On The Biblical Elements In William Blake's Works

Hailed as the precursor of romanticism in British literary history,William Blake,a poet and an artist,has long been the focus of academic discussions and studies,and his works, including his poems and engravings have invited a great deal of criticism world wide. Previous studies on William Blake concentrated on a wide variety of aspects,including the employment of symbolism in his poetic works,various interpretations of his famous poems, his extraordinary imaginations and revolutionary spirits revealed in Blake's literary creations. With regard to the Biblical influence upon William Blake's works,however,there is still a lack of systematic analysis and interpretation,though some scholars have already made some fragmentary commentaries on his religious orientation.As a result,this paper attempts to make a systematic analysis on the Biblical elements in William Blake's works in the hope that this literary giant can be comprehended from a whole new perspective. This paper is divided into four chapters.The first chapter deals with the Biblical mysticism sparkling in William Blake's literary works,including his poems and also his letters.In fact,some of his poems are so heavily tinted with mystic color in the Bible that the reader could almost see a Blake immersed in holy divinity and spiritual communion with the God.The second chapter is about how the indispensable elements in the Bible—fraternity,love and forgiveness intricately found their way into the very texture of William Blake's literary creation.As a matter of fact,Blake proposed to establish a new world,"Jerusalem",as he called it,on the basis of love and forgiveness.This chapter will be unfolded to tackle with his songs and prophetic poems separately and detailedly,with an aim to reveal a Blake standing on the basic tenets of the Bible and his prospective about a new world. Chapter Three mainly focuses on the Apocalypse in William Blake's works,as he possessed an apocalyptic outlook that the sinister and dark forces,however mighty they seem, will be destructed and ultimately replaced by the good and up righteous powers and a brand new world will be unfolded before the people.Imagination,which according to William Blake,is eternity,will triumph.The third chapter demonstrates a Blake as a revolutionist who stood steadfast against corruption,tyranny and oppression,holding high the banner of prophetic vision of freedom and liberation.The last chapter attempts to study the Biblical elements in William Blake's works from the perspective of form,while the first three chapters,as can be seen,mainly elaborate the Biblical elements from the angle of contents.Blake imitates and sometimes even parodies the Bible in images,language,style and a larger structural scheme.Conclusion part summarizes a William Blake standing on the Bible as his parent rock.It can be stated with a degree of safety that he relentlessly assimilated the Bible as a basic fountainhead which nourished his literary creation to a measure so great that his literary thought and poetic endeavor all stem from the Bible.However,Blake wasn't merely under the influence of the Bible,and he,as the title indicates,stands on the Bible in the sense that he carefully distilled the essence of the Bible and formed something of his own to air his prophecy.