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Artist and Spectre: Divine Vision in the Earthly Work of William Blake

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Artist and Spectre: Divine Vision in the Earthly Work of William Blake Artist and Spectre: Divine Vision in the Earthly Work of William Blake Robert Searway My first encounter with William Blake, best reading teachers available, a radical though perhaps not as magnificent as a fiery challenge to the reasoning mind, a training star descending to my foot (as Blake depicted ground for knowledge in as many areas as both his brother Robert’s and his own you are willing to open for yourself” (14). encounter with the poet Milton above), came Blake did, however, hope for understanding during my freshman year in college when my within his own lifetime. In an advertisement professor admitted he had not studied Blake for his last artistic exhibition, Blake implores extensively and did not fully understand him. the public: “those who have been told that my From that moment I was intrigued, and have Works are but an unscientific and irregular come to find that not understanding Blake has Eccentricity, a Madman’s Scrawls, I demand been and remains a common theme even of them to do me the justice to examine among English literature studies. Though he before they decide” (Complete Poetry 527- was considered mad and neglected artistically 528). Blake hoped to cultivate a new for much of his life, modern scholars have understanding of the human potential in begun to change his fortunes. Blake still has Imagination. He hoped to change perceptions something, even if only a fleeting confusing of reality, and believed in the power of art to vision, to offer in his art and idea of art. cultivate the minds of his audience. In Northrop Frye, one of the most influential Blake’s work, the artist possesses visionary scholars in Blake’s modern resurgence, writes power through Divine Imagination. Blake in his preface to the Italian translation of sought to fulfill this role of the artist with his Fearful Symmetry of Blake’s impact on his own work and influence. Blake depicts the own critical work, of “the expanded view of artist as possessing unified divine vision, and literature which Blake imparted to me [Frye]” his own production of art, the manifestation (422). In the Introduction to The Cambridge of vision within the physical world, illustrates Companion to William Blake, Morris Eaves his belief in this visionary unity. writes, “Blake is an education—one of the In his general mythology, Blake refers to the sleeping giant, the biblical creator God. the natural world of limited senses, the Separated humanity naturally comes from the perceived reality of humanity, as the fallen process of creation and marks the actual fall generative world. This physical world splits, of mankind into generative existence, which or generates, out of the original unity of continues to generate and split further. Of the existence, which Blake terms Eden, and split and fall from the original giant, Frye continues to further generate into greater and writes, “The Particular ‘Giant form’ or greater physical existence, which makes it ‘Eternal’ to which we belong has fallen, the further fallen. Northrop Frye describes this aggregate of spirits we call mankind or development of Blake’s thought simply, as humanity and Blake calls Albion…When “the conclusion for Blake, and the key to Albion or mankind fell, the unity of man fell much of his symbolism, is that the fall of man too…we are locked up in separated opaque and the creation of the physical world were scattered bodies” (50). The disruption of the same event” (47). All existence once human unity into the generated world possessed unity: a scientific understanding develops into separation, separate bodies and might view such an idea of unity as the selves. moment before the big bang, though Blake Blake then creates and illustrates the idea of would not use scientific time scales or the Spectre to mean individual existence in a theories. The fall of man into separation world of separation and selfhood. The comes from a perceived reality of separate Spectre rationalizes time and physical space existence, from viewing distinct selves and as mediating existence, and so comes to bodies in the physical world as ultimate reside in and understand the natural world as existence. Eternal unified existence from abstraction and through abstraction. In his which mankind fell, and from which the use of the term abstraction, Blake is referring world generated, originally remained whole in to a generalization of existence, but not one Blake’s form, or image, of Albion, the based on the true understanding of existence sleeping giant. The opening of Blake’s The as spiritual unity. The rational senses become Four Zoas sees four aspects of man in unity, a cage to the higher potential of imagination. in “The Universal Brotherhood of Eden/The The Spectre as Selfhood grows concerned Universal Man” (3:5-6). The nature of with worldly needs, and possesses an Mankind remains unified, but has separated insatiable hunger: “In pain the Spectre existence in the fallen world. People suffer divided: in pain of hunger and thirst” because they perceive the physical world as (Jerusalem 6:13). The Spectre suffers truth. constantly from worldly needs that it can Blake often uses Biblical imagery while never satisfy. Divided humanity in the world deviating greatly from orthodox remains always concerned with physical interpretation, so that he uses poetic images needs, with feeding the body and caring for like Eden in his work although it no longer the individualized selfhood. Frye writes of means the biblical garden. Comparing the Selfhood as “an individual ego reflecting Genesis to Blake’s myth, the very first verse on his sensations of an outer space-world already marks the fall. “In the beginning God while existing in time, [and therefore] the created the heavens and the earth”, which natural man is a dying man” (64). already establishes a generative world split Furthermore, the Spectre representing human and opposed from heavenly existence Selfhood comes to dwell fully in and define (Genesis 1.1.1). Applying Blake’s myth existence by this divided nature. The Spectre further, the split of unity would come from exists with the concerns of a physical world, feels its dying nature, and takes on the selfishly attempts to live in the physical world concerns of trying to live longer in the as ultimate. Frye describes how “the Selfhood physical realm. From this reference point, the must be annihilated before the true self can Spectre must dwell on its divided nature, appear” (65). Frye understands true self not scared of death: “And thus the Spectre spoke: in the terms of one self in a body in the Wilt thou still go on to destruction?” natural world—that would remain only a (Jerusalem 7:9). Humans come to accept Spectre and Selfhood. The true self appears their position in the generative world, take it more like an artist with a vision of unity, with as reality and live with the selfish mindset to the understanding that selfhood in general is take advantage of the perceived short period existence in abstraction. Frye then describes of life in this reality. The Spectre, human how “the only possible cure for the original Selfhood, turns away from unified existence, sin of this selfhood of the natural man is loses the faculty of imagination that can vision, the revelation that this world is fallen believe instead in unified existence, and fully and therefore not ultimate” (64). The artist dwells in what Blake considers the abstract looks to unified existence, and must look to perception of physical spaces. unified existence. The artist must see the Blake believes that the artist, in contrast to eternity that brings all people back together the Spectre, has the faculty of Divine once the self is eliminated. Imagination, can reconnect with the unity of Blake truly believes that artists have Edenic existence, and is able to envision the prophetic power, and that the artist speaks for unified Giant of Albion. Whenever Blake the divinity of imagination through their writes of art he speaks to the faculty of work. The artist’s visionary potential imagination and Divine Vision. In Milton he becomes prophecy so that the artist in Blake’s writes of “the Human Imagination: which is work also means “prophet”. Imagination, the Divine Vision & Fruition/In which Man humanity’s faculty of higher spiritual vision liveth eternally” (32: 19-20). Concerned comes directly from divinity. The artist sees instead with divine nature, the artist does not and speaks the word of God as a prophet fall into the same trap of selfish concerns like because all true vision comes from Godly the Spectre’s selfhood. The true artist can nature. Frye describes Blake’s connection even cast off the idea of the self. In Blake’s between art and prophecy: “the fully vision of Milton, the poet says “I come to Self imaginative man is therefore a visionary Annihilation/ Such are the Laws of Eternity whose imaginative activity is prophecy…It is that each shall mutually/Annihilate himself the superior clarity and accuracy of the for others good” (Milton 38:34-36). The prophet’s vision that makes him an artist, and artist—Blake considers John Milton an that makes the great artist prophet” (65). inspired artist—does not fear a death of the Blake himself explicitly called two of his self. The Spectre, in contrast from a poems prophecies, “American a Prophecy” thoroughly selfish point-of-view, believes that and “Europe a Prophecy.” In the initial prose self-annihilation only destroys. The Spectre section of his Preface to Milton, Blake believes casting off the Self can only become invokes a connection to the divine in his art.
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