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Poet: William Blake
Poem: I see the Four-fold Man
Comment 1 of 1, added on July 15th, 2006 at 3:50 PM.
The Four-Fold Man reveals Blake as the man of vision, of creating a higher system of beliefs. He's the Saint John of The Book of Revelation; the new Quad as opposed to the Trinity. Gone are the "Father, Son and Holy Spirit"; in are the Four, which according to this poem are Humanity, Emanation, Spectre and Shadow. These four are linked in a balance, not to be taken apart. They co-exist. Death/Life are one in the body. We live and die at the same time. Life births death."Past, Present and Future existing all at once before me" writes Blake. He needs the help of the Divine Spirit to safeguard him so that he can cause the great Albion to realize that the slumber is a destructive force. The wheels are not of "harmony and peace", but of "heavy wreaths". It is one that plows graveyards. Symbols of serpents, black cloths, and cogs abound. As Blake is soaring on the wings of the Divine Spirit, he notes the schools and universities of Europe and states that the "loom of Locke" is producing "dire" works. The language of the Industrial Revolution is "taking over"--iron, steel,wheels....One can almost feel the fog/smut of the pollution taking over, and yet, Albion doesn't breathe it as heavy! The prophet Blake must rouse it with his "minute articulations."
This is a dangerous change that is taking over because the men of science, the changing of the pastorial landscape and the educational systems are all being corrupted as a rapid pace. The prophet is barely making it. Without the help of the divine spirit, he, too, will perish. This is the change that is driven by compulsion, which is of more consequence than that of the altered state of Eden's transformation! It's as though Blake wants the reader to hear the timeless message that all is lost without some voice, some seer to intervene. Humans, on their own, lack the prophetic nature. It takes special "ambassadors" to awaken us to the dangers that exist.
dallas holsten from United States
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The Four-Fold Man reveals Blake as the man of vision, of creating a higher system of beliefs. He's the Saint John of The Book of Revelation; the new Quad as opposed to the Trinity. Gone are the "Father, Son and Holy Spirit"; in are the Four, which according to this poem are Humanity, Emanation, Spectre and Shadow. These four are linked in a balance, not to be taken apart. They co-exist. Death/Life are one in the body. We live and die at the same time. Life births death."Past, Present and Future existing all at once before me" writes Blake. He needs the help of the Divine Spirit to safeguard him so that he can cause the great Albion to realize that the slumber is a destructive force. The wheels are not of "harmony and peace", but of "heavy wreaths". It is one that plows graveyards. Symbols of serpents, black cloths, and cogs abound. As Blake is soaring on the wings of the Divine Spirit, he notes the schools and universities of Europe and states that the "loom of Locke" is producing "dire" works. The language of the Industrial Revolution is "taking over"--iron, steel,wheels....One can almost feel the fog/smut of the pollution taking over, and yet, Albion doesn't breathe it as heavy! The prophet Blake must rouse it with his "minute articulations."
This is a dangerous change that is taking over because the men of science, the changing of the pastorial landscape and the educational systems are all being corrupted as a rapid pace. The prophet is barely making it. Without the help of the divine spirit, he, too, will perish. This is the change that is driven by compulsion, which is of more consequence than that of the altered state of Eden's transformation! It's as though Blake wants the reader to hear the timeless message that all is lost without some voice, some seer to intervene. Humans, on their own, lack the prophetic nature. It takes special "ambassadors" to awaken us to the dangers that exist.
dallas holsten from United States