Are bongos and djembes just the same thing? if so I don't want to live anymore.

William Blake: "And Did Those Feet" And did those feet in ancient time Walk upon England's mountains green? And was the holy Lamb of God On England's pleasant pastures seen? And did the Countenance Divine Shine forth upon our clouded hills? And was Jerusalem builded here Among these dark satanic mills? Bring me my bow of burning gold! Bring me my arrows of desire! Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold! Bring me my chariot of fire! I will not cease from mental fight, Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand, Till we have built Jerusalem In England's green and pleasant land This poem is a very famous poem by William blake that has been more commonly known as the piece of music called Jerusalem. It was changed into a piece of music, for the greatness of the poem, and the hype it got, and then added to it was word painting with the music. It is mainly heard at very patriarchal occasions as it talks of the legend that jesus visited England and that it starts of straight away in wonder that the feet of jesus walked on mountains. You can here it every time at the proms as it celebrates Britain. It was used at the olympic opening ceremony, and the actually presentation was based on the poem. It talks of how they will build a new Jerusalem, a new holy place in England, welcoming the second coming of jesus. He has a fighting attitude of wanting to build a new Jerusalem and that he will not stop until he does. I really like William Blake as a poet, cause it seems he is very expressive! Apparently at a young age he had many visions of seeing God and seeing angels, and that as much as his parents discouraged him, he still was convinced he saw them. He wanted to become a painter at the age of 10 and he was sent of to a drawing school, after this he started writing beautiful poetry. His writing addressed the sense that he wanted change and that he stood by his morals which in my books is a big thumbs up!Just in general he is a creative man but doesn't faf around with all his words, but makes it clear yet dramatic. Similar? I think soooooooo

The Romantic period was a period that dedicated itself to romanticism, an era that influenced poets such as William Wordsworth, John Keats Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Poetry had started to contain more emotion and fascination with romance.

Khalil Gibran, another poet of the Romantic era wrote a poem 'on love'.

Khalil Gibran on Love 

When love beckons to you, follow him,

Though his ways are hard and steep.

And when his wings enfold you yield to him,

Though the sword hidden among his pinions  may wound you.

And when he speaks to you believe in him,

Though his voice may shatter your dreams

as the north wind lays waste the garden.

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.

Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,

So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.

Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.

He threshes you to make you naked.

He sifts you to free you from your husks.

He grinds you to whiteness.

He kneads you until you are pliant;

And then he assigns you to his sacred  fire, that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.

All these things shall love do unto you that you

may know the secrets of your heart, and in that

knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.

But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,

Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor,

Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.

Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.

Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;

For love is sufficient unto love.

When you love you should not say,

"God is in my heart," but rather,

"I am in the heart of God."

And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.

But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:

To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.

To know the pain of too much tenderness.

To be wounded by your own  understanding of love;

And to bleed willingly and joyfully.

To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;

To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;

To return home at eventide with gratitude;

And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.

Khalil Gibran was born in Lebanon; he immigrated to the United States when he was older to study Art and Literature in English and Arabic. His writing style created a new Romantic movement in Arabic literature.

Gibran's poem 'on love' is about the beauty of love. Khalil focuses in on the good and the bad about love. He personifies love throughout the poem using the terms 'he' or 'him' whenever making reference to it. 'When love beckons to you, follow him', 'and when his wings enfold you yield to him'; in the first stance Gibran describes love to be like a bird or winged creature of some sort. This reference to natural creations links in with the naturalness of love.

Not only does Gibran personify love but he gives it a voice, one that holds power over beings; 'and when he speaks to you believe in him, though his voice may shatter your dreams'.

The poet concentrates on the realities of love as he says, 'for even as love crowns you so shall he crucify'. The mention of 'God' later on in the poem and the use of the word 'crucify' presents biblical references that combine religion and love. Khalil regards love as something that unsheathes or unclothes you. It breaks down and 'threshes' your outer shell and leaves you 'naked'. It 'sifts you free from your husks' and 'all these things shall love do' to 'know the secrets of your heart'. Gibran is blunt when he directs the message to people of one needing to accept this disclosure if they are to find or accept love. He then warns, 'if only in your fear you would seek love's peace and love's pleasure, then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness'. If you fear what love can do, how bare it can leave you, how it can caress 'your tenderest branches' yet also 'descend' you 'to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth', then 'pass out of love's threshing'.

Khalil states that 'love possesses' and 'love is sufficient' and if you start wanting other desires from it then one should 'know the pain of too much tenderness' and 'be wounded' as well as 'bleed willingly and joyfully'. This feeling of pain should be felt until you 'return' and 'mediate love's ecstasy'.

Love 'directs your course’; you do not 'direct the course of love'.

Khalil Gibran is about the truths of love rather than just the pretty side to love. It's about two faces or sides and getting to know both of them. It's about accepting the good as well as the bad because you cannot have only the good and call that 'perfection'. Perfection is both the wonderful and dreadful. Gibran portrays loving another to be like risk taking as it cracks open any shell of protection. And if you are not willing to take the risk then why should you bother to love.

Like Khalil Gibran's poem about realities of love, William Shakespeare's sonnet 130 is similar as it speaks of the realities of beauty and love. Though Gibran does not mock love, both poets mention comparisons to nature. Both poets use different tactics, Shakespeare satirises by means of producing the real truth whereas Gibran merely speaks of the good and bad forces of love. Shakespeare is more indirect as he focuses on love through beauty, and seeing what is really there. Whereas Khalil Gibran is direct as his poem is ‘on love’.

Shakespeare offers his 'love as rare' and Gibran offers love to be 'for your growth'. Shakespeare shows that false comparisons need not be made and Gibran shows that love need not be feared.

iH

William Wordsworth (1770-1850) - Nutting

—It seems a day
(I speak of one from many singled out)
One of those heavenly days that cannot die;
When, in the eagerness of boyish hope,
I left our cottage-threshold, sallying forth
With a huge wallet o'er my shoulders slung,
A nutting-crook in hand; and turned my steps
Tow'rd some far-distant wood, a Figure quaint,
Tricked out in proud disguise of cast-off weeds
Which for that service had been husbanded,
By exhortation of my frugal Dame—
Motley accoutrement, of power to smile
At thorns, and brakes, and brambles,—and, in truth,
More ragged than need was! O'er pathless rocks,
Through beds of matted fern, and tangled thickets,
Forcing my way, I came to one dear nook
Unvisited, where not a broken bough
Drooped with its withered leaves, ungracious sign
Of devastation; but the hazels rose
Tall and erect, with tempting clusters hung,
A virgin scene!—A little while I stood,
Breathing with such suppression of the heart
As joy delights in; and, with wise restraint
Voluptuous, fearless of a rival, eyed
The banquet;—or beneath the trees I sate
Among the flowers, and with the flowers I played;
A temper known to those, who, after long
And weary expectation, have been blest
With sudden happiness beyond all hope.
Perhaps it was a bower beneath whose leaves
The violets of five seasons re-appear
And fade, unseen by any human eye;
Where fairy water-breaks do murmur on
For ever; and I saw the sparkling foam,
And—with my cheek on one of those green stones
That, fleeced with moss, under the shady trees,
Lay round me, scattered like a flock of sheep—
I heard the murmur, and the murmuring sound,
In that sweet mood when pleasure loves to pay
Tribute to ease; and, of its joy secure,
The heart luxuriates with indifferent things,
Wasting its kindliness on stocks and stones,
And on the vacant air. Then up I rose,
And dragged to earth both branch and bough, with crash
And merciless ravage: and the shady nook
Of hazels, and the green and mossy bower,
Deformed and sullied, patiently gave up
Their quiet being: and, unless I now
Confound my present feelings with the past;
Ere from the mutilated bower I turned
Exulting, rich beyond the wealth of kings,
I felt a sense of pain when I beheld
The silent trees, and saw the intruding sky.—

Then, dearest Maiden, move along these shades
In gentleness of heart; with gentle hand
Touch—for there is a spirit in the woods.

William Wordsworth was born in 1770, in Cumberland and published his work in the Romantic era where it was at its peak from 1800-1850. ‘’Wordsworth was one of the most influential of England's Romantic poets’’, and is generally considered one the greatest sonneteers. Romanticism emerged from the French Revolution as it was influence by the effects of the social transformation caused by the French Revolution, and his ‘’works transitioned from extremely natural experiences to facing the realities and ills of life, including society and the Revolution’’ Furthermore, under new laws, writers, artists, and society’s citizens had the freedom to express themselves which highlighted the significance of free expression, which also gave literature the opportunity to take a new turn.

Firstly the title of the poem, ‘Nutting’ instantly tells the audience that there is some kind of sexual reference to the poem. There is no hidden meaning or ambiguity in the title. ‘Nutting’ is made up of two stanzas which is narrated in first person, with no rhyming scheme. Wordsworth uses very sensuous language and   explores nature portraying it to be a very powerful force. He demonstrates conflict between man and nature by exploring the destruction of human purity due to nature, and the role of innocence. The poem can be seen as a metaphorical conceit as Wordsworth describes the abduction of human innocence by referring to the wrecking of nature.

The first line ‘’It seems a day’’ suggests something which happened in the past and is being reminisced upon. The next 8 lines is one sentence which briefly tells a story, where he is walking in the woods with a ‘nutting crook’’ in his hands, and describes this wood as a pure place where no one has been, and he has come here to destroy this purity by picking the flowers and taking it away. He links this to human nature by describing the woods as a ‘virgin scene’, where his ‘’Maiden’’ being a virgin , is about to have her virginity taken away from her. This also signifies the dominance man can have over nature and purity. In lines 17-19 , Wordsworth vividly presents sexual imagery showing the desire of a man to conquer the land and in this case , to conquer his ‘Maidens’ virginity. This male dominance is also evident as Wordsworth says he has ‘forc’d his way’ showing a sense of power and domination. In lines 14-15, Wordsworth illustrates the purity of nature; ‘’dear nook Unvisited’’, and then demonstrates the vulnerability of nature. He also describes his feelings as ‘’Voluptuous’’ and ‘’fearless’’, expressing his desire to destroy the untouched. Lines 41-51 emphasizes on the violence, corruption and the ‘’merciless ravage’’ which he causes. The last 3 lines addresses his ‘’dearest Maiden’’ and implies that the way he has taken the flowers from the woods and the purity from nature, he is now going to take her virginity from her. This brutality is described as a ‘’spirit in the woods’’; taking something away from its purest form.  

Like William Wordsworth, John Donne also takes negative approach to love and sex in his poem ‘’Elegy XIX: To his mistress going to bed’’. This poem is also a metaphysical conceit as he describes his sexual desires with aspects of nature. In the first line ‘’Come, Madam, Come’’ , Donne immediately uses demanding language , already portraying power and dominance. Unlike his other pieces of work, ‘Elegy XIX’ demonstrates more soul and less intimacy and passion. In contrast to his other poems, the explicit imagery presented almost shows a sense of rudeness and lack of respect for his lady; He shows off his lady as someone who is only there to fulfill his desires. The use of the word ‘’kingdom’’ is similar to the use of the ‘’woods’’ in Wordsworth’s ‘Nutting’. Both poets present love in a merciless manner and also show the divine power that man has over nature.

tahsin.

William Blake, 'A little lost girl' interpretation.

William Blake uses his poetry to demonstrate his critical opinions of the new enlightenment period. Blake was against the new focus on scientific revolutions and felt as though society was forgetting the importance of spirituality.

‘A Little Lost Girl’ begins by addressing the ‘Children of the future age’ showing that his message on the importance of love is timeless. Blake portrays his attitudes to societal values in the first stanza as he says ‘love, was thought a crime.’ The use of the word ‘thought’ suggests that they are thinking incorrectly. By using the word ‘crime’, the poet identifies how harshly those who go against biblical restrictions are punished by social stigma.

The second stanza then goes on to describe their love blossoming ‘In the age of gold’, highlights Blake’s love for youthfulness and how they are ‘free from the winter’s cold’ which could suggest not only the physical and spiritual warmth that they are receiving of each other from their love, but also metaphorically being away from the shame and disproving parents, whilst they partake in a ‘holy’ act of love. The use of ‘holy’ is ironic as although love was deemed to be ‘holy’ and should be under the eyes of god, this is only within the constraints of marriage, therefore the idea of their young and innocent love being holy would be considered outrageous by most in Blake’s time period.

The third stanza the poem moves onto the night, in a ‘garden bright’ which also could be a further biblical connotation in reference to the story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, again creating more irony as the youth’s love is just as innocent and Adam’s and Eve’s however would have been demonized by society. Reference to ’the holy light’ is made again and describes how it’s power has ‘removed the curtains of the night’ which suggests the prevailing of what is hidden away, such as the removal of clothes and implying the loss of virginity.

The fourth stanza demonstrates that the power of love and the distance of her parents the maiden ‘forgot her fear.’ the next day. This highlights the fear of both her father and the fear of people’s attitudes to her physical acts of love. This fearlessness is also shown in the fifth stanza when they decide to meet ’when the silent sleep’.

Now the poem takes a turn as the ’youths’ must face the consequences of their actions. ’Her father white’ suggests how effected he has been by his daughter’s actions. It could also be a reference to having to face God himself as ‘Father’ and ‘white’ are holy descriptions. The last stanza is an outcry from the father and his reactions to what she has done. Her actions ‘shakes the blossoms’ of his beard, meaning it shakes the foundations of his masculinity and what he stands for and has brought his daughter up to be.

To summarize, Blake cleverly uses a dramatic opening line to influence the reader’s mindset whilst reading the rest of the poem in order to put his message of innocence across. He uses this innocence to demonstrate how true love need not be marital, thus should not always be demonized according to society’s norms and values.

William Blake and William Shakespeare, although writing in different time periods attempt to define love for what it truly is in their poetry, and not what it is written to be. In Sonnet 116 of William Shakespeare’s, The first stanza begins with ‘Let me not to the marriage of true minds’ however this isn't referring to a religious marriage, it implies that by ‘the marriage of true minds’ he means love is perfect as a spiritual connections which is felt in the body, not by a form or a ring on a finger. Also Blake shows a similar view in ’A little lost girl’ by the idea of any love before marriage to be a ’crime’. Both Shakespeare and Blake exercise this idea of what true love is without societal influence.

Hasna Maliq

Romantic poetry comparision

William Blake

Firstly what was happening around the 18^th century?

·         The world was becoming obsessed with science and consumerism. New scientific discoveries and theory's derived from scientists i.e. Sir Isaac Newton drove individuals to become immersed with the control and security these theories brought to human life.

·         Isaac Newtons ideas developed into concept and control. With little other scientific discoveries, individuals whole heartidly believed these objective theories and effectively, lived by them.

·         This restricted individuals minds as they were assured x=x, that there was an answer for everything.

So who is William Blake?!.. Oh my god! He was only the first of the great English romantics to assault these principles of science and consumerism through writing verses, lyrics and dramas. Each his poems involved elements such as;

·         Blake's longing for spiritual reality

·         The redefinition of human definition of imagination beyond the ‘Newtonian’ (work arising from Isaac Newton) ideas of concept and control

·         So basically, Blake's work expressed that Romanticism relies on the imagination, the freedom of thought and expression and an idealisation of nature.

o    Like, Blake, many of the writers of the Romantic period were highly influenced by the war between England and France and the French Revolution.

o    Blake saw this war as an inspiration, Blake composed in hopes of bringing change to the public’s spiritual life. Blake felt that, unlike most people, his spiritual life was varied to be free and dramatic.

o    Blake attatches these ideas through mysticism and symbolism, his love of liberty, his humanitarian sympathies, his idealization of childhood, the pastoral setting of many of his poems, and in his lyricism.

‘A Little Girl Lost’

Children of the future age,
Reading this indignant page,
Know that in a former time
Love, sweet love, was thought a crime.

In the age of gold,
Free from winter's cold,
Youth and maiden bright,
To the holy light,
Naked in the sunny beams delight.

Once a youthful pair,
Filled with softest care,
Met in garden bright
Where the holy light
Had just removed the curtains of the night.

Then, in rising day,
On the grass they play;
Parents were afar,
Strangers came not near,
And the maiden soon forgot her fear.

Tired with kisses sweet,
They agree to meet
When the silent sleep
Waves o'er heaven's deep,
And the weary tired wanderers weep.

To her father white
Came the maiden bright;
But his loving look,
Like the holy book
All her tender limbs with terror shook.

'Ona, pale and weak,
To thy father speak!
Oh the trembling fear!
Oh the dismal care
That shakes the blossoms of my hoary hair!' 

Summary of the structure

1^st stanza - This poem begins with Blake addressing ‘children of the future age’, informing them to ‘know that in former time’, that in fact, ‘love was thought a crime’. By doing this, Blake is trying to help the children of this ‘former’ era understand that before they were born, ‘love’ was seen as a ‘crime’ if it wasn't affirmed by marriage.

2^nd  stanza - As the poem progresses,  Blake notes that in the ‘age of gold’ that ‘youth and maiden’ are ‘bright’. This infers that two ‘youths’ love is blossoming in the absence of the parents there, as they are ‘free from the winters cold’. This presents that Blake may be using the winter as a metaphor of the parents having a grudge against the ‘youths’ being together, rather than being warm and welcoming, they display a ‘cold’ attitude towards ‘youths’ falling in love.

Blake tends to incorporate imagery of nature throughout. This is conveyed as the ‘youthful pair’, ‘met in the garden’, the ‘holy light’. This may be biblical reference to the garden of Adam and Eve as they also met in the ‘holy’ garden. By doing this, Blake is portraying the ‘youths’ love as pure and innocent, bringing no harm to anyone.

3^rd stanza – Although, it is clear by stanza 3 that the ‘youths’ were aware of their guardians. As they always assured their ‘parents were afar’, suggesting they may fear ridicule. After a while, the lovers grow confident with their love and ‘soon forget to hear’ out for their parents. This develops a sense of security within the lovers and shows how love can distract them from obligations.

4^th stanza – Despite this, the lovers pursue their love despite the consequences which their ‘parents’ may give. The lovers ‘agree to meet when  the silent sleep’. This depicts how the ‘youths’ agree to meet only once their parents are asleep, growing more courageous on their pursuit of love.

5^th stanza – Blake makes readers feel intrigued as they wonder if the pursuit will last. This romance is short-lived as the ‘maiden’ returns home, with the welcome of her fathers face being ‘white’. This reflects the disappointment he has caught her mid-way. This is extended further as Blake incorporates more biblical references, as his ‘loving look’ is now like the ‘holy book’. This may refer to the restrictions religion may bring, as the ideal of marriage is what the ‘maidens’ father favers.

6^th stanza (final) - By the daughter going against this, he has grown ‘pale and weak’. The pure ‘maiden’ according to her father, can’t ‘shake the blossoms of hoary hair’. This presents that now the ‘maiden’ has past her curfew, she is unable to redeem herself, according to his biblical restrictions. So basically this poem is criticising societies attitudes towards young lovers, as we see, the maidens father disproves of the love his daughter is expressing with another.

Comparison lalala..

Blake sets up readers expectations by informing us that ‘love, sweet love, was thought a crime’. By referring to the past perceptions on love, readers are able to understand the 18^th century attitudes towards courting. Blake does this by personifying ‘love’ as being restricted as if it was as bad as a ‘crime’. By utilising the term ‘crime’, Blake amplifies the extent even ‘sweet love’ was forbidden and controlled by boundaries. This creates an idea Blake was trying to critisise how ‘sweet love’ was forbidden the renaissance era, drawing readers to see how the conventions of love were objective and came with high moral judgement. Thus, making people reluctant to ‘love’ freely, as it would be as equal to committing a ‘crime’. Likewise, Shakespeare also critisises the conventions of love in the 17^th century. As ‘Sonnet 130’ depicts that ‘black wires grow on her head’. Opposed to praising his lover, Shakespeare juxtaposes the ordinary ideas of praising and complimenting his lover, in which the usual 17^th century sonnets did. By using a metaphor to compare his lovers hair to ‘black wires’, Shakespeare is simply going against making unrealistic, superior comparisons  This infers that Shakespeare is taking his lover and her flaws at face value. By producing this sonnet, Shakespeare, similar to Blake challenges and possibly reverts the conventions of love created by society.

In addition, Blake is keen to assert the ‘maidens’ fear of judgement by society. This is depicted as Blake describes the ‘holy light’ as responsible for removing ‘the curtains of the night’ in which the lovers are hiding. As Blake uses a metaphor to convey the ‘night’ as ‘curtains', it highlights how the couple rely on the ‘night’ to mask their love and hide behind the ‘night’ as if it were ‘curtains’. Also, by involving the metaphor of the ‘holy light’ removing these ‘curtains’, readers are driven to feel this may represent how the ‘maiden’ has lost her virginity. As the the poem progresses, Blake utililises a metaphor again to present how the fathers discovery of his daughters lost innocence turns his ‘loving look, like the holy book’ into ‘terror shook’. By referencing how the fathers ‘look’ and ‘light’ in stanza two are both ‘holy’, this urges readers to feel the ‘maiden’ lives in fear of her fathers perception of love and outside forces. This may be a comment on how the ‘holy light’ is the idealisation of love created by society, in which the ‘maiden’ is rebelling against. Comparatively, Alphra Behn uses her work to express how women shouldn't resist seduction due to the conventions imposed by society. In ‘The Willing Mistress’, Behn contrasts Blake in the fact that although the ‘trees shade them’ the sun couldn't of ‘betray’d’ them. This highlights the idea that Behn isn't disrupted by nature, in fact, Behn depicts it as enhancing their love as it ‘shades them’.

Behn extends this, using natural imagery to depict her love as relentless and heated as she describes it progresses in the ‘heat of the day’, not a ‘disruption’ as depicted in ‘A Little Girl Lost’. This outlines the erotic stance Behn took to pursue her freedom and ignite her passion felt for her lover. By doing this, Behn undermines conventions of love in the 17^th century, as Behn openly addresses the erotic subjects courtly love objected. This may of been a break through on how  contained gender roles were. Although, it can be argued that as ‘The Willing Mistress’ was being seduced by ‘Amyntas’, a Greek god, that in fact the gender roles were still prevalent  As ‘Amyntas’ ‘layed’ her on the ‘ground’, it portrays how the male still is dominant within the relationship and there is still an element of subjection in society, despite that women were then allowed in theaters.

Overall, Blake, Shakespeare and Behn all relate back to how love was controlled and influenced by events that occurred in society. Despite this, Blake portrays how the new ‘young age’ should consider this and learn from it, as now morals have changed, children have the privilege to be more free with their expression of love. Furthermore  Shakespeare was keen to mock how love had been exaggerated and created unrealistic expectations of lovers, physically and mentally. Whereas, despite Behn efforts to be relentless and erotic, Behn's work still had elements of how relationships still have the capacity to revert back to the traditional patriarchal gender roles. 

Alssssssssssssy yo