Thor’s Day, November 8: Who Made Thee? EQ: How does Blake use the collision of contraries to find Truth?

 Welcome! Gather the usual!  Opening Freewrite: Pope vs. Blake  William Blake o Review: Contraries o Innocence and Experience  Reading and Analysis: William Blake, Songs of Innocence and Experience o Students read and present ideas on Blake’s poetry  Group Project: Songs of Blue Devils and Wolverines

ELACC12RL-RI2: Analyze two or more themes or central ideas of text ELACC12RI3: Analyze and explain how individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop ELACC12RL6: Distinguish what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant ELACC12RI6: Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text ELACC12RI8: Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal British texts ELACC12RL-RI9: Analyze for theme, purpose rhetoric, and how texts treat similar themes or topics ELACC12RL10: Read and comprehend complex literature independently and proficiently. ELACC12W4: Produce clear and coherent writing appropriate to task, purpose, and audience ELACC12W9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis ELACC12W10: Write routinely over extended and shorter time frames ELACC12SL1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions ELACC12L6: Acquire and use general academic and domain-specific words and phrases Opening Freewrite – 100 words

Say first, of God above, or Man below, What can we reason, but from what we know? In Essay on Man, Alexander Pope said our ability to imagine reality is limited by God to what we can “know.”

But in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell William Blake says that our ability to imagine reality is limited only by ourselves: If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things through narrow chinks of his cavern.

Who’s right – Pope or Blake? 100 word freewrite. REVIEW – William Blake (1757 - 1829)  HUGELY important to poetry, philosophy, art  Deeply religious, but believed governments, capitalism, religion destroy Individual Vision  SO – production method NOT “mass”; costly, dangerous, “corrosive”: “melting apparent surfaces away, and displaying the infinite which was hid”; perfect union of poetic mission and artistic method  The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1785)  Songs of Innocence and Experience (1794) Songs of Innocence and Experience (1794)  Again, Blake bringing together opposites to see what emerges as they clash  Innocence poems o Narrators think Reality reflects their highest hopes o Lots of “positive thinking” o Speakers often are victims or victimizers without realizing it  Experience poems o Narrators think Reality reflects the worst of what “cruel world” has taught them o Lots of “positive thinking” o Speakers often are victims who realize it, or speak out against victimizers (US)  Many are “companion poems” on same/similar topic but from opposite viewpoints www. blakearchive.org from Songs of Innocence: “Introduction”

Piping down the valleys wild, Piping songs of pleasant glee, On a cloud I saw a child, And he laughing said to me: 'Pipe a song about a lamb!' So I piped with merry cheer. 'Piper, pipe that song again.' So I piped: he wept to hear. 'Drop thy pipe, thy happy pipe; Sing thy songs of happy cheer.' So I sung the same again, While he wept with joy to hear. 'Piper, sit thee down and write In a book, that all may read.' So he vanished from my sight, And I plucked a hollow reed, And I made a rural pen, And I stained the water clear, And I wrote my happy songs Every child may joy to hear.

From Songs of Innocence: “The Lamb” From Songs of Experience: “The Tyger”

Little Lamb, who made thee? Tyger Tyger, burning bright, Dost thou know who made thee? In the forests of the night; Gave thee life & bid thee feed, What immortal hand or eye, By the stream & o'er the mead; Could frame thy fearful symmetry? Gave thee clothing of delight, Softest clothing, wooly, bright; In what distant deeps or skies. Gave thee such a tender voice, Burnt the fire of thine eyes? Making all the vales rejoice? On what wings dare he aspire? Little Lamb, who made thee? What the hand, dare sieze the fire? Dost thou know who made thee? And what shoulder, & what art. Little Lamb, I'll tell thee, Could twist the sinews of thy heart? Little Lamb, I'll tell thee: And when thy heart began to beat, He is called by thy name, What dread hand! & what dread feet? For he calls himself a Lamb. What the hammer? what the chain? He is meek & he is mild; In what furnace was thy brain? He became a little child. What the anvil? what dread grasp I a child & thou a lamb. Dare its deadly terrors clasp? We are called by his name. Little Lamb, God bless thee! When the stars threw down their spears Little Lamb, God bless thee! 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; What immortal hand or eye, Dare frame thy fearful symmetry? From Songs of Innocence: “The Blossom” From Songs of Experience: “The Sick Rose”

Merry Merry Sparrow! O Rose, thou art sick; Under leaves so green. The invisible worm A happy Blossom That flies through the night Sees you, swift as arrow, In the howling storm Seek your cradle narrow Near my Bosom. Has found out thy bed Of crimson joy; Pretty Pretty Robin! And his dark secret love Under leaves so green, Does thy life destroy. A happy Blossom Hears you sobbing, sobbing, Pretty Pretty Robin. Near my Bosom. from Songs of Experience: “London”

I wander thro' each charter'd street. Near where the charter'd Thames does flow And mark in every face I meet Marks of weakness, marks of woe. In every cry of every Man, In every Infants cry of fear, In every voice: in every ban, The mind-forg'd manacles I hear. How the Chimney-sweepers cry Every blackning Church appalls, And the hapless Soldiers sigh Runs in blood down Palace walls. But most thro' midnight streets I hear How the youthful Harlots curse Blasts the new-born Infants tear And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse.

Blake was not a politician, but there is more understanding of the nature of capitalist society in a poem like “London” than in three-quarters of Socialist literature. – George Orwell BritLitComp Group Project: Songs of Blue Devils and Wolverines 10 point Major Grade ~ “Illuminated Manuscript” DUE FRIDAY

Without Contraries is no Progression.Attraction and Repulsion, Reason and Energy, Love and Hate, are necessary to Human existence.

So wrote William Blake in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Friday’s football game against the Dade County Wolverines features the same dynamic. So, in groups of 1-3, create Blake-style poem/posters to push MHS to the playoffs!

10%: Group Work  Group cooperates – work shared, not done by one  Remains focused on task; needs no prompting  Does not distract other groups or require shushing

30%: Style of Poem  Short – no fewer than 8 lines, no more than 12; and lines also are short (6-8 syllables)  Simple – easy words; simple rhyme scheme (couplets, or ABAB CDCD, for instance).

30%: Content of Poem  MUST CELEBRATE THE CLASH OF CONTRARIES. Consider: o Colors – Blue vs. Maroon o Mascots – Devils vs. Wolverines o The Game – people smacking each other from opposite directions; offense/defense; winners/losers; passing/running; all that stuff.  MUST WORK TO ENSURE A MODEL VICTORY!

30%: Poster  Poem must be presented as part of the picture! Write in color, fancy script, etc.  Poster needs images, decoration. Consider what Blake does – o Sometimes a few big, “narrative” pictures illustrating the poem’s story o Sometimes tiny, “decorative” images in margins and between lines o USE A LOT OF COLOR, ESPECIALLY BLUE AND MAROON!

Project is finished when has been both approved and posted outside classroom. Project will be scored with rubric on back of this page. BritLitComp Group Project: Songs of Blue Devils and Wolverines 10 point Major Grade ~ “Illuminated Manuscript” DUE FRIDAY \ Score No evidence: Some evidence – Starts to get it; Gets it solidly; CRUSHES IT! Criteria \ NO CREDIT 20-60% credit 70-79% credit 80-89% credit 90-100%+ credit Group does One member not Unequal levels Some unequal levels All members of group Group Work: not work involved; group of work; group of work; group needs dynamically involved _____/10 points distracts others needs prompting a little prompting in work; members and/or needs and/or quieting and/or quieting need no redirecting frequent prompt/quieting 0-5 lines 6-7 lines 8-12 lines 8-10 lines 8-12 lines Poetic Style: No rhyme 3+ lines miss 1-2 lines miss All lines show Rhymes witty, scheme rhyme scheme rhyme scheme rhyme scheme inventive _____/30 points 6+ lines miss 4-5 lines miss 1-3 lines miss All lines 6-8 syllables Word choice charming 6-8 syllables 6-8 syllables 6-8 syllables Few big errors Language error-free Inappr. Lang. Several big errors No Contraries, 1 set of contraries 2 sets of contraries 3 sets of contraries 4+ sets of contraries Poem Content: or contraries relevant to game relevant to game relevant to game relevant to game not relevant to _____/30 points game No clash between Some clash Vigorous clash Clash between contraries between contraries between contraries contraries is both Does not cheer violent and purifying for the correct Tepid cheering cheering Good cheering team Raucous cheering

Illuminated Manuscript: Not attempted Just the poem; Rudimentary Good decorating, Elaborate decorating, no color decorating, colorful with lots colorful with lots of _____/40 points or no blue or of blue blue and maroon maroon

Group Project Score = ______/ 100 From Songs of Innocence: “The Divine Image” To Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love All pray in their distress; An 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 dime 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 & Pity dwell There God is dwelling too.

From Songs of Experience: “The Human Abstract”

Pity would be no more, If we did not make somebody Poor: And Mercy no more could be, If all were as happy as we; And mutual fear brings peace; Till the selfish loves increase. Then Cruelty knits a snare, And spreads his baits with care. He sits down with holy fears, And waters the ground with tears: Then Humility takes its root Underneath his foot. Soon spreads the dismal shade Of Mystery over his head; And the Catterpiller and Fly, Feed on the Mystery. And it bears the fruit of Deceit, Ruddy and sweet to eat; And the Raven his nest has made In its thickest shade. The Gods of the earth and sea, Sought thro' Nature to find this Tree But their search was all in vain: There grows one in the Human Brain