William Blake And Emily Dickinson
English 102
Faith and Doubt Throughout history people have doubted and some what questioned religion. Many people have expressed their confusion and questioning about a higher being, because of all the bad that happens around the world. Death, hunger, and War are everyday occurrences. The unknown of creation, and what is true about religion and the bible make people question how such things could happen. Religion teaches people to have faith, but doubt goes hand in hand. Merriam Webster defines faith as belief in the existence of God :strong religious feelings or beliefs, and doubt as a feeling of being uncertain or unsure of something . Some people show inquisition; if there really is a god why does such horrible situations happen, why do animals …show more content…
exist, and violently fight for survival.
Two poets who wrote and expressed their concern on faith and doubt are Emily Dickinson and William Blake. Both writers use poetry as a media to address faith and doubt because its an emotional topic that addresses a controversial issue on the belief in religion or a “god persua”.”The lamb” by William Blake, Is narrated by a child. The poem is a Lyric/dramatic monologue. The tone of the poem is condescending and patronizing. “He fumbles at your spirit” a poem written by Emily Dickinson, published in 1924, Is an extended metaphor comparing “God” to a pianist. She described people as being keys “played” by “God”. William Blake’s poem “The Tyger” which describes his thoughts about having many questions but little answers. He questions who could make such a terrifying creature as the tiger. Blake makes a subtle suggestion that the tiger is a weapon, and questions how a fearful
creature could be created by a benevolent God.
Both Blake and Dickinson seem to have a mutual negative feeling about the uncertainty of God and express their doubts. Two of Blake's poems differ from each other dramatically. The two poems “The Lamb” and “The Tyger” go hand in hand in an opposite way. “The lamb” is a poem where questions are being asked and all answers are being given. In “The tyger” many questions are being asked and no answers are given. In “The lamb” and “The Tyger” Blake expresses frustration in two different ways. In “The lamb” Blake uses diction to portray a feeling of annoyance by one of the speakers condescending tones, while In “The Tyger”, Blake uses diction but to portray Frustration in a straightforward way. He uses imagery such as “The landscape listens, Shadows hold their breath; When it goes, ‘t is like the distance on the look of death” with the lines written Blake describes silence and also a way of describing what the dead look like. In Dickinson's poem “He fumbles at your spirit”, she uses diction such as fumbles, stuns, brittle, and ethereal to show her negative feelings. All those words are negative in which they make you feel clumsy, weak, easy to break. And no one wants to feel helpless.
Blakes poem is about questioning why certain things are they way they are, and why or how everything came to be today. In “The Tyger” Blake chooses a Tyger to use as a way of describing a dangerous animal. A tyger is a predator, and Blake questions who could make such a terrifying creature. He also makes a subtle suggestion that the tiger is a weapon. Most of the poem is written in an angry tone, for example “Dare frame thy fearful symmetry”; Blake is using diction to convey his angry, fearful, confused tone.
Dickinson’s poem describes a frustrated annoyed feeling about “God”.She uses many negative commentations such as “fumbles”,”stuns”, and “brittle”. Dickinson's poem has a brutal murderous feeling by the text used, such as “Deals one imperial thunderbolt, That scalps your naked soul”. Firstly, scalping is no pleasant feeling , and feeling naked, makes you feel exposed and vulnerable. Emily also makes comparisons of keys on a piano to people, she express her frustration with metaphors. Portraying “God” as a pianist and humans as keys being played with. Surely no one wants to be toyed with.
In addition Blakes two poems “The lamb” and “The Tyger” contrast each other. In “The Lamb”all questions are answered. In “The Tyger” none of the narrators questions are answered. In“The Tyger” none of the narrators questions are being addressed, it seems like all the questions are being ignored. In “The lamb” all the answers to the questions asked seem to be force fed and one sided. All the questions that were being asked already had a planned suitable answer ready. The narrator wanted the reader to feel as if the child was being looked down on.
Both poets have their own way of getting across their own idea about how they feel about faith and doubt. In one poem Blake uses symbolism to convey his idea. Using the “little lamb” to represent a deeper meaning. The lamb is supposed to stand for innocence and being sacrificed. Blake uses oxymorons and imagery in “The tyger” to convey his doubt . For example Blake writes “fearful symmetry?” which is an oxymoron. Just like Blake, Dickinson also chose a similiar yet different way of conveying her feeling about doubt and questioning things. Dickinson used a lot of diction to represent her frustration. The entire poem “He fumbles at your spirit” is negative. On Blakes side he uses to poems with different narrators to represent two different sides, but to show his similar feelings of frustration and annoyance.
“The Tyger”, “The Lamb”, and “He fumbles at your feet” are all poems which address the topics of faith and doubt. Each poet tries to get their point across in different yet similar ways. They all use diction, and plays with words to convey a feeling . Also the way the poems were written show different tones. But all of the poems described were in some way negative. All questioning “God” and asking why?
Faith and Doubt Throughout history people have doubted and some what questioned religion. Many people have expressed their confusion and questioning about a higher being, because of all the bad that happens around the world. Death, hunger, and War are everyday occurrences. The unknown of creation, and what is true about religion and the bible make people question how such things could happen. Religion teaches people to have faith, but doubt goes hand in hand. Merriam Webster defines faith as belief in the existence of God :strong religious feelings or beliefs, and doubt as a feeling of being uncertain or unsure of something . Some people show inquisition; if there really is a god why does such horrible situations happen, why do animals …show more content…
exist, and violently fight for survival.
Two poets who wrote and expressed their concern on faith and doubt are Emily Dickinson and William Blake. Both writers use poetry as a media to address faith and doubt because its an emotional topic that addresses a controversial issue on the belief in religion or a “god persua”.”The lamb” by William Blake, Is narrated by a child. The poem is a Lyric/dramatic monologue. The tone of the poem is condescending and patronizing. “He fumbles at your spirit” a poem written by Emily Dickinson, published in 1924, Is an extended metaphor comparing “God” to a pianist. She described people as being keys “played” by “God”. William Blake’s poem “The Tyger” which describes his thoughts about having many questions but little answers. He questions who could make such a terrifying creature as the tiger. Blake makes a subtle suggestion that the tiger is a weapon, and questions how a fearful
creature could be created by a benevolent God.
Both Blake and Dickinson seem to have a mutual negative feeling about the uncertainty of God and express their doubts. Two of Blake's poems differ from each other dramatically. The two poems “The Lamb” and “The Tyger” go hand in hand in an opposite way. “The lamb” is a poem where questions are being asked and all answers are being given. In “The tyger” many questions are being asked and no answers are given. In “The lamb” and “The Tyger” Blake expresses frustration in two different ways. In “The lamb” Blake uses diction to portray a feeling of annoyance by one of the speakers condescending tones, while In “The Tyger”, Blake uses diction but to portray Frustration in a straightforward way. He uses imagery such as “The landscape listens, Shadows hold their breath; When it goes, ‘t is like the distance on the look of death” with the lines written Blake describes silence and also a way of describing what the dead look like. In Dickinson's poem “He fumbles at your spirit”, she uses diction such as fumbles, stuns, brittle, and ethereal to show her negative feelings. All those words are negative in which they make you feel clumsy, weak, easy to break. And no one wants to feel helpless.
Blakes poem is about questioning why certain things are they way they are, and why or how everything came to be today. In “The Tyger” Blake chooses a Tyger to use as a way of describing a dangerous animal. A tyger is a predator, and Blake questions who could make such a terrifying creature. He also makes a subtle suggestion that the tiger is a weapon. Most of the poem is written in an angry tone, for example “Dare frame thy fearful symmetry”; Blake is using diction to convey his angry, fearful, confused tone.
Dickinson’s poem describes a frustrated annoyed feeling about “God”.She uses many negative commentations such as “fumbles”,”stuns”, and “brittle”. Dickinson's poem has a brutal murderous feeling by the text used, such as “Deals one imperial thunderbolt, That scalps your naked soul”. Firstly, scalping is no pleasant feeling , and feeling naked, makes you feel exposed and vulnerable. Emily also makes comparisons of keys on a piano to people, she express her frustration with metaphors. Portraying “God” as a pianist and humans as keys being played with. Surely no one wants to be toyed with.
In addition Blakes two poems “The lamb” and “The Tyger” contrast each other. In “The Lamb”all questions are answered. In “The Tyger” none of the narrators questions are answered. In“The Tyger” none of the narrators questions are being addressed, it seems like all the questions are being ignored. In “The lamb” all the answers to the questions asked seem to be force fed and one sided. All the questions that were being asked already had a planned suitable answer ready. The narrator wanted the reader to feel as if the child was being looked down on.
Both poets have their own way of getting across their own idea about how they feel about faith and doubt. In one poem Blake uses symbolism to convey his idea. Using the “little lamb” to represent a deeper meaning. The lamb is supposed to stand for innocence and being sacrificed. Blake uses oxymorons and imagery in “The tyger” to convey his doubt . For example Blake writes “fearful symmetry?” which is an oxymoron. Just like Blake, Dickinson also chose a similiar yet different way of conveying her feeling about doubt and questioning things. Dickinson used a lot of diction to represent her frustration. The entire poem “He fumbles at your spirit” is negative. On Blakes side he uses to poems with different narrators to represent two different sides, but to show his similar feelings of frustration and annoyance.
“The Tyger”, “The Lamb”, and “He fumbles at your feet” are all poems which address the topics of faith and doubt. Each poet tries to get their point across in different yet similar ways. They all use diction, and plays with words to convey a feeling . Also the way the poems were written show different tones. But all of the poems described were in some way negative. All questioning “God” and asking why?