After thoroughly reading, “Auguries of Innocence” by William Blake, I have come to the conclusion that every one line is preceded by another line to explain the consequence of an action. Blake is very blunt about the message he is trying to convey; there is no hidden agenda. In the beginning of the poem, he is reflecting on a time where things were simpler, how innocent and curious we are, as humans, when we are younger. Then as the poem continues to evolve, it portrays how humans loose the concept of innocence and curiosity, but rather rely on conformity and materialistic needs to guide their life. The whole poem is an outcry to the public during the enlightenment period, to return to a simpler time; guided by their emotions and perceptions of nature, or rather the natural flow of thought, untarnished by someone else’s views.
Blake thoroughly criticizes human behavior through out the poem; in fact I believe he was ahead of his time by pointing out the flaws of human society. Take for example, “A robin redbreast in a cage, puts all heaven in rage.” The red-breasted robin represents man caged and forced to follow one flow of thought, unaware of freedom and the free-flow of inspiration. I believe that Blake is condemning conformity and the inability to see beyond the worldly and widely held views of society. He wants humans to see beyond what is drilled within our minds, instead he wants nature to inspire us, so we can conceive our own thoughts. Take another example, “ He who shall hurt the little wren, shall never be belov’d by men.” I think Blake is alluding to suppression, a time where the aristocracy or royalty didn’t care about the poor or middle class who worked hard for their wages, but still remained poor. During this period, royalty had the “let them eat cake” mentality, while they lead materialistic and superfluous lives. They ignored those who were not privileged to lead the same life they were born or married into, as well as neglected their responsibility to the people, which inevitably lead to many revolts. Lastly, Blake claims, “The strongest poison ever known, came from Ceaser’s laurel crown.” I believe that Blake suggests that power is poisonous; it leads to greed, and feeds on conquering different areas and decimating the human soul. I feel like Blake represents many politicians historically, who are corrupt and greedy, and forget their true responsibilities. As the famous quote goes, “ with great power, comes great responsibility.”
Besides criticizing human nature, Blake also points out many paradoxes in society. One such paradox is, “Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in hour.” In turn, Blake suggests that infinity is something that we can grapple with our bare hands and eternity is something that we can ascertain within an hour. However these concepts are limitless and undefined, it isn’t attainable physically within our hands or within moments, it is boundless and lasts beyond our physical matter or time. Take another example, “A truth that’s told with bad intent, beats all the lies you can invent.” In turn, Blake suggests that truth told in spite and intent to hurt others, is better than lying. However, I think Blake forgets to discern the fact that certain lies are momentous and are not meant to cause harm. In fact, I believe that truth is withheld and one is lied to for their good, momentarily, due to how they would respond to the truth. While Blake explores extremes, he forgets to consider the medium. Take another example, “ Man was made for joy and woe, And when this we rightly know, Thro’ the world we safely go.” Blake basically suggests that there are true extremes joy and happiness versus sadness and misery, and once we accept these concepts, our world will make more sense and hold meaning. I disagree with him; I believe that there is more meaning to life, than joy and woe. In fact, I believe there is a whole scale of emotions in between that Blake forgets, that one needs to accept to be truly happy and lead a lasting life.
Though Blake criticizes and represents paradoxes in society, he also offers solutions to return to a time where nature and our observations offered conclusions and solutions, a time where thought was free flowing and unperturbed. Take for example, “ When gold and gems adorn the plow, to peaceful arts shall envy bow.” Thus, Blake suggests that we should return to a simpler time, where the environment and agriculture held weight and great impact on society. And by letting environment and agriculture lead our lives, we can be invincible to greed and desire. Blake also says, “The child’s toys and the old man’s reasons, are the two fruits of the season.” Blake basically suggests that the child’s ability to explore our environment and be curious should be offset by logic, and when these two characteristics work together it leads to a good impact. I completely agree with Blake in the sense that curiosity should be counterbalanced by reason, in order to be knowledgeable and un-infested by hasty generalizations that hold no weight.
After completely accessing, “Auguries of Innocence” and Blake’s thought process, I have come to the conclusion that he has foreshadowed many historical events that could have been prevented had society taken his words into action or listened to his train of thought. Likewise, his solutions are also attainable and reasonable, from my perspective. While they seem so simple and attainable, to change a whole society or begin such a momentous transformation, it will definitely take time and masses of people to support this thought process. Segregation in the United States wasn’t banned until years of fighting for change, likewise to return to a simpler life will not happen over night.
- Kritika Jayanth -
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