Jerusalem's Reconstruction: A Thematic Study Of Blake's SIE

Blake study over the past two centuries has witnessed critics' attempt in establishing a mythological framework based on Blake's works. Their continuous efforts, mainly resulting from Blake's claim in persistently creating a system throughout his life and work, have greatly contributed to Blake study. Yet none of these critics has noticed Blake's aim behind this mythological system. In light of this, this thesis, holding that Jerusalem's reconstruction is one of the dominating themes in Blake's mythological framework, probes into the theme of Jerusalem's reconstruction as is reflected in his SIE and reveals that Blake's purpose of Jerusalem's reconstruction is to emancipate humanity and move them closer to divinity by awaking their repressed imagination.This thesis holds that Blake in SIE shows two different worlds in which the world of innocence is unfallen and the world of experience is fallen. Thus, the process in which man goes from innocence to experience involves a fall, which in turn leads to the destruction of Jerusalem—a symbol of the house of human soul in Blake's mythological system. Hence, Blake proposes his theory of imagination through which he believes that a new Jerusalem can be reconstructed.By analyzing Blake's theory of imagination, this thesis finds that his idea of imagination comes out of his political and religious radicalism against reason. The social realities disillusion his belief that human beings can be liberated through revolution. After realizing that the true freedom of man is spiritual, Blake begins to attack both churches which exploit human beings in the name of God and the rationalists who believe reason is the means of finding truth in this universe. Blake is convinced that imagination is the true means of perceiving this world. Possessing imagination, human beings in the state of experience could see the divinity and liberate their lapsed souls.This thesis also finds that Jerusalem's reconstruction is closely connected with Blake's view of soul and body. Subverting the extremists' tyrannical distinction between body and soul in MHH, Blake holds that both body and soul are essential to human beings, with the body as an indispensable part of the soul. He denies the exaltation of divinity at the expense of humanity held by the extreme Christians, and reason employed by the rationalists to shackle man's energy. By doing so, he hopes to set free man's imprisoned energy from the "mind-forg'd manacles". Thus the process of emancipating human beings from the tyranny of reason is the one to restore man's humanity and make them move closer to divinity. In this process, imagination, taking the form of fire as is depicted in MHH, destroys the "mind-forg'd manacles" and cleanses the perceptions of human beings to rebuild a new Jerusalem where human soul dwells harmoniously.