The Life of Spirit in William Blake's Songs of Innocence , Songs of Experience , and the Marriage of Heave
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Embracing the Divine: The Life of Spirit in William Blake'sSongs o f Innocence, Songs o f Experience, and The Marriage o f Heaven and Hell Robert Joseph Musante, III A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Middle Tennessee State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree December 2007 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3294250 Copyright 2007 by Musante, Robert Joseph, III All rights reserved. INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ® UMI UMI Microform 3294250 Copyright 2008 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Embracing the Divine: The Life of Spirit in William Blake'sSongs o f Innocence, Songs o f Experience, and The Marriage o f Heaven and Hell APPROVED: Graduate Committee: Dr. Micfiael J. Neth, R^ajor Professor Dr. Tom Strawman, Critical Reader ■S'UMn Dr. Tom Strawman, Chair of the Department of English Dr. Michael Allen, Dean of the College of Graduate Studies Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. © Copyright by Robert Joseph Musante III 2007 i Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. DEDICATION In honor of: my wife, Karen my children, Robert J. Musante, IV, and John M. Musante and my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Musante, Jr. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First I would like thank my dissertation advisors, Dr. Michael Neth and Dr. Tom Strawman, for their continuous support, expertise, and recommendations during the process of writing this dissertation. As my director and former teacher, Dr. Neth has provided me with notable learning experiences about William Blake and the British Romantics, and I have become a better writer and thinker because of his instruction. His dissertation revisions were always thorough and very helpful. Also, Dr. Neth has helped me to realize high standards as a teacher and researcher. Dr. Strawman has taught me much about the Romantics and writing as well, and I have valued his dissertation revisions. He too has shown me how to be an effective teacher and scholar. Dr. Strawman has been a mountain of motivation, and I hope to emulate his understanding, patience, and professionalism. Because of Dr. Neth’s and Dr. Strawman’s strong guidance and assistance, I now have the preparation needed for an excellent career in academia. In addition, I appreciate Dr. Marion Hollings for her encouragement and support. And I thank my great friend, Mike Magner, who stepped in to push me with the tremendous toughness that he and I well understand as former college wrestlers. He reminded me who I was and what I will accomplish. I give a special note of thanks to Scott and Rebecca Berg as well: They have given me the gifts of loyal friendship and spirit. Also, I appreciate Dr. Richard Lamasney, Dr. Wayne Chapman, and Dr. Mark Chamey for their professionalism and helpfulness. Over the years several teachers and students have been important influences. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Happily, I recognize the love and loyalty of my family. Because of my wife, mother, and father, I had daily opportunities to strive for success. Karen has remained right by my side, helping me progress through every stage of the dissertation and degree, and my mother and father have listened and visited when I really needed them. I have persevered and done well because of them. My innocent and loving sons have been invaluable to me too—they have inspired me continuously. Dedicating this dissertation to my wife, parents and sons is natural. Finally, I remember my grandfather, the first Robert Joseph Musante, for all of his kindness and caring—I believe that he sees me through the heavens and smiles. He knows the work I have done, and I know the work he has done for me. iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT In this dissertation I argue that imaginative spirituality is a continuous power within individuals, and the power appears in energetic, contrary states of being, despite undeniable entities of abstract reason—orthodox religion, government, science—that function remorselessly to subdue, categorize, and oppress individuals’ divine lives. My argument embodies a formalist approach in which I explain that Blake’s text and art demonstrate meaningful combinations of divine and human worlds. Blake’s emphases in poem and design focus unwaveringly on people’s spiritual identities which are not located in otherworldly realms; they are found within people’s bodies and souls. In his Songs o f Innocence, children manifest wondrous spiritual innocence, but their collective spirit becomes trapped by social structures that are manifestations of the abuse of reason. The immorality resulting from such entrapment surfaces subtly yet strongly in several of the poems from this volume. InSongs o f Experience, children maintain a spiritual presence, but their outlooks become tinged irreversibly with bitterness because of their knowledge of and place in threatening social environs. Blake shows us a fierce world of energetic force and reason that is inescapable but increasingly essential. This study attempts to reconstruct the spiritual odyssey of Blake's characters thus defined, demonstrating origins of spiritual liveliness and restriction in the poems and visual engravings. The manifestations of Blake's contraries are intended to direct readers to new knowledge based upon the confluence of human joy and pain that underlies existence. In the second half of the dissertation, I examine the spiritual powers of the primal contraries, energy and imaginationThe in Marriage o f Heaven and; additionally, Hell my v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. study illuminates Blake's conviction in the need for revolution in the human world. The Marriage shows a spiritual plurality—comprised of a series of unique individualities—of contrary life, an existence displaying exotic, oppositional power along a continuum in Blake’s hellish regions. The exuberance of Blake’s devil-speaker and the presence of abstract origins (and forces) of religion, science, and politics will identify his intentions to reveal hypocrisy and truth. The advancements of spirituality and morality are forged in the inextricable relationship between art and language, and Blake encourages an energetic apocalypse by engaging his audience in the spiritual displays of his artistic media. vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Dedication.............................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements.............................................................................................. iii Abstract...................................................................................................................v I. Introduction..............................................................................................................1 II. Revealing God: The Holiness of Children Songsin of Innocence....................11 III. Divinity and Cruelty: The Collision of Spirit and Terror in Songs o f Experience............................................................................................ 43 IV. Heaven and Hell, the Vital Regions of Contraries: Energy and Perception in Blake’sThe Marriage o f Heaven and.................................................... Hell 95 V. Blake’s Fiery Depths: Understanding the Contraries, Energy and the Imagination inThe Marriage o f Heaven and........................................... Hell 126 VI. Conclusion...........................................................................................................184 Works Cited ........................................................................................................190 vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 CHAPTER I Introduction In this study I will use three early works by William Blake to demonstrate that for Blake human life is undeniably filled with spirit, and humans know the existence of spirit within themselves through a multitude of contrary presences. The first chapter explores the child as a divine presence inSongs o f Innocence-, even the child’s outer, physical world contains manifestations of the divine,