critical appreciation of the poem a divine image by william blake/ a divine image by william blake

 

critical appreciation of the poem a divine image by william blake/ a divine image by william blake

A Divine Image

The poem ‘’A Divine Image’’ is from ‘’Songs of Experience.'' The title of this poem is ironic. The characteristics defined in the poem are not divine in any sense. The poem is actually a contrast of  the poem ‘’The dive Image.'' The letter 'A' represents a common thing, a common man. On the other hand letter ‘The’ shows something important, unique, or our creator, God.

 

When songs of innocence are replaced by the songs of experience, the same man who is innocence by birth becomes Satan and preaches jealousy, terror, hypocrisy, and cruelty because of these four deadly sins.

Jealousy has a feeling which does not allow Satan to bow before Adam to show respect towards him. Jealousy is a very negative emotion because of this: people never come to each other. People are more and more jealous when they see successful people.

Secrecy means hypocrisy. Man is being compared to iron. Man has become very hard. Forged iron is very hard iron. A man has a very cruel heart, just like forged iron. The tone of the poet is very bitter here. Forged is just like a skeleton in which iron is burnt. Just like a fire is burnt in a fiery forged, the human heart has the fires of emotions, ambitions, and worldly goals. And these are the emotions that make his heart more and more cruel. Human beings should be the embodiment of love, but he made it so cruel. His heart did not melt at the suffering of people. A man's heart is burning more and more day and night. It is burning with the desire for wealth and ambition. The ambitions were like furnance sealed. A man does not allow into his heart the emotions of pity, peace, mercy, and love.