Blake: A Little Bit Radical!!

"I reject your reality and substitute my own." -Mythbusters

This quote seems to directly apply to Blake. One of my favorite aspects of Blake is his individualism. Many of Blake's society considered him mad because of his strange ideas and concepts. Some specific adjectives that were applied to Blake were: "Rebellious, unconventional, fiercely idealistic..." (74) Welcome, Mr. Blake, to the genre of Romanticism. Although many of the Romantics, probably would not have wanted him in their peer group. Blake is truly admirable because of his quest for knowledge. I do not agree with all of his findings by any stretch, but I do respect him for his individualism and his desire for education. Surprisingly, Blake was not formally educated. He is even more admirable when one considers his meager beginning. Formal schooling seemed to also be an establishment that tried to control him as well, as he expresses in The School-Boy.
One unusual aspect that Blake brings to his writings is the inclusion of illustrations. In addition to being an author, he was an artist. The old cliche, "A picture is worth a thousand words", has more truth than usually given credit for. Clearly, I love literature hence my major but my minor is art because I have a passion for it as well. Art and writing are two forms of self-expression that go together about as well as peanut butter and chocolate. One can get a more clear view of a story when a picture is included. One could argue that this limits one's imagination, but I believe illustrations are merely a launch pad for further imaginative ideas. Perhaps the reader will be inspired by one photo and will form mental images of the rest of the scenes.
Blake's work, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, is the most well known piece and the content makes the popularity understandable. Basically, Blake advocates freedom of imagination over the norms of thought, established morality and authority. Often Blake's story is compared to Milton's Paradise Lost; but the main difference is that Blake does not feel constrained by morality in the least bit, he freely makes the devils look like the life of the party. In All Religions Are One, Blake makes the radical statement that God is defined by the individual. Thus, if an individual decided to designate himself as God, this was acceptable. Any established religion would have instantly rejected him. The Garden of Love implies how Blake feels the church chokes the life out of him.
Blake believed childhood was a time of innocence that should be protected, but often this was corrupted by the corrupt world and its institutions. Essentially, Blake blames the corruption of children on the church, state, and monarchy. He reminds me of the modernists I studied in ENG 265 with Dr Silver. Modernists rejected any sort of meta-narrative or over-arching authority. Blake does not want to be forced to believe anything or act in any particular way, so whatever the source of pressure is, he will be resistant. The Fly is one of his works that embodies modernist principles. The message of the story is that life has no meaning and that it comes and goes like a fly being swatted.
Innocence and experience are two concepts that Blake attempts to reconcile. He believes in the importance of child-like innocence, but he also notices that ignorance can be dangerous and put one at risk of oppression. I think that is why he is worried about the innocent being swayed by the church or the state. Naive people can be led away and deceived without much coercion.
Since Blake defined God however he decided, he viewed Jesus how he wanted to as well. He admired Jesus not as "the enforcer of the Ten Commandments but as a compassionate rebel whose "virtue" is precisely that he acted from impulse and not from rules." (95) His concept of Jesus shows his limited knowledge of the Bible. Jesus has the divine power to do whatever He wishes, but he cannot be untrue to His character. Also Jesus' time on earth was prophesied long ago and thus, there were some "rules" to a certain extent that governed Christ, mainly the will of His father. Blake basically chose the viewpoint that he preferred. This is not an uncommon practice of humans. We all want to translate things in the most beneficial way possible. Even the Deist Founding Fathers of America operated under this idea.
The portrayal of good and evil in his story is definitely the mark of a radical: "Good is the passive that obeys Reason. Evil is the active springing from energy." (96) He was so concerned about corrupting the children, but yet he glamorizes evil doings. One would question who is corrupting who. He also talks about repressing desires being a form of passivity. In many cases, repressing desires has nothing to do with being passive. Often, this constraint is wise and beneficial. He manipulates Biblical truths and makes the love of Christ seem biased. He waters down sin, hell, and the devil. Blake is playing with fire. (Pun can be implied) Jesus is portrayed as a radical, rule-breaker, when in reality, Christ is the fulfillment of the law.
If Blake's goal was to reject all meta-narratives and live in radical individualism, I suppose his life was exactly what he desired. However, I believe that by refusing to believe in any thought beyond your own understanding, you are not being as open-minded and free as you imply. Instead of being caged in by establishments, he was caged in by his self-defined life.