By: Haley Ferguson

William Blake A Dream ! A Little Girl Lost

Painting of William Blake

William Blake

❖ born in 1757 in London, England !❖ wrote at early age !❖ said to have first vision of a tree full of

angels at age 10 !❖ studied engraving !❖ loved Gothic art (included into unique

works) !❖ a misconceived poet, artist and visionary !❖ found admirers late in life !❖ influential since death in 1827

A Dream!!

Once a dream did weave a shade!O'er my angel-guarded bed,!That an emmet lost its way!

Where on grass methought I lay.!!

Troubled, wildered, and forlorn,!Dark, benighted, travel-worn,!

Over many a tangle spray,!All heart-broke, I heard her say:!

!'Oh my children! do they cry,!

Do they hear their father sigh?!Now they look abroad to see,!Now return and weep for me.'!

!

!Pitying, I dropped a tear:!

But I saw a glow-worm near,!Who replied, 'What wailing wight!Calls the watchman of the night?!

!'I am set to light the ground,!

While the beetle goes his round:!Follow now the beetle's hum;!

Little wanderer, hie thee home!'

Original poem of A Dream

A Dream

The poem is about a dream that the speaker had while taking a nap. The dream was about an ant that got separated from her family. Talking about ants reminds me of the transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau’s battle of ants in Walden. It’s different because it is just one ant led back to its mother by a beetle. Also, the glow worm in the poem exemplifies God. The mother is portrayed to be a human soul longing for the peace that only God can provide. The glow worm lights up the path and the beetle leads the way home.

A Little Girl LostChildren of the future age,!

Reading this indignant page,!Know that in a former time!

Love, sweet love, was thought a crime.!!

In the age of gold,!Free from winter's cold,!

Youth and maiden bright,!To the holy light,!

Naked in the sunny beams delight.!!

Once a youthful pair,!Filled with softest care,!

Met in garden bright!Where the holy light!

Had just removed the curtains of the night.!!

Then, in rising day,!On the grass they play;!

Parents were afar,!

Strangers came not near,!And the maiden soon forgot her fear.!

!Tired with kisses sweet,!

They agree to meet!When the silent sleep!

Waves o'er heaven's deep,!And the weary tired wanderers weep.!

!To her father white!

Came the maiden bright;!But his loving look,!Like the holy book!

All her tender limbs with terror shook.!!

'Ona, pale and weak,!To thy father speak!!

Oh the trembling fear!!Oh the dismal care!

That shakes the blossoms of my hoary hair!'

Original poem A Little Girl Lost

A Little Girl Lost

The girl falls in love with a boy, but the father is apprehensive about the relationship because he believes in free love, which is Blake’s theme and belief as well. The boy and girl truly love each other, but the father has to deal with it, regardless of his beliefs. Blake’s predictive power of speech expresses he hope of maybe one day his belief of free love will be achieved.

Works Cited❖ http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-dream/ !

❖ http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-little-girl-lost/!

❖ http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/sie/img/51.jpg !

❖ http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Blake_Dream.jpg/220px-Blake_Dream.jpg !

❖ http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/William_Blake_by_Thomas_Phillips.jpg !

❖ www.biography.com/people/william-blake-9214491 !