The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. This is going to be one of those times when you'll *definitely* want to make notes in your text as you read. Mark up any places that jump out at you, associations you're making, and questions you may have. At the same time, don't worry too much about figuring out the poem. Just read through it, mark it up, and do take a look at the pictures--consider what the pictures add to what Blake is saying. Then, for your blog response, answer the following question:
What do you think is the main point of this poem??
Due: before our next class (please try to post before Tuesday morning)
Additional Reminders:
--Don't forget to bring an extended (at least two full, typed pages) draft of Paper #1 to class on Tuesday. Getting feedback on workshop days does count as part of your final paper grade.
--Bring MMH and Jimmy Corrigan to class on Tuesday! :)
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Gosh, I read every word of this book, several times, struggled through most of it. In Shakespeare's writings I struggled with those words too. This book was even more difficult for me. Are there alot of mispelled words on these plaques? From what I understand of this book,"The Marriage of Heaven and Hell", by William Blake: Everything is backwards, upside down if you will. Those that worship God (Heaven)are actually worshipping the Devil (Hell) and vice-versa. But, this shouldn't matter because the marriage of these two cancels them out and reasons that we will all end up in the same place. I got this reasoning through my understanding of plates 23-24. As I said I've struggled with this and may be way off. Hopefully getting clarity in class tue.
ReplyDeleteTruthfully I read and reread this and I don't even understand it. The pictures are interesting, I like the style of how the people look so fluid (it makes them seems carnal and wicked, more appeasing to a temporal state). Yet why the poem is called the marriage of heaven and hell is confusing. I personally do not like the way the author tries to twist holy concepts into wicked ones and evil ways into holy ones. As a christian I am obviously biased but I am just throwing my opinion out there. The poems almost makes me feel like 'man' likes complicating things from what they really are.
ReplyDeleteThe book was quite hard to understand, but the references to Scripture helped a lot. In plate 4, the picture reminded me of when Jesus walked on water. Here we see the devil reaching out for the man (in the arms of Jesus) probably because he followed his energies (evil desires). But Jesus saves him.
ReplyDeleteThe text explained that the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel didn't really speak to God. Isaiah only wrote about it because he used his senses to "discover" God (the infinite). In plates 22-23, the author incorrectly defines and mocks the worship of God. In plate 23, the devil tries to use Jesus' acts of mercy and grace against Him, to make it seem as if He broke the same rules that God set for every man to follow--making Him mock God himself.
From what I understood, the main point is that you will not progress if nothing opposes you. There is no chance to grow if you are not faced with oppositions and trials. Contradictions are inevitable in human life. We always have to have an open mind. For me, the purpose of this poem is to contradict the principles found in the Bible and reverse the proverbs in Scripture. Blake probably did so in order to challenge the reader's beliefs about Christ so that his knowledge/faith may increase. He did say that without contraries there is no progression.
I never read the Christian Bible. If what Sam says is true, then it does make a little more sense I suppose. I'm still confused quite a bit, But maybe, we're supposed to be? In this text it says,"Good is the passive that obeys Reason: Evil is the active springing from energy." So,if we keep an open mind?, Listening to and allowing others to show us new reason?,are we obeying or actively springing from energy? If we keep an open mind, then we are allowed to think for ourselves, Not passively obeying reason, thus we we actively spring from energy, which according to Blake is Evil. So, are we all evil according to Blake? This doesn't sound right to me, it seems to be a never ending go around.Like(Ying-Yang)Symbol. I like to keep an open mind and reason things out for myself and same for evey one else. I don't consider this as evil. Does William Blake?
ReplyDeleteI may be completly off with this but here I go... I think the story is about a man named Rintrah who plays as a puppet for Blake to express his views on the topic of religion, more specifically, Christianity. William Blakes background of Romantisim can be seen in his writing in the transcendental or supernatural way of describing events. I think that the entire book is about a presentation of both sides, the Energy and Reason, or good vs evil. The story concludes with a dispute between the Angel and the Devil.
ReplyDeleteThe pictures seem to go with text as in some parts where Blake describles the fiery hell, there are images of people being hanged over fire like in Plate 5. Plate 4 is very interesting as it looks like God is saving a small child, but sending a man to torment for all of eternity. This goes along with the text nicely, because it seems that the man that is in the fire is there because he followed his "Engergies" or evils and the small child being saved is innocent.
The main idea i got from "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell" is that good and evil are in a constant stage of equilibrium. For instance Blake has this idea that what is good in one thing can be bad in another. Like when he says, "The weak in courage is strong in cunning." He also brought up many ideas about how the soul and the body are counterparts. Your soul contains the good but your body consists of bad actions so in the end the good and the bad cancel each other out. I found it strange that his stance seemed to be more on the evil side of things.
ReplyDeleteI think William Blake is trying to say religion is bad. He says the good and evil are always in the world, and they must remain at odds with each other, or else there is no progress. The thing that is trying to reconcile them is religion. But if religion is bad, then is good and evil, both good? Other than that, I was lost in the references to religion. I have no real knowledge of good and evil other than that taught to me by law. The images added some visual interest but I don't really understand their connection to the poem. I can't wait to figure this one out.
ReplyDeleteReading this was pretty difficult. When I read sentences by themselves I was able to analyze them pretty well, but when I tried putting it all together it made no sense. I felt that none of the plates had anything to do with the other plates. This is what I got from it though. The reason Blake named it “Marriage of heaven and hell” is because their in relations to one another. With one comes another. Reason and Energy, Love and Hate, Attraction and Repulsion (29). All of these are necessary to the human existence. I think Blake is trying to say that we need heaven and hell in order for there to be a human race. Meaning, we couldn’t all be good, because that would be boring. We couldn’t all be bad, because well that horrible. We need for their to be good and evil in everything, it’s just up to us how we make our decisions.
ReplyDeleteMarriage of heaven and hell was very difficult to read. But from what i got out of it is that william blake is always comparing opposites of life and supernatural things. I think he tries to say that without one you cannot have the other, for example there would be no good without evil, and no evil without good, everything has an opposite to exist.
ReplyDeleteIn The Marriage of Heaven and Hell i personally believe William Blake was trying to bring out points or beliefs others of his time would have never considered. His writings were complete oppisites of what The Bible teaches us. For example "man has no body distinct from his soul" (plate 4). That the energy a human possseses is actually a good thing,and not something to be looked down upon. In translation The Marirage of Heaven and Hell is a marriage of freedom and rules, desires and restrictions. All of these things are living therefore holy. (chorus:plate 27)
ReplyDeleteI think the main point of this poem is that In order for life to go on, there has to always be a good and evil. Things that are opposite of each other are needed because one does what the other doesn't, bringing a balance in the world. Heaven and Hell are two different paths, but are ultimately the same destination?... The poem just presents a thorough examination of both heaven and hell. I also think that maybe to be in heaven you have to be courageous and dangerous, while the evil does everything the simple and easy way. Good is out there while evil hides. I guess its kind of meant to be funny as well, by the way Blake compares the two in some plates.
ReplyDeleteLike everyone else, this was a hard one to understand, it reminded me of Shakespeare unfortunately. Blake made the bible seem like such a incorrect piece of literature, and that it was all wrong. Blake then tried to tell us the true meaning of the scripture, which was the complete opposite of the bible. According to Blake, hell was the right way to go vs. heaven.
ReplyDeleteI think the point the Blake is trying to make is that Heaven and Hell cannot exist without each other. Heaven needs Hell to survive, and vice versa. This leads to the point that we are both Good as well as Evil. Just like Heaven and Hell, our good as well as our evil makes up to be the people we are. Heaven and Hell are a part of each other, and our intertwined.
ReplyDeleteThis book reminds me of Shakespeare, and old english literature, its difficult to comprehend, and grasp what the author is trying to say. Blake used a lot of references to the Bible, and it makes me wonder why the title of the book is called the Marriage of Heaven and Hell. I feel like I'm reading a bunch of random words grouped together, and it makes no sense.
ReplyDeleteI think that the main point of this poem is to really reach out to the reader. I think that it is designed to open the eyes of humans and to just get them to see another point of view in a topic such as religion and, basically, the basics of Christianity. I know when I read it, already knowledgeable of the Bible, was astounded to read what I read. For example, when the Devil says that if we love God so much, should we not break the Ten Commandments in efforts to portect and stand up for him. I think the main point of this poem was to basically give another view to be looked at in this particular area of understanding.
ReplyDeleteThis was extremely hard to read. I didn't even know what to mark, but I feel that this poem is trying to compare heaven and hell; or good and bad. It gives somewhat of a description of hell while it tries to make you think beyond what religion normally tells. It wants you to use your own imagination of heaven and hell because religion is so confining.
ReplyDeleteI like most of my other classmates had an extremely difficult time reading this poem. In it Blake's discussion on heaven and hell existing together erally threw me of. I did not know what he was going for. If I were to take a stab at it I would say that he thinks that Heaven and Hell are necessary and have to exist together. One can not be present without the other. I don not get why he is trying to show a binding of heaven and hell though. It is extremely strange to me why he is trying to bring the two together.
ReplyDeleteI guess what the author is trying to say is that neither Heaven or Hell have any better qualities than each other, thus a marriage is formed between them...? Blake satirizes religion through his use of language which mostly confuses us all, and through that he expresses his criticism of religion which can also be seen as a parallel to what society was like back in his time.
ReplyDeleteI felt that Blake's primary purpose of this piece was to invoke in the reader a questioning of conventional religious thought. Plate 4 titled "The Voice of the Devil", did by no means spout out evil suggestions, as one might expect from a character so vilified as Satan. Instead it discussed a different perspective on good and evil and its relation to the human body . This juxtaposition of evil expectations and a rational viewpoint, causes an instant sort of surprise that captures attention, and invites further investigation. He expands upon his idea that the Devil is not necessarily evil, and the Messiah is not necessarily good, they're simply two different things. Satan being energy or desire, and God being reason. Blake suggests that to blindly follow one and completely shun the other is silly, and I believe he meant for this piece to incite a change of thought and action in its reader. From the oppression of religion and reason to the freedom of self and energy.
ReplyDeleteI think Blake sets out to confuse the reader. By continually throwing up
ReplyDeleteassociations exactly the opposite of that anybody familiar with Christianity is used to, Blake is forcing us to reevaluate what we really mean when we say 'heaven' and 'hell'. I don't think he wants to convince us of any particular point as much as he wants us to understand there is not only one way of looking at things, that there are other points of view.
I think William Blake's main goal is to criticize people who are so assured of their beliefs that they don't keep an open mind. He makes references to Swedenborg and criticizes not only his ideas but his assertion that he is right. He might also be trying to explain his own brand of philosophy and how it holds up against mainstream religious dogma. Maybe both are his goals, and he uses each to facilitate the other - his own beliefs to show the frailty of other's philosophies.
ReplyDeleten William Blake's "The marriage of Heaven and Hell," I believe that the main thing being demonstrated is the fact that there is good and bad in everything, and what you see is the product of how you view it. Personally, I see the good in everything, even if it is something that others would see as a negative thing. Blake’s view seemed that he would see the opposite of what most others would see. For example, “Those who restrain desire, do so because theirs is weak enough to be restrained” (Plates 5-6). Restraint is often times a good thing, because there is a time and place for such wants. Blake, however, seems to believe that if you are ever restraining from a desire, it is a bad thing. In my opinion, that quote is extremely meaningful, and unfortunately not all people view it the same way a Blake and I, which is to basically chase your goals. In the Hindu-Buddhism belief, one is to open thee eyes and accept what comes to them, opposed to my belief which is to envision a specific/many goals, and chase after them, because usually, things don’t come your way, but rather, are waiting to be found.
ReplyDeleteBlake’s views about heaven and hell confused me a great amount. I understood within certain poems the point he was attempting to get across, many of which were done successfully, but his concept of heaven and hell confused the crap out of me. One thing I did understand regarding heaven and hell, or good and evil is the following: “Without contraries is no progression. Attraction and Repulsion, Reason and Energy, Love and Hate, are necessary to Human existence. From these contraries spring what the religious call Good & Evil. Good is the Passive that obeys Reason. Evil is the active springing from Energy. Good is Heaven. Bad is Hell” (Plate 3). This basically meant that, through a religious standpoint, contraries provide progression, which ultimately represents Good or bad. This Good or Bad then leads to Heaven or Hell.