William Blake – Page 6 – Interesting Literature

A Summary and Analysis of William Blake’s ‘The Tyger’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘The Tyger’ is arguably the most famous poem written by William Blake (1757-1827); it’s difficult to say which is more well-known, ‘The Tyger’ or the poem commonly known as ‘Jerusalem’. The poem’s opening line, ‘Tyger Tyger, burning bright’ is among the most famous opening lines in English poetry (it’s sometimes modernised as ‘Tiger, Tiger, burning bright’).

Below is a summary of this iconic poem, along with a close analysis of the poem’s language, imagery, and meaning.

A Short Analysis of William Blake’s ‘Spring’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘Spring’ is not one of William Blake’s most famous poems. The poem was first published in Blake’s 1789 collection Songs of Innocence. It’s a glorious celebration of the arrival of spring, exploring the harmony of man with the natural world and some of Blake’s more popular themes: childhood, innocence, and nature being three of the most prominent.

Spring

Sound the flute!
Now it’s mute!
Bird’s delight,
Day and night,
Nightingale,
In the dale,
Lark in sky,—
Merrily,
Merrily merrily, to welcome in the year.

10 of the Best William Blake Poems

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

William Blake (1757-1827) is one of the key figures of English Romanticism, and a handful of his poems are universally known thanks to their memorable phrases and opening lines. Blake frequently spoke out against injustice in his own lifetime: slavery, racism, poverty, and the corruption of those in power. In this post we’ve chosen what we consider to be ten of the best William Blake poems, along with links to each of them.

A Summary and Analysis of William Blake’s ‘London’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

William Blake (1757-1827) wrote many great poems which remain widely read and studied. But ‘London’ is, along with ‘The Tyger’, possibly the most famous of all his poems. ‘London’ was first published in 1794 in his volume Songs of Experience, which was written to offer the flipside to the positive, transcendent message present in Blake’s earlier volume Songs of Innocence.

Although the poem’s meaning is pretty clear and straightforward, it is our intention in this analysis to uncover some of the more curious aspects of its language.

A Summary and Analysis of William Blake’s ‘A Poison Tree’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘A Poison Tree’, one of the most famous poems by William Blake (1757-1827), was first published in Blake’s 1794 volume Songs of Experience. Below we offer some words of analysis on this classic poem.