Critical analysis of poem Earth's Answer

1. Critical Analysis
of
Earth's Answer

2. 破壳
William Blake
William Blake, the
greatest
visionary
poet in English,
was
born on
November
28, 1757

3. Despite the challenges in our
selection of poetry by
William Blake, the poems
share a number of common
threads. One common
characteristic, introduced in
poems like “The Little Black
Boy” and “The Chimney
Sweeper” (from Songs of
Innocence),is Blake’s
tendency to use narrators
other than himself.
Although Blake is a
confirmed caucasion, the
speaker in these poems
repeatedly refers to his
black skin.

4. 壮茁
The whole poem is interpreted
as a metaphor for women
oppression and the text
outlines the unjust and
cruel manner in which
women are treated. The
poem is narrated in first
person by "Earth" and
portrays men as dark,
selfish, jealous and cruel
and that men have
imprisoned the Earth
which is metaphorically
representing women.

5. The poem consists
of 5 stanzas , Each
stanza consists of
5 lines .The rhyme
scheme is abaab.

6. Repetition of questions marks in stanza 4 Forces the
reader to engage in the poem .
Does spring hide its joy
When buds and blossoms grow?
Does the sower?
Sow by night?
Or the ploughman in darkness plough?

7. Blooming is typical and expected of Spring, and Sowing and
Plowing are essential for agricultural practices. Both of these
rely heavily on Earth. This shows that Earth represents both
humankind and nature. This means that when Earth is
wronged by the Father, (who represents God), both Nature
and Humankind must suffer the injuries.

8. Personification of the Earth makes it more significance could
could be portraying as a female
Earth rais'd up her head,
From the darkness dread & drear.

9. Light metaphorically represents beauty
and creates imagery of a brighter more illuminated Erath
Her light fled:
Stony dread!

10. And her locks cover'd with grey despair.
Personification again portrays the Earth in human form
specially as she is given her hair locks , and it
represents that Earth is ancient and she is dying .

11. I hear the Father of the ancient men
"I" narrates the person in 1st person making it more personal
for the speaker which then engages the reader .

12. Selfish father of men !
use of exclamation mark displayes the emotion that Earth is
feeling and creates the ominous atmosphere

13. This gives the idea that people are chained because of their own
negative emotions
Break this heavy chain

14. Chain'd in night
Night is a metaphor for evil , as darkness is of then
associated with evil

15. The overall theme of this is that Human are sufferring in
the world due to the presence of negative feelings ,
jealousy and selfishness , which inhibit pure thought
and oure Love .

16. Bondage :
Terms of confinement echo through the poem – ‘Prison'd',
‘Chain'd', ‘heavy chain', ‘bondage' and ‘bound'. This reflects
Earth's perspective that she is confined to the darkness
because God is cruel and selfishly fears what Earth might
achieve if released from his control. There is no recognition
that the darkness and bondage is a consequence of human
actions. According to Christian understanding, it is human
rebellion which has opened the way for death and decay.

17. Attitudes to the body and the life of the
senses
This connects with Blake's opposition to John Locke. Blake
believed that humans are essentially spiritual beings and that
the body should be an expression of a person's spiritual
nature. Yet, he believes that people do not believe this. They
believe that their bodies are purely physical and that reality
consists solely in what can be understood via the senses. In
this way their senses trap them in a materialist approach to
life and they are unable to experience themselves, including
their bodies, as spiritual beings. This seems to be the
entrapment against which Earth protests.

18. Thank you