William Blake의 Symbolism = William Blake's Symbolism

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

William Blake, though he was influenced by mystics in faith and by Milton in literature, had to invent his own symbolism in order not to follow if his predcessors' footsteps. Blake, no doubt, took many of his symbols from the Bible, or rather he borrowed names and images from the Bible contexts to serve him as symbols. In this way the wider terms of reference of the Bible text would help to elucidate and colour his own particular record of experience. On the other hand Blake has special symbols for many mysterious power which he saw at work in the universe.
Blake's theme was the eternal struggle between good and evil, reason and imagination, spiritual freedom and material bondage, light and darkness. This theme was well expressed by his intuitive imagination, which works through symbols in Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. In Song of Innocence Blake expressed his imaginative vision about the world of "Innocence", which is called the state of the Paradise before the fall of Man, while in Songs of Experience he described Man's corruption in the world of "Experience" after the fall.
The major symbol of Innocence is tile chlild. The chid stands in Songs of Innocence for, Mercy, Pity, Peace, Love, Freedom, Joy, and so on. Adults, especially the mother and the shepherd, represent the protectors or guardians in the world of Innocence. In addition, birds, flowers, the lamb, green fields, dawn, spring, etc., are associated with the image of Innocence.
In Songs of Experience the father or adult is the principal symbol. The father stands for the symbol of oppression personally, religiously, and politically. The related images are as follows: priests, kings, night, winter, forests, etc. Besides, the Tyger, including the lion and the wolf, is especially the symbol of destructive evil. In Songs of Experience branches of trees, roses, gold, silver, and moonlight are sexual symbols; cities, houses, snakes, evening, disease, etc., are corruption symbols.
Blake used his symbols to express increasingly subtle and complex intellectual distinctions. As the system developed, however, he found it necessary or convenient to reinforce the symbolism with an elaborate and cacophonous mythololgy that does not explain itself as the symbols usually do. The total effect of these idiosyncrasies is to make Blake's English so personal that at times it almost becomes a private language.
No doubt there is always a certain tension between what a new poet wants to say and what the English language and literary tradition perm it him to say, but the tension is more acute in Blake's case than in any other because of the extremity of his individualism.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• I.서론
• II.Songs of Innocence에서의 상징체계
• III.Songs of Experience에서의 상징체계
• IV.결론