Left the Paths of Ease

You'll find this as a link at the end of the last post. The following re the meek man... is taken from an April 11, 2009 post to the Yahoo Group WmBlake:

Marriage of Heaven and Hell, Plate 2, (E 32)

Blake writes in a language that few people today know, so maybe we need an interpreter. I happen to be reading The Unholy Bible, by June Singer. It's largely an (Jungian) interpretation of MHH. Here are some of her interpretations:

"Rintrah is the personification of rage against the status quo" (and an apt description of the young Blake). Revolution was in the air, and Blake writes about a change (very timely!). The meek man is Joe Six Pack; he hasn't learned to read; his social, political, moral consciousness is minimal, and his exploitation by the 'villain' (let's say bankers) has driven Joe out into the wilderness, but "he's sick and tired, and he's not gonna take it any more." Times will be hard for everybody now.

The meek man and the villain: man is not one, but two. He's "Adam and the serpent, Jacob and Esau, outraged honesty and sneaking hypocrisy".

Speaking of Revolution: France was being bathed in blood, and America had already thrown off the sneaking villain.

So much for the political dimension (Erdman's Blake Prophet Against Empire has more). Psychologically the meek man is the good unconscious church goer; the villain is the Voltarian priest (the first priest was the first villain who met the first fool.) The meek man must some day wake up and gain a critical dimension.

Well I've just scratched the surface. This is poetry; poetry is
never (or at least rarely) about the literal; it's about the
intellectual, the spiritual. The Bible is poetry: beginning to end; not about material events; about spiritual events; events in your consciousness. Blake taught me how to read the Bible. One of his greatest gifts to me.

What does Blake (or the Bible) mean? That depends on you- and me.

Justin said: Justin has left a new comment on your post "Left the Paths of Ease":

This is a strange pronouncement: "poetry is
never (or at least rarely) about the literal; it's about the
intellectual, the spiritual." It's even stranger if you replace poetry with the more general literature: "Literature is never about the literal." But I think it's true somehow. Poetry is the contortion of the literal into the spiritual.

OPEN MIND

This passage from The King and the Corpse, written by the renowned mythologist, Heinrich Zimmer who was Joseph Campbell's mentor, describes some of the same dilemmas faced by the readers of Blake. In spite of our desire to understand Blake, it is more important to assimilate. His ideas can take root and permeate our thought if we open our minds to him.

"Hence the scientist, the scientific psychologist, feels himself on
very dangerous, very uncertain and ambiguous ground when he
ventures into the field of folklore interpretation. The discoverable
contents of the widely distributed images keep changing before
his eyes in unceasing permutations, as the cultural settings
change throughout the world and in the course of history. The
meanings have to be constantly reread, understood afresh. And
it is anything but an orderly work - this affair of interpreting the
always unpredictable and astonishing metaphors. ...
"The moment we abandon this dilettante attitude toward the
images of folklore and myth and begin to feel certain about
their proper interpretation (as professional comprehenders,
handling the tool of an infallible method), we deprive ourselves
of the quickening contact, the demonic and inspiring assault
that is the effect of their intrinsic virtue. We forfeit our proper
humility and open-mindedness before the unknown, and
refuse to be instructed - refuse to be shown what has never
yet quite been told either to us or to anybody else."

Heinrich Zimmer, The King and the Corpse

On Homers Poetry (E268)

"Aristotle says Characters
are either Good or Bad: now Goodness or Badness has nothing
to do
with Character. an Apple tree a Pear tree a Horse a Lion, are
Characters but a Good Apple tree or a Bad, is an Apple tree
still: a Horse is not more a Lion for being a Bad Horse. that is
its Character; its Goodness or Badness is another consideration.
  It is the same with the Moral of a whole Poem as with the Moral
Goodness
of its parts Unity & Morality, are secondary considerations &
belong to Philosophy & not to Poetry,"

To Poetry 

OPEN MIND

This passage from The King and the Corpse, written by the renowned mythologist, Heinrich Zimmer who was Joseph Campbell's mentor, describes some of the same dilemmas faced by the readers of Blake. In spite of our desire to understand Blake, it is more important to assimilate. His ideas can take root and permeate our thought if we open our minds to him.

"Hence the scientist, the scientific psychologist, feels himself on
very dangerous, very uncertain and ambiguous ground when he
ventures into the field of folklore interpretation. The discoverable
contents of the widely distributed images keep changing before
his eyes in unceasing permutations, as the cultural settings
change throughout the world and in the course of history. The
meanings have to be constantly reread, understood afresh. And
it is anything but an orderly work - this affair of interpreting the
always unpredictable and astonishing metaphors. ...
"The moment we abandon this dilettante attitude toward the
images of folklore and myth and begin to feel certain about
their proper interpretation (as professional comprehenders,
handling the tool of an infallible method), we deprive ourselves
of the quickening contact, the demonic and inspiring assault
that is the effect of their intrinsic virtue. We forfeit our proper
humility and open-mindedness before the unknown, and
refuse to be instructed - refuse to be shown what has never
yet quite been told either to us or to anybody else."

Heinrich Zimmer, The King and the Corpse

On Homers Poetry (E268)

"Aristotle says Characters
are either Good or Bad: now Goodness or Badness has nothing
to do
with Character. an Apple tree a Pear tree a Horse a Lion, are
Characters but a Good Apple tree or a Bad, is an Apple tree
still: a Horse is not more a Lion for being a Bad Horse. that is
its Character; its Goodness or Badness is another consideration.
  It is the same with the Moral of a whole Poem as with the Moral
Goodness
of its parts Unity & Morality, are secondary considerations &
belong to Philosophy & not to Poetry,"

To Poetry 

Exaggeration for Emphasis

People use one (or both) of two basic languages:
1. The vernacular or ordinary
2. Poetic language.

Our Blake spoke the poetic language from birth (as do most babies, but they unfortunately soon lose it). In many places ordinary language is understated: "I don't like him", may announce an intention of killing him.

In contrast poets are free to exaggerate. It may shock us into the truth they mean to convey. Blake was very, very good at that. Sometimes we just have to make allowances, but best of all is to be shocked into the truth.

Now which of these languages do we have here:
Good and Evil are deadly dreams that the Soul may fall into when it leaves Paradise following the Serpent.

Exaggeration for Emphasis

People use one (or both) of two basic languages:
1. The vernacular or ordinary
2. Poetic language.

Our Blake spoke the poetic language from birth (as do most babies, but they unfortunately soon lose it). In many places ordinary language is understated: "I don't like him", may announce an intention of killing him.

In contrast poets are free to exaggerate. It may shock us into the truth they mean to convey. Blake was very, very good at that. Sometimes we just have to make allowances, but best of all is to be shocked into the truth.

Now which of these languages do we have here:
Good and Evil are deadly dreams that the Soul may fall into when it leaves Paradise following the Serpent.