

First, the writer read the whole selected poems of William Blake, The Angel,

The tyger, The Lamb, Hear the voice of the Bard A poison tree, The divine image and

Jerusalem. The reading of the poems is not enough in just once, the writer have to

read it over and over again in order to get at least the sense or the intention of each

poem.

Second, the writer begins to read all of information including biography of

William Blake. The writer tries to understand about the William Blake lives by

reading not only from his biography but also from many perspective of his live from

many written source in that time.


24

Third, the writer tries to connect or relate each poem to the William Blake

lives background based on the time when William Blake wrote those poems. In this

step, the writer begins the interpreting process to relate the poems to the poet.

Fourth, the writer marked and notes all of the word, line, or stanza of each

poem that reflected to the spiritual ability of William Blake. The writer doing kinds

of interpreting process based on facts and the theory that supports the interpreting

and analyzing process.

Fifth, the writer begins to analyze the poem per lines and stanza, depends on

the poem itself. To be affective, for the poem that has more than 4 lines per stanza,

the writer analyze them stanza per stanzas, but for the poems that have less than 4

lines per stanza, the writer analyze them lines by lines. In this step, the writer applied

the theory and approaches to support the process of analyzing.

Sixth, the writer makes the conclusion and suggestion of the analyzing process. This

is the last step of the analyzing process. All of those steps done by the writer under

the support of the supervisors who mastering the subjects.


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CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS AND FINDING

In this chapter, the writer will discuss and analyze the seven selected poems of

William Blake that had already chosen. The seven poems are ―The angel, ―The tyger,

―The lamb‖, ―Hear the voice of the Bard‖, ―A poison tree‖, ―The Divine Image, and

―Jerusalem‖. This chapter will discuss about the seven selected poems concerned with

the spiritual symbols that reflected in William Blake‘s poems. By analyzing the

problems of the study, the writer tries to find out the symbols used by William Blake.

4.1 The Spiritual symbols Analysis in William Blake’s poems

4.1.1 The Angel

William Blake published The Angel in the second part of his two-part

volume, Songs of Innocence and Experience, which were published by Blake himself in

1789 (Songs of Innocence) and 1794 (Songs of Experience).They were later republished

as a single volume — Songs of Innocence and Experience Showing the Two Contrary

States of the Human Soul. The poem consists of 4 stanzas and sixteen lines. It is one of

popular poem of William Blake which shows the spiritual symbol. The angel is the

symbol of the messenger of God or the divinity creature of God. In this poem the

speaker tells through the frame of an angel that appears in his dream.

I dreamt a dream! What can it mean?

And that I was a maiden Queen

Guarded by an Angel mild:

Witless woe was ne'er beguiled!

(Stanza 1, line 1-4)


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In the first line of this stanza the dreamer dreams of an innocent queen, protected

by a guardian angel. The question is ―what can it mean? What does it mean to be visited

in your sleep by an angel? According to Oxford dictionary the word ―maiden‖ in ―And I

was a maiden queen‖ is a word that typically refers to an unmarried girl, particularly one

who is a virgin, or immature. The dreamer dreams of an angel and they were in a state of

perfect innocence, and that innocence was guarded by an angel that would not be

deceived or beguiled by stupidity or sorrow ―witness woe was ne‘er beguiled‖.

And I wept both night and day,

And he wiped my tears away;

And I wept both day and night,

And hid from him my heart's delight.


In the first and second lines in this second stanza the dreamer tells how good the

angel was, the dreamer‘s guardian was there for him ―and he wiped my tears away‖, day

and night, night and day. Whenever there was any kind of weeping, the angel would be

there. ―Weeping‖ in ―I wept both day and night‖ does not have to mean literally crying,

it can be difficult journey, filled with its fair share of struggle. And when experiencing

hardship, what can compare to the simple joy of being held by another being, and help us

to face it.

Unfortunately, this comes back to hurt the dreamer, who begins to hide her

happiness from the angel ―And hit from him my heart‘s delight‖, she hid her delight to

invoke the angel‘s pity, or to take the attention from the angel.


27

So he took his wings, and fled;

Then the morn blushed rosy red.

I dried my tears, and armed my fears

With ten thousand shields and spears.


The angel, however, is not fooled, and understands that he is being used for

something beyond his true purpose, so he leaves ―so he took his wings and fled‖ (the

angel described as a creature who has wings, the spiritual symbol of the angel very

obvious, since human does not have wings) . ―then the morn blushed rosy red‖ this

marks the final transition of the dreamer into ―growing up;‖ the morning rose means a

new day, and the dreamer is alone now. There is no longer any need to cry over

falsehoods, but there are still reasons to cry, still fears out there in the world without an

angel nearby, the dreamer arms his fears ―I dried my tears, and armed my fears‖.

Soon my Angel came again;

I was armed, he came in vain;

For the time of youth was fled,

And grey hairs were on my head


This stanza tells that the angel, returns to the dreamer ―soon my angel came again‖ ,

instead of being cheerful when her soul mate returned, she seemed sad because her

ability to love the angel has been hampered by her, it‘s too late, they‘ve grown up, and it

is too late to change. The maiden Queen has become an independent ruler ―I was

armed‖. The fact that the dreamer is entering old enough age to be finding grey hairs


28

suggests that a lot of time has passed ―for the time of youth was fled, and grey hairs were

on my head‖, it also means the dreamer has moved on from her childhood love.

4.1.2 The Lamb

'The Lamb' is a short poem written by William Blake, an English poet from his book

the songs of innocence in 1789. The Lamb consists of 2 stanzas and 21 lines. The lamb is

the symbol of Jesus. The traditional image of Jesus as a lamb underscores the Christian

values of gentleness, meekness, and peace. The image of the child is also associated with

Jesus: in the Gospel, Jesus displays a special solicitude for children, and the Bible‘s

depiction of Jesus in his childhood shows him as guileless and vulnerable.

Little Lamb who made thee


Dost thou know who made thee

Gave thee life & bid thee feed.

By the stream & o'er the mead;

Gave thee clothing of delight,

Softest clothing wooly bright;

Gave thee such a tender voice,

Making all the vales rejoice!




In this first stanza, the speaker calls and asks the lamb ―little lamb who made

thee?‖ and the speaker keeps asking the lamb ―Dost thou know who made thee?‖ who gave

you life and feed you. The speaker talks to the lamb as if it could understand him, in these


29

lines through being called ―little‖ the lamb domesticated and treated like a pet. In the sixth

line, the lamb is personified as having clothing of delight, which is actually just its wool

and the lamb makes sounds and its tender voice makes all of the valley rejoice ―making all

the valley rejoice‖, these lines described something beyond the capacity of the Lamb as an

animal. In the two last lines the speaker repeated to the little lamb the same questions about

the creator of the lamb ―little lamb who made thee‖, ―Dost thou know who made thee‖. In

this first stanza, there is no clear statement who the lamb is.

‗Little Lamb I'll tell thee,

Little Lamb I'll tell thee!

He is called by thy name,

For he calls himself a Lamb:

He is meek & he is mild,

He became a little child:

I a child & thou a lamb,

We are called by his name.

Little Lamb God bless thee.



In this stanza the speaker announces that he will tell the lamb who its creator is

―little lamb I‘ll tell thee‖, the speaker describes there‘s an identification of the lamb,

Christ, and the child. Christ has another name that is Lamb ―he is called by thy name‖,

because Christ is meek and mild like lamb ―he is meek and he is mild‖. Christ was also a

child when he first appeared on this earth as the son of God ―He became a little child‖

and it is written on the bible (Mark 1:1 ―The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the

son of God‖, Acts 9:20 ―And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he


30

is the son of God‖). The child shows his deep joy in the company of the lamb who is just

like Him, meek and mild. In the bible, Jesus is called the 'Lamb of God, (John 1:36 ―

And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, behold the Lamb of God.‖ , John 1:29

―The next day John seeth Jesus coming onto him, and saith, behold the Lamb of God,

which taketh the sin of the world.‖, Revelation 21:22 ―And there shall be no more

curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servant shall serve

them.‖) The symbolism of the animal chosen in the poem is very obvious. Blake also

names the similarities between the lamb and the Lord: their name, meekness, and

mildness. The poem ends with one more two –lines refrain in which the child blesses the

Lamb.

4.1.3 The Tyger

The Tyger" is a poem by the English poet William Blake published in 1794 as

part of the Songs of Experience collection. The Cambridge Companion to William

Blake says it is "the most anthologized poem in English. The Tyger consists of 6 stanzas

and 25 lines. The Tyger is the symbol of God‘s power in creation, it can be related to

Satan or devil.

Tyger Tyger, burning bright,

In the forests of the night;

What immortal hand or eye,

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Blake

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_of_Experience

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The poem begins with the repetition of the name ―Tyger, Tyger, burning

bright‖, the repetition create a chant which contributes to the mysteriousness, since

the tigers don‘t burn, the ―burning bright‖ may describe the appearance of the tiger (

tigers have fiery orange fur) . In the third line Blake uses ―what immortal hand or

eye‖ which are the symbol of sight and creation which conjure the image of creative

God, and the last line of this stanza shows the scariness of the tiger, ―fearful

symmetry‖ and how the creator of the tiger could frame the tiger ―Could frame thy

fearful symmetry? ―,‖ frame‖ here is keeping the tiger.

In what distant deeps or skies.

Burnt the fire of thine eyes?

On what wings dare he aspire?

What the hand, dare seize the fire?


In this stanza the poet asks where the tiger was created, the use of ―distant,

deeps or skies‖ seems to refer to an otherworldly (―distant‖) place, it may be hell

(―deeps‖) and heaven (―skies‘) and the poet keep asking about the creator of the tiger by

using ―On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand, dare seize the fire?‖

And what shoulder, & what art,

Could twist the sinews of thy heart?

And when thy heart began to beat,

What dread hand? & what dread feet?



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In this stanza, the poet continues the question of who or what the creator of the

tiger, what ―shoulder‖ means what kind of bodily strength could create the tyger? and

―what art‖ refers to the skill that could put the tyger all together. And Blake keep

wondering what is the creator of the tyger by using the mysterious and powerful ability

―what dread hand and what dread feet‖.

What the hammer? what the chain,

In what furnace was thy brain?

What the anvil? what dread grasp,

Dare its deadly terrors clasp!


This stanza is the further question how the tyger was created, Blake uses the

blacksmith such as ―hammer‖, ―furnace‖, and ―anvil‖ (the blacksmith used to describe

the power of the tyger) to questioning how the tyger was created.

When the stars threw down their spears

And water'd heaven with their tears:

Did he smile his work to see?

Did he who made the Lamb make thee?


―When the stars threw down their spears, and water‘d heaven with their tears‖

these lines are the most clearly ―Christian‖ it may refer to the casting down of the angels

after Satan rebelled against God (these sentences related to the illustration of the

paradise lost that has been made by William Blake).


33

Paradise lost by William Blake

Satan

Arousing the

Rebel Angels

Satan, Sin,

and Death:

Satan Comes

to the Gates

of Hell

The same ―He‖ reappears here as in line 7, but in much more Christian setting.

Most closely referencing to the God, and the ―Lamb‖ in the 20th

line is a traditional

Christian symbol of Jesus Christ (see the symbol analysis of ―The Lamb‖). In this stanza

Blake tries to guess who made the tyger, was it God who create the Lamb (Jesus) created

the tyger too? ―did he who made the lamb made thee?‖, and the poet also asks did the

creator happy for what he created? ―Did he smile his work to see?‖

Tyger Tyger burning bright,

In the forests of the night


Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ParadiseLThomas1.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ParadiseLButts1.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Satan_Calling_up_his_legions.jpg























34

In this stanza echoes the first, this repetition may be like a refrain or like song‘s

chorus, but in this stanza Blake switches ―could‖ to ―dare‖, now, instead of questioning

the ability of the creator, Blake questions his (the creator) nerve, Blake seems to

challenge the courage of whatever or whoever tried or tries to contain (―frame‖) the big,

powerful, mysteriousness of the tyger.

4.1.4 Hear The Voices of The Bard

Hear the voice of the Bard is an Introduction to the Songs of Experience , it is

written by the English poet William Blake. It was etched and published as part of his

collection Songs of Innocence and of Experience in 1794. According to kinds of poem,

this poem is pastoral a poem (this poem deals with shepherd), it consists of 5 stanzas and

20 lines. The symbol of this poem is The Bard which much like God can foresee the

future. When Adam and Eve ware evicted from the Garden of Eden, Christ wept for

them. The Bard or the prophet is compassionate and tries to awaken Earth. Darkness and

night have enveloped the Earth. However, the bard asserts the glory. Similar to Christ‘s

call for the lapsed soul, the bard calls the doomed earth.

Here the voice of the Bard!

Who Present, Past, & Future sees

Whose ears have heard,

The Holy Word,

That walk‘d among the ancient trees


This stanza tells about the bard ―the bard‖ means the poet who is able to see the

past, present and the future ―who present, past and future sees‖. And thus he is a prophet




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_of_Innocence_and_of_Experience

http://rd.bizrate.com/rd?t=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Foffer-listing%2FB00OM2WP1Y%2Fref%3Dasc_df_B00OM2WP1Y4517270%3Fie%3DUTF8%26condition%3Dnew%26tag%3Dshopz0d-20%26ascsubtag%3Dshopzilla_mp_1337-20%3BSZ_REDIRECT_ID%26creative%3D395165%26creativeASIN%3DB00OM2WP1Y%26linkCode%3Ddf2&mid=184059&cat_id=46017&atom=9310&prod_id=&oid=6220782634&pos=1&b_id=18&bid_type=4&bamt=42cebdc0db812186&cobrand=1&ppr=fa7f9de621272846&rf=af1&af_assettype_id=12&af_creative_id=2973&af_id=615103&af_placement_id=1&dv=a3eadf96b25183151a1bc27ac2db1242

35

or a seer. The Bard also can hear the voice of God and ―ancient tree‖ probably means the

trees in garden Eden (Eden is known as a beautiful garden where Adam and Eve used to

lived)

Calling the lapsed soul,

And weeping in the evening dew;

That might control

The starry pole.

And fallen, fallen light renew!


In this stanza tells that the poet has a great faithful to God, so he calls ― calling

the lapsed sol‖ the failed people (unfaithful people or the sinners) to repent to their

gracious God . This poet cries every evening ―and weeping in the evening dew‖ when he

touches the power of God in controlling the world, and when he sees the dew. Also,

when he looked at the starry sky, when he thinks about the two poles of the earth, and

when he sees the other of the days and night, he feels that God has already given us

evidence to obey His orders.

O Earth, O Earth, return!

Arise from out the dewy grass

Night is worn,

And the morn

Rises from slumberous mass



36

In the first line in this stanza the poet shouts to the people in on earth ―O Earth, O

Earth, return!‖, and then he tells about the sequence of the day and the night how

beautiful is this when the night is going back because of his tiredness, ―And the morn,

―Rises from slumberous mass‖ means the morn gets up from its sleepy condition and the

day is waking up from sleepy situation to obey the order of their creator.

Turn away no more:

Why wild thou turn away

The starry floor

The watery shore

Is given thee the break of day


―Turn away no more‖ here means the earth is insensitive to the call of the bard

―why wild thou turn away‖ after all the things that the Bard told about the greatness of

the creator of this world . And in the end of the stanza the poet ends with the question ―is

given thee break of day‖ which probably means to dare the earth (the people) think about

how the day breaks the darkness? If he is not gracious God who created it.

4.1.5 A Poison Tree

A Poison Tree‖ is one of the lesser-known of the twenty-six poems William

Blake published in 1793 as Songs of Experience. This poem consists of 4 stanzas and 16

lines. A poison tree is about the anger. It describes the speaker‘s repressed feelings of

anger towards an individual emotion which eventually lead to murder. The poem

explores themes of indignation, revenge, and more generally the fallen state of mankind.


37

I was angry with my friend;

I told my wrath, my wrath did end.

I was angry with my foe:

I told it not, my wrath did grow.


This stanza the speaker tells that he was angry to his friend ―I angry with my

friend‖, and he tells his wrath and his wrath did end, and then the speaker states he

was angry with his foe ―I was angry with my foe‖ but he refuses to tell his ―foe‖

about his anger ―I told it not, my wrath did grow‖ ―grow‖ in this line doesn‘t mean

grow like a plant but it means his anger becomes greater.

And I waterd it in fears,

Night & morning with my tears:

And I sunned it with smiles,

And with soft deceitful wiles.

(Stanza 2, line5-8)

―And I waterd it in fears‖ The speaker waters his anger, water here is not literally

water, but it is a metaphor for the cultivation of anger because this poem is not about the

plant but about the anger, and in the second line the speaker tells how sad he is ―night

and morning with my tears‖ but he hides it with smile and pretends that he is fine ―and I

sunned it with smile‖

And it grew both day and night.

Till it bore an apple bright.

And my foe beheld it shine,

And he knew that it was mine.



38

The first line in this stanza tells how his anger grows ―day and night‖ here means

there‘s no pause or stop in the process of growing wrath, it shows how addicted the

speaker to his own wrath is and then in ―till it bore an apple bright‖ sentence, apple is a

symbol of irresistible of temptation, it‘s the fruit of wrath. When the tree is well-

maintained and grows up, it bears good fruit. However that tree is a poisonous tree, so

the fruit becomes poisonous fruit as well, and bright in ―apple bright‖ is a symbol of

precious and valuable, it explains that the wrath of the person has been packed as if it‘s

good and pleasant thing to trap the foe. In the third line ―and my foe beheld it shine‖ in

this sentence show that the person‘s foe wants to try it more because shine here means

that his foe likes to see the tempting apple and the foe knows that the apple is belong to

the person (someone who has the apple).

And into my garden stole,

When the night had veild the pole;

In the morning glad I see;

My foe outstretched beneath the tree.


My garden is the symbol of the person‘s area. It‘s like his life, where the area has

many kinds of trees. It can be the good ones and the poisonous one. When his foe enters

to his garden, it means he annoys his life again, but now the foe does it by purpose, to

steal the beautifully-packaged wrath, stole means that the foe comes secretly to the

garden when night and nobody see it, it‘s like when someone have know that we mad at

him or her but they keep annoying our and they do it secretly or nobody knows about it.

―In the morning glad I see‖ in the morning here means the new life or the new hope.

Here the person gets his hope to see his trap was working, morning also the metaphor for


39

something bright and clear, and the last line in this stanza ―my foe outstretched beneath

the tree‖ outstretched means die, die here doesn‘t mean that the foe is really dead

physically, the tree and the apple are creations which are created by the person but not in

his reality world, it seems like happening in his mind, his imagination as the result of his

wrath to kill his foe.

4.1.6 The Divine Image

The divine image is a poem by the English poet William Blake from his

book Songs of Innocence (1789), not to be confused with "A Divine Image" from Songs

of Experience (1794). It was later included in his joint collection Songs of Innocence and

of Experience (1794). In this poem Blake pictures his view of an ideal world in which

the four traditionally Christian virtues–Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love–are found in the

human's heart and stand for God's support and comfort. Joy and gratitude are sentiments

expressed through prayer for the caring and blessing of an infallible almighty God and

are shared by all men on Earth encompassing a sense of equality and mutual respect. The

title of the poem refers to the Book of Genesis Chapter 1 verse 26: 'and God said: Let us

make man in our image'.

To Mercy Pity Peace and Love,

All pray in their distress:

And to these virtues of delight

Return their thankfulness.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_of_Innocence





https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pity

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Genesis

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In this stanza the speaker tells about the characteristics of Man, The personified

figures of Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love in the first line are listed as the four ―virtues of

delight (Refers to goodness) with these virtues, man can become an avatar of God. The

speaker states that all people who are emotionally, physically suffering (distress), they

pray for forgiveness, sympathy, and affection ―All pray in their distress‖ (To Mercy,

Pity, Peace and Love) and when their prayers answered, they give gratitude in response

as a return for their thankfulness.

For Mercy Pity Peace and Love,

Is God our father dear:

And Mercy Pity Peace and Love,

Is Man his child and care.


In the second stanza, the speaker asserts that all the qualities that has just

enumerated are to be identified ―God‖, our father dear, I think the word ―father‖ in the

second line of this stanza leads to the father as Christian‘s belief in God trinity, (God as

the Father, Son and Holy Ghost), it mentions in the bible in Matthew 28:19 ―Go ye

therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son,

and of the Holy Ghost‖ and in John 14:26 ―But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy

Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring

all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you‖, and so does the last

line, it tells about God as a Son (child), as the bible says in John 3:16 ― For God so

loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not

perish but have eternal life‖, this paragraph is related to the last line of this stanza God as

son who cares about human‘s sin so that He gave His only son to redeem our sins, the


41

Son here also known as ―Jesus Chris), ―And mercy, pity, peach and love, is man his

child and care‖

For Mercy has a human heart

Pity, a human face:

And Love, the human form divine,

And Peace, the human dress.


In the third stanza, the speaker goes further in identifying these traits with human

beings. The speaker claims that Mercy, Pity, Peace, Love are also equivalent to Man,

mercy is found in the human heart, Pity in the human face; Peace is a garment that

envelops humans, and Love exists in the human ―form‖ or body, I think ―Human form

divine‖ here refers to Jesus Christ or God as a Son, since Jesus is both God and Man

according to Christian.

Then every man of every clime,

That prays in his distress,

Prays to the human form divine

Love Mercy Pity Peace

(Stanza 4, line 13-16).

In this stanza the speaker tells that anyone who prays for (and to) love, mercy,

pity, and peace in his distress actually prays to Christ (who was both God and man and

thus can reasonably be described as ―the human form divine according to standard of

Christian.), who is the epitome of all those virtues (love, mercy, pity and peace).


42

And all must love the human form,

In heathen, turk or jew.

Where Mercy, Love & Pity dwell,

There God is dwelling too.


In this poem‘s final stanza, the speaker asserts that people must or should love in

all human beings any evidence of the virtues he has been celebrating, whether those

virtues appear in another Christian or even ―In heathen (refers to people who does not

follow one of the major world religions), Turk (Turkic peoples), or Jew (Jewish

people).‖ Many Christians in Blake‘s period were disdainful of people who were not

Christians. Blake tells that God can be seen reflected in the goodness of any person who

is good, ―where mercy, love pity dwell, there God is dwelling too‖

4.1.7 Jerusalem

William Blake published his literary classic, Jerusalem in 1804. The poem

consists of 4 stanzas and 16 lines. Jerusalem was inspired from a mythical legend of a

young Jesus on shores of England.. The myth is linked to a biblical verse in Book of

Revelations where Jesus supposedly creates a second Jerusalem, The Book of

Revelation (3:12 and 21:2) describing a Second Coming, wherein Jesus establishes a

New Jerusalem. Jerusalem is a metaphor for Heaven, a place of universal love and

peace.

And did those feet in ancient time

Walk upon England's mountains green?

And was the holy Lamb of God


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Revelation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Revelation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Coming

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jerusalem

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven_(Christianity)

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On England's pleasant pastures seen?


In this first stanza, the speaker opens the poem with a question ―did those feet in

ancient time‖, and then shows up with ―walk upon England‘s mountain green?‖, so, the

speaker asks did those feet walked upon England‘s mountain green? (The writer have no

idea ―whose feet‖ that the speaker is talking about yet). In the third line the speaker now

asks was the ―holy Lamb of God‖ was on England‘s pleasant pastures seen? What and

who is the ―Holy Lamb of God‖ in this third line means? According to the bible in John

1:29 ("Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!") and Christian

belief, Lamb of God refers to Jesus Christ. So, the speaker asks was Jesus feet whose

walk upon England‘s mountain green in the ancient time?

And did the Countenance Divine

Shine forth upon our clouded hills?

And was Jerusalem builded here

Among these dark Satanic Mills?


In the second stanza, the speaker continues with the question ―did the

countenance divine shone upon England‘s clouded hills?‖ The word ―countenance‖ is

another word for face, so the speaker is asking if Jesus‘divine face showed among

English‘s cloudy hills, this is just another way of the speaker of asking what the speaker

already asked before ―Did you, divine Lamb of God who showed yourself in England in

ancient times?‖ the speaker imagines Jesus‘ face as bright and shiny (contrast to

typically coldly, gloomy English landscape). In the seventh line, the speaker asks a


http://biblia.com/bible/esv/John%201.29

http://biblia.com/bible/esv/John%201.29

44

question that is not a version of ―did Jesus come to England?‖ He wonders if Jerusalem

was built here, in England, among these dark Satanic Mills, I think the word ―Jerusalem‖

here is not the city of Israel, the speaker talks about the biblical new Jerusalem described

in ―Chapter 21 of the Book of Revelation‖ (at the end the earth will be destroyed. A

new heaven and earth will be built and a holy, divine city will descend from the sky that

is called the New Jerusalem). In most of Blake‘s poetry, Jerusalem represents some

future, ideal world of peace and harmony where all visions are healed and discord is no

more, and ―satanic mills‖ are the words for all sorts of evil work, so, the speaker

wonders if there was ever heaven on earth in England back in ancient times, and if it was

possible that Jesus would have visited such a Satanic place as England.

Bring me my bow of burning gold!

Bring me my arrows of desire!

Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold!

Bring me my chariot of fire!


The speaker seems fire up after talk about Satanic mills, he is so fire up, it sounds

he is ready for battle, he asks for ―Bow of burning gold‖ and his ―arrow of desire‖, what

damage is the speaker going to do with bow of burning gold? The word ―Bow of burning

gold‖ is an illustration the speaker made, it appears to be ―burning‖ because it so bright

and shiny like a gold. The super bow comes complete with some arrows made of desire,

maybe the arrows belong to the speaker‘s desire or in the arrows he desires. In the

eleventh line the speaker also wants a spear to go with his arrow and bow, he wants the

clouds to unfold to bring him his ―chariot of fire‖ this stanza has similar story in the

bible (2 kings 2 1-11) the story of ―Elijah‖. Elijah is one of mega-prophets of the old


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testament who ascends to heaven with a chariot of fire, I think the speaker claims

himself as Elijah, the speaker uses all of his weapon, even fire to destroy the evils around

him (much like the story of Elijah who has the power and ability to do these because he

is one of God‘s chosen prophets).

I will not cease from mental fight,

Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand,

Till we have built Jerusalem

In England's green and pleasant land


In this final stanza, the speaker begins by saying ―he won‘t cease from mental

fight‖ the point about ―mental fight‖ is that there is non-violent ways to launch a

revolution to do away all the bad stuff in the world, and then the speaker makes his

commitment clear, his sword not sleep until Jerusalem is built (again) in England‘s green

and pleasant land (the whole process of building Jerusalem again is a metaphor for

changing the world for better), the word ―we‖ in ―till we have built Jerusalem‖ it may

refers to the revolutionary band, they are going to make the future just like the past so

that Jerusalem is one again in England.


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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

5.1 Conclusion

Symbol is a representation of meaning through another of expression. It refers to

connotative expression for conveying ideas or feelings. One of meaning through symbol

could be personal or even general. It is personal because it deals with a person‘s

expression personally upon a symbol she or he uses; while it is general when the symbol

is well known general.

In the seven poems of William Blake, the spiritual symbols are very obvious,

where there are the elements of divinity that descended to humans through the symbols.

In William Blake‘s selected poems there are spiritual symbols, they are:

1. The Angel is the symbol of the messenger of God or the divinity creature. In this

poem Blake uses the divine images to describe the angel such as‖ Guarded by an

Angel mild, Witless woe was ne'er beguiled! And he wiped my tears away‖.

Those sentences show how angel can do things like God can do.

2. Lamb is symbol of Jesus Christ as written on the bible. In this poem Blake

wondered about who made the Lamb (Jesus Christ). Beside ―The Lamb‖ there is

also another spiritual symbol such as: child, child here refers to Jesus when he

appears to this world as a child (son of God).


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3. Tiger is a symbol of God‘s power in creation. The key image is the tiger as seen

by Blake‘s poetic imagination : ―fearful‖, symmentry‖, burning, ―bright‖, ―fire‖,

―hammer‖, ―chain‖, ―furnance‖, ―anvil. The blacksmith ( hammer, chain,

furnance and anvil) that Blake used in this poem is a symbol of the power of the

tyger, and another spiritual symbols in this poem are ―deeps‖ means hell, ―skies‖

means heaven, and ―Lamb‖ means Jesus.

4. In the ―Hear the voice of the Bard‖ poem the Bard much like the God can foresee

the future. When Adam and Eve were evicted from the Garden of Eden, Christ

wept for them. The Bard or the prophet is compassionate and tries to awaken

Earth. Darkness and night have enveloped the Earth. However, the bard asserts

the glory and regaining of the lost splendor upon the harboring of the rays of the

sun. Similar to Christ‘s call for the lapsed soul, the bard calls the doomed earth.

The spiritual symbol that can be found in this poem is ―the ancient tree‖ which

means garden Eden.

5. A poison tree a symbol of Wrath (anger) and desire to triumph over enemies; the

dark side of human nature and ―the apple‖ is a symbol of irresistible of

temptation, it‘s the fruit of wrath. This poem talks about the anger towards an

individual emotion which eventually leads to murder.

6. The Divine image poem tells about human who come to God when they in a bad

condition, they ask forgiveness and sympathy from God, and when their prayers

answered they give gratitude as a return for their thankfulness. The divine image

refers to virtues of delight (Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love) these are symbol of


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Human form divine (Jesus Christ) and (people who have these virtues can

become an avatar of God.

7. Jerusalem is the symbol of a new better world which Blake hopes will be built

again in England as the ancient time before. Blake implies that a visit by Jesus

would briefly create heaven in England, in contrast to the "dark Satanic Mills" of

the Industrial Revolution. Blake's poem asks four questions rather than asserting

the historical truth of Christ's visit. Thus the poem merely implies that there may,

or may not, have been a divine visit, when there was briefly heaven in England.

William Blake‘s poems that has been analyzed consist of conventional symbols and

personal symbols, it can be seen from the way he expressed his idea such as ―The Lamb‖

for Christian people the Lamb is known as Jesus Christ because it is written on the bible

and ―The Angel‖ most of people know that the angels is the messenger God or the divine

creator of God. In The Tyger, Here the voice of the Bard, a poison tree, the divine image

and Jerusalem poems William Blake uses personal symbol to describe the spirituality in

his poems.

5.2 Suggestion

A literary must be analyzed and interpreted, so we can understand and get the

meaning of it, so many elements which can be analyzed and interpreted, such as, in the

poem, we can analyze the symbols in the poem. Analyzed the symbol in a poem is very

good because we effort to found what the real meaning of the symbol. So, we didn‘t only

use our imagination to give the meaning of the symbol we must be easy to understand all

the body of poem. I hope that the analysis will be useful especially for the student of


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution

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collages and the readers get the knowledge and good information after reading it. As the

analysis only focuses on the spiritual symbols in William Blake‘s poems. Finally, I

realize that I need the critics and comments from the read


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REFERENCES

Abrams M.H. 1981. A Glosarry of Literary Terms. New York: Hold, Rinehart and

Winson.

Bloomfield, Leonard. 1993. Language. New York: Hold, Rinehart

Bradshaw, David and Dettmar, J.H. 2006. Modernist Literature and Culture. UK:

Willey – Blackwell.

Culler, Jonathan. 1997. Literary Theory. New York: Oxford University Press.

Contents of the Bible in the poems Retrieved from https://www.bible.com/

Eastwood, John. 2000. Oxford Learner’s Pocket Dictionary. London: Oxford

University Press.

Endraswara, Suwandi. 2003. Metodologi Penelitian Sastra. Yogyakart: MedPress.

Fathoni, Abdurahmat. 2006. Metode Penelitian dan Tehnik Penyusunan Skripsi.

Jakarta: Rineka Cipta.

Irawan, Hadi. 2012. An Analysis of Non Literal Meanings in Edward Stellin

Cummings‘s Selected Poems. Medan: Fakultas Sastra USU

Kaban, Aventa Raskita. 2003. A Study of Symbols Viewed From Athol Fugard‘s Master

Harold And The Boys. Medan. University of North Sumatra

Kasim, Rajali. 2007. Introduction to Literature. Medan. University of North Sumatra

Katz, J.J 1972. Semantic Theory. New York: Harper & Row, Publisher

Kennedy, X.J. 1991. Literature An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry and Drama.


https://www.bible.com/

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London: Harper Collins Publisher.

Kaban, Aventa Raskita. 2003. A Study of Symbols Viewed from Athol Fugard’s Master

Harold And The Boys. Medan. University of North Sumatra

Keraf, Goris. 1991. Diksi dan Gaya Bahasa. Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka

Leech, Geofrey. 2003. Semantik. Yogyakarta: Pustaka Belajar.

Lyons, John.1977. Semantics I. London: Cambridge University Press.

Martin, H & P.C. Wren. 1990. High School English Grammar and Comparison.

Nawawi, Hadari.1991. Metode Penelitian Bidang Sosial.Yogyakarta: Gajah Mada

University Press.

Hamlyn. 1998. Literature. Great Britain: Reed Consumer Books Limited. Kalaidjian,

Walter."Theodore Roethke's Life and Career." American National

Pardede, Martha. 2009. Understanding Poetry. Medan.

Peck, John and Coyle, Martin. 1984. Literary Terms and Criticism. London: Macmillan

Education

Rogers, Pat. 1987. The Oxford Illustrated History of English Literature. Oxford: Oxford

University Press.

Schleiermacher, F.D.E. 1768-1834. Hemeneutics And Criticism And Other Writings.

Halle University

Selden, Raman, Widdowson, Peter and Brooker, Peter. 1997. A Reader’s Guide to

Contemporary Literary Theory. England: Prentice Hall A Pearson Education

Company.

Siswanto, Wahyudi. 2008. Pengantar Teori Sastra. Jakarta: PT Grasindo.

Smith, Stan. 1983. 20th Century Poetry. London: Macmillan Press Ltd.


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Taylor. Richard. 1981. Understanding of Elements of Literature. Hongkong: The

Macmillan Press Ltd.

The biography of Willaim Blake Retrieved from

http://www.biography.com/people/william-blake-9214491

The meaning of spirituality Retrieved from: http://www.dummies.com/how-

to/content/exploring-the-meaning-of-spirituality.html

Warren, Austin and Wellek, Rene. 1956. Theory of Literature. Harcourt: Brace &

World.


http://www.biography.com/people/william-blake-9214491

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/exploring-the-meaning-of-spirituality.html

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/exploring-the-meaning-of-spirituality.html

APPENDIX

1.1 The Biography of William Blake

Born in 1757 in London, England, William Blake began writing at an early age and claimed

to have had his first vision, of a tree full of angels, at age 10. He studied engraving and grew to

love Gothic art, which he incorporated into his own unique works. A misunderstood poet, artist

and visionary throughout much of his life, Blake found admirers late in life and has been vastly

influential since his death in 1827.

William Blake only briefly attended school, being chiefly educated at home by his

mother. The Bible had an early, profound influence on Blake, and it would remain a lifetime

source of inspiration, coloring his life and works with intense spirituality. At an early age, Blake

began experiencing visions, and his friend and journalist Henry Crabb Robinson wrote that Blake

saw God's head appear in a window when Blake was 4 years old. He also allegedly saw the

prophet Ezekiel under a tree and had a vision of "a tree filled with angels." Blake's visions would

have a lasting effect on the art and writings that he produced.

Blake was devastated by the review and lack of attention to his works, and, subsequently,

he withdrew more and more from any attempt at success. From 1809 to 1818, he engraved few

plates (there is no record of Blake producing any commercial engravings from 1806 to 1813). He

also sank deeper into poverty, obscurity and paranoia.

In 1819, however, Blake began sketching a series of "visionary heads," claiming that the

historical and imaginary figures that he depicted actually appeared and sat for him. By 1825,

Blake had sketched more than 100 of them, including those of Solomon and Merlin the magician

and those included in "The Man Who Built the Pyramids" and "Harold Killed at the Battle of

Hastings"; along with the most famous visionary head, that included in Blake's "The Ghost of a

Flea."Remaining artistically busy, between 1823 and 1825, Blake engraved 21 designs for an

illustrated Book of Job (from the Bible) and Dante's Inferno. In 1824, he began a series of 102

watercolor illustrations of Dante—a project that would be cut short by Blake's death in 1827.


In the final years of his life, William Blake suffered from recurring bouts of an

undiagnosed disease that he called "that sickness to which there is no name." He died on August

12, 1827, leaving unfinished watercolor illustrations to Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and an

illuminated manuscript of the Bible's Book of Genesis. In death, as in life, Blake received short

shrift from observers, and obituaries tended to underscore his personal idiosyncrasies at the

expense of his artistic accomplishments. The Literary Chronicle, for example, described him as

"one of those ingenious persons ... whose eccentricities were still more remarkable than their

professional abilities."Unappreciated in life, William Blake has since become a giant in literary

and artistic circles, and his visionary approach to art and writing have not only spawned

countless, spellbound speculations about Blake, they have inspired a vast array of artists and

writers.

2.2 The Selected Poems of William Blake

2.2.1 The Angel

I dreamt a dream!

What can it mean?

And that I was a maiden Queen

Guarded by an Angel mild:

Witless woe was ne'er beguiled!

And I wept both night and day,

And he wiped my tears away;

And I wept both day and night,

And hid from him my heart's delight.

So he took his wings, and fled;

Then the morn blushed rosy red.

I dried my tears, and armed my fears

With ten thousand shields and spears.


Soon my Angel came again;

I was armed, he came in vain;

For the time of youth was fled,

And grey hairs were on my head

2.2.2 The Lamb




Gave thee life & bid thee feed.

By the stream & o'er the mead;

Gave thee clothing of delight,

Softest clothing wooly bright;

Gave thee such a tender voice,

Making all the vales rejoice!



Little Lamb I'll tell thee,

Little Lamb I'll tell thee!

He is called by thy name,

For he calls himself a Lamb:

He is meek & he is mild,

He became a little child:

I a child & thou a lamb,

We are called by his name.




2.2.3 The Tyger

Tyger Tyger, burning bright,

In the forests of the night;


Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies.

Burnt the fire of thine eyes?

On what wings dare he aspire?

What the hand, dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder, & what art,

Could twist the sinews of thy heart?

And when thy heart began to beat,

What dread hand? & what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain,

In what furnace was thy brain?

What the anvil? what dread grasp,

Dare its deadly terrors clasp!

When the stars threw down their spears

And water'd heaven with their tears:

Did he smile his work to see?

Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger Tyger burning bright,

In the forests of the night:


Dare frame thy fearful symmetry


2.3.4 Here the voice of the Bard -Books

Hear the voice of the Bard !

Who present, past, and future sees;

Whose ears have heard

The Holy Word,

That walked among the ancient trees,

Calling the lapsed soul,

And weeping in the evening dew;

That might control

The starry pole,

And fallen, fallen, light renew!

'O Earth, O Earth, return!

Arise from out the dewy grass;

Night is worn,

And the morn

Rises from the slumberous mass.

'Turn away no more;

Why wilt thou turn away?

The starry floor,

The watery shore,

Is given thee till the break of day.'

2.2.5 A Poison Tree

I was angry with my friend;

I told my wrath, my wrath did end.

I was angry with my foe:

I told it not, my wrath did grow.


And I waterd it in fears,

Night & morning with my tears:

And I sunned it with smiles,

And with soft deceitful wiles.

And it grew both day and night.

Till it bore an apple bright.

And my foe beheld it shine,

And he knew that it was mine.

And into my garden stole,

When the night had veild the pole;

In the morning glad I see;

My foe outstretched beneath the tree.

2.2 6 The divine image

To Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love

All pray in their distress;

And to these virtues of delight

Return their thankfulness.

For Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love

Is God, our father dear,

And Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love

Is Man, his child and care.

For Mercy has a human heart,

Pity a human face,

And Love, the human form divine,


And Peace, the human dress.

Then every man, of every clime,

That prays in his distress,

Prays to the human form divine,

Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace.

And all must love the human form,

In heathen, Turk, or Jew;

Where Mercy, Love, and Pity dwell

There God is dwelling too

2.2.7 Jerusalem

And did those feet in ancient time

Walk upon Englands mountains green:

And was the holy Lamb of God,

On Englands pleasant pastures seen!

And did the Countenance Divine,

Shine forth upon our clouded hills?

And was Jerusalem builded here,

Among these dark Satanic Mills?

Bring me my Bow of burning gold:

Bring me my arrows of desire:

Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!

Bring me my Chariot of fire!


I will not cease from Mental Fight,

Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand:

Till we have built Jerusalem,

In Englands green & pleasant Land


AN ANALYIS OF SPIRITUAL SYMBOLS IN WILLIAM BLAKE‘S POEMS

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