Three Classes of Men II

From Milton, Plate 25, (E 121):
"The Elect is one Class: You Shall bind them separate: they cannot Believe in Eternal Life Except by Miracle & a New Birth. The other two Classes;
The Reprobate who never cease to Believe, and the Redeemed, Who live in doubts & fears, perpetually tormented by the Elect".

Blake in his characteristic way, uses familiar words in unfamiliar ways. He takes three words from religion: Elect, Redeemed and Reprobate, and redefines them to make us reconsider how God relates to man and how man's psyche functions.

The Elect whom we think of as the chosen who have won God's approval become those who
"cannot Believe in Eternal Life
Except by Miracle & a New Birth".

The Reprobate whom we think of as failures and outcasts become those "who never cease to Believe."

The Redeemed whom we think of as knowing that they have been forgiven for their sins become those "Who live in doubts & fears perpetually tormented by the Elect."

From Ellie:
"When I try to connect the Three Classes of Men with aspects of the psyche, this is what I see.

The Elect wants to preserve the status quo. The Elect can be equated with the Ego which has charge of the personality, negotiating among the Id, the Superego and the reality principle. The Ego is the boss and decides how to express the personality. (The self-appointed Top Dog.)

The Reprobate are the outsiders, the aspects of the personality which are unrecognized or unacceptable. The Reprobate is parallel to the Shadow in Jung which contains whatever the Ego has rejected and denies expression to. The Shadow contains undiscovered but valuable material.

The expanding or awakening consciousness which is the true human, sometimes referred to as the Identity by Blake, or the Self by Jung, is the Redeemed. The Self connects the Ego, the Shadow and the collective unconscious. The Identity connects Albion, the wholeness of the individual, with Eternal wholeness. The process of developing the Self or the Identity is a long struggle of gradually bringing to light hidden material and realigning internal and external relationships.

The psychological approach to studying Blake asks us to look within for congruence between Blake's ideas and the dynamics of our psyches. Blake's myths and images can reveal to us aspects of ourselves; our self-understanding can enrich our reading of Blake."
-----------------------------------------------------
From Larry:
Here's the earlier post:
In MHH we met two classes: angels and devils.
Blake ironically names free spirits as devils and
good dutifull church goers (and other
establishment types) as angels.

Los and his 'emanation', Enitharmon "bore an enormous race" (not only mankind, but every other created thing as well). But in particular Enitharmon's progeny consists of three classes:

From Milton Plate 7 :
The first the Elect from the foundation of the World, symbolized here by Satan.
The second, the Redeem'd, symbolized by Palamabron.
The third, The Reprobate, symbolized by Rintrah.

The Bard's Song begins Blake's description of how
these three classes of men relate.

To Rintrah (the just man) was assigned the plow.

To Palamabron, a kind and gentle boy (not a strong
minded one), was assigned the harrow.

Satan (Selfhood) was assigned to the mills.

Rintrah and Palamabron are contraries; Satan is a
negation.

In the Bard's Song those were the three
assignments of Enitharmon's three sons.

A post could be written about the plow (See Damon
329); the plow of Rintrah might be the heated
words of the prophet that denounces and breaks up
the corrupt establishment. (It might be several
other things as well.)

The harrow follows the plow; for Blake it was a
metaphor for redemptive poetry.

The Mill symbolizes Reason-- conservative, reducing the creative to the commonplace. But it may have been born in Blake's mind from the insidious mills brought about by the Industrial Revolution which impoverished so many people.

Los of course was the father of these three boys,
a farmer-- the World being his field. He had
expressly forbidden Satan from using the harrow.
But Satan wheedled his amicable brother,
Palamabron into letting him use the harrow.

This led to disaster (the kind of disaster we have
all lived under most of our lives).

A simpler (and probably better) explanation of the Bard's Song can be found at The Farrm at Felpham, but you may have to join the Yahoo William Blake group to gain access to it.

All this was part of the tale told by the Bard at
an Eternal gathering. The Bard's Song induced
Milton to forsake heaven and return to the Earth
to correct the errors of his mortal life. Milton's
adventures in the World with Los and Blake is the
subject of Blake's Milton.

There is much more to the Bard's Song, but this
will give you a beginning. Learn the Bard's Song,
and you will find it much easier to enjoy Milton,
the first of Blake's two major works.

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.

Three Classes of Men

and the Bard's Song (First Attempt)

In MHH we met two classes: angels and devils.
Blake ironically names free spirits as devils and
good dutifull church goers (and other
establishment types) as angels.

Los and his 'emanation', Enitharmon "bore an enormous race" (not only mankind, but
every other created thing as well). But
in particular Enitharmon's progeny consists of three classes:

Milton Plate 7 :
The first the Elect from the foundation of the World, symbolized here by Satan.
The second, the Redeem'd, symbolized by Palamabron.
The third, The Reprobate, symbolized by Rintrah.

The Bard's Song begins Blake's description of how
these three classes of men relate.

To Rintrah (the just man) was assigned the plow.

To Palamabron, a kind and gentle boy (not a strong
minded one), was assigned the harrow.

Satan (Selfhood) was assigned to the
mills.

Rintrah and Palamabron are contraries; Satan is a
negation.

In the Bard's Song those were the three
assignments of Enitharmon's three sons.

A post could be written about the plow (See Damon
329); the plow of Rintrah might be the heated
words of the prophet that denounces and breaks up
the corrupt establishment. (It might be several
other things as well.)

The harrow follows the plow; for Blake it was a
metaphor for redemptive poetry.

The Mill symbolizes Reason-- conservative,
reducing the creative to the commonplace.

Los of course was the father of these three boys,
a farmer-- the World being his field. He had
expressly forbidden Satan from using the harrow.
But Satan wheedled his amicable brother,
Palamabron into letting him use the harrow.

This led to disaster (the kind of disaster we have
all lived under most of our lives).

A simpler (and probably better) explanation of the Bard's Song can be found at The Farrm at
Felpham, but you may have to join the Yahoo
William Blake group to gain access to it.

All this was part of the tale told by the Bard at
an Eternal gathering. The Bard's Song induced
Milton to forsake heaven and return to the Earth
to correct the errors of his mortal life. Milton's
adventures in the World with Los and Blake is the
subject of Blake's Milton.

There is much more to the Bard's Song, but this
will give you a beginning. Learn the Bard's Song,
and you will find it much easier to enjoy Milton,
the first of Blake's two major works.

Three Classes of Men

and the Bard's Song (First Attempt)

In MHH we met two classes: angels and devils.
Blake ironically names free spirits as devils and
good dutifull church goers (and other
establishment types) as angels.

Los and his 'emanation', Enitharmon "bore an enormous race" (not only mankind, but
every other created thing as well). But
in particular Enitharmon's progeny consists of three classes:

Milton Plate 7 :
The first the Elect from the foundation of the World, symbolized here by Satan.
The second, the Redeem'd, symbolized by Palamabron.
The third, The Reprobate, symbolized by Rintrah.

The Bard's Song begins Blake's description of how
these three classes of men relate.

To Rintrah (the just man) was assigned the plow.

To Palamabron, a kind and gentle boy (not a strong
minded one), was assigned the harrow.

Satan (Selfhood) was assigned to the
mills.

Rintrah and Palamabron are contraries; Satan is a
negation.

In the Bard's Song those were the three
assignments of Enitharmon's three sons.

A post could be written about the plow (See Damon
329); the plow of Rintrah might be the heated
words of the prophet that denounces and breaks up
the corrupt establishment. (It might be several
other things as well.)

The harrow follows the plow; for Blake it was a
metaphor for redemptive poetry.

The Mill symbolizes Reason-- conservative,
reducing the creative to the commonplace.

Los of course was the father of these three boys,
a farmer-- the World being his field. He had
expressly forbidden Satan from using the harrow.
But Satan wheedled his amicable brother,
Palamabron into letting him use the harrow.

This led to disaster (the kind of disaster we have
all lived under most of our lives).

A simpler (and probably better) explanation of the Bard's Song can be found at The Farrm at
Felpham, but you may have to join the Yahoo
William Blake group to gain access to it.

All this was part of the tale told by the Bard at
an Eternal gathering. The Bard's Song induced
Milton to forsake heaven and return to the Earth
to correct the errors of his mortal life. Milton's
adventures in the World with Los and Blake is the
subject of Blake's Milton.

There is much more to the Bard's Song, but this
will give you a beginning. Learn the Bard's Song,
and you will find it much easier to enjoy Milton,
the first of Blake's two major works.

BLAKE & PROJECTION

Psychological processes are evident as we read Blake's myths.
I found this part of the tale an example of projection being described.

A decisive incident concerning a disagreement between Satan and Palamabron over the horses of the harrow, can be seen as Satan projecting his own desires and failures onto Palamabron. ( M7.1; E100) When Satan states his case he is very convincing because he believes what he says is true.

Projection is invisible to the person doing it. Although Satan presents a mild demeanor, Palamabron knows that what Satan says speaks more about his own behavior than about Palamabron's.

To show that Satan is involved in self-deceit, Blake says of Satan: "Seeming a brother, being a tyrant, even thinking himself a brother While he is murdering the just",

The salient line ( M7.34; E101) which demonstrates projection is stated thus:

"Satan wept,
And mildly cursing Palamabron, him accus'd of crimes
Himself had wrought."

Los, who is given the role of hearing the case in a council, is not able to get Satan to withdraw his projections, so the status quo is maintained and the consequences are catastrophic.

M7.41; E101|
"So Los said, Henceforth Palamabron, let each his own station
Keep: nor in pity false, nor in officious brotherhood, where
None needs, be active. Mean time Palamabrons horses.
Rag'd with thick flames redundant, & the Harrow maddend with fury.
Trembling Palamabron stood, the strongest of Demons trembled:
Curbing his living creatures; many of the strongest Gnomes,
they bit in their wild fury, who also maddend like wildest beasts"

Palmabron, who represents a gentler side of Los, doesn't act our himself but his horses and Gnomes are infuriated, perhaps because the are the ones who suffered under Satan's control.

The Gnomes Directing Another Harrow

M8.1; E101|
"Mean while wept Satan before Los, accusing Palamabron;
Himself exculpating with mildest speech. for himself believ'd
That he had not opress'd nor injur'd the refractory servants."

The conflict continued with the activating of Rintrah, or wrath,
until Satan kills Thulloh who appears to be a bystander.
Satan's rage and declaration of himself as God follows. This
opens up the abyss and rearranges the structure of the
world. Satan sinks down into Death which leads to a new
chapter in in the drama of the fall.

The self-deception which leads to projection can be said to have led to the eventual fall from the wholeness of Eternity.

Read the text for the full incident in Milton at the Blake Archive; hit NEXT to continue to next plate.

BLAKE & PROJECTION

Psychological processes are evident as we read Blake's myths.
I found this part of the tale an example of projection being described.

A decisive incident concerning a disagreement between Satan and Palamabron over the horses of the harrow, can be seen as Satan projecting his own desires and failures onto Palamabron. ( M7.1; E100) When Satan states his case he is very convincing because he believes what he says is true.

Projection is invisible to the person doing it. Although Satan presents a mild demeanor, Palamabron knows that what Satan says speaks more about his own behavior than about Palamabron's.

To show that Satan is involved in self-deceit, Blake says of Satan: "Seeming a brother, being a tyrant, even thinking himself a brother While he is murdering the just",

The salient line ( M7.34; E101) which demonstrates projection is stated thus:

"Satan wept,
And mildly cursing Palamabron, him accus'd of crimes
Himself had wrought."

Los, who is given the role of hearing the case in a council, is not able to get Satan to withdraw his projections, so the status quo is maintained and the consequences are catastrophic.

M7.41; E101|
"So Los said, Henceforth Palamabron, let each his own station
Keep: nor in pity false, nor in officious brotherhood, where
None needs, be active. Mean time Palamabrons horses.
Rag'd with thick flames redundant, & the Harrow maddend with fury.
Trembling Palamabron stood, the strongest of Demons trembled:
Curbing his living creatures; many of the strongest Gnomes,
they bit in their wild fury, who also maddend like wildest beasts"

Palmabron, who represents a gentler side of Los, doesn't act our himself but his horses and Gnomes are infuriated, perhaps because the are the ones who suffered under Satan's control.

The Gnomes Directing Another Harrow

M8.1; E101|
"Mean while wept Satan before Los, accusing Palamabron;
Himself exculpating with mildest speech. for himself believ'd
That he had not opress'd nor injur'd the refractory servants."

The conflict continued with the activating of Rintrah, or wrath,
until Satan kills Thulloh who appears to be a bystander.
Satan's rage and declaration of himself as God follows. This
opens up the abyss and rearranges the structure of the
world. Satan sinks down into Death which leads to a new
chapter in in the drama of the fall.

The self-deception which leads to projection can be said to have led to the eventual fall from the wholeness of Eternity.

Read the text for the full incident in Milton at the Blake Archive; hit NEXT to continue to next plate.

Who is Rintrah?

In Blake's poetry Rintrah is mentioned 48 times, first

in MHH, then in Europe, the Four Zoas, Milton, and

Jerusalem. He obviously had a special meaning to

Blake, but shades and nuances of the meaning occurred

throughout.



1, At the beginning (and end) of MHH Rintrah roared;

perhaps in his mind at that moment Rintrah represented

the angry young man who would write the revolutionary

material just ahead.



2. In plates 5 and 8 of Europe Rintrah is pictured as a

mailed knight of the queens of England and France,

daughters of Enitharmon, who entice Rintrah into the

hideous war between the two countries.



3. Rintrah's identity is best seen in The Four Zoas:



And these are the Sons of Los & Enitharmon. Rintrah Palamabron

Theotormon Bromion Antamon Ananton Ozoth Ohana

Sotha Mydon Ellayol Natho Gon Harhath Satan

Har Ochim Ijim Adam Reuben Simeon Levi Judah Dan Naphtali

Gad Asher Issachar Zebulun Joseph Benjamin David Solomon

Paul Constantine Charlemaine Luther Milton

(FZ8-107.6 Erdman 380)



4. At the beginning of Milton (Plates 3-7) we have The

Bard's Song. Rintrah has a prominent place here.

Enitharmon - The Shadowy Female - has brought forth all

Los's Family: Orc, Rintrah, Palamabron, and finally

Satan. We see these last three in Plate 10. Satan is the fiery one; Rintrah is next, and behind Rintrah is his peaceable brother, Palamabron.



(Elsewhere Blake referred to Satan as a state, not an

individual. He is the 'state of Error'.)



There is further infomation

.

Who is Rintrah?

In Blake's poetry Rintrah is mentioned 48 times, first

in MHH, then in Europe, the Four Zoas, Milton, and

Jerusalem. He obviously had a special meaning to

Blake, but shades and nuances of the meaning occurred

throughout.



1, At the beginning (and end) of MHH Rintrah roared;

perhaps in his mind at that moment Rintrah represented

the angry young man who would write the revolutionary

material just ahead.



2. In plates 5 and 8 of Europe Rintrah is pictured as a

mailed knight of the queens of England and France,

daughters of Enitharmon, who entice Rintrah into the

hideous war between the two countries.



3. Rintrah's identity is best seen in The Four Zoas:



And these are the Sons of Los & Enitharmon. Rintrah Palamabron

Theotormon Bromion Antamon Ananton Ozoth Ohana

Sotha Mydon Ellayol Natho Gon Harhath Satan

Har Ochim Ijim Adam Reuben Simeon Levi Judah Dan Naphtali

Gad Asher Issachar Zebulun Joseph Benjamin David Solomon

Paul Constantine Charlemaine Luther Milton

(FZ8-107.6 Erdman 380)



4. At the beginning of Milton (Plates 3-7) we have The

Bard's Song. Rintrah has a prominent place here.

Enitharmon - The Shadowy Female - has brought forth all

Los's Family: Orc, Rintrah, Palamabron, and finally

Satan. We see these last three in Plate 10. Satan is the fiery one; Rintrah is next, and behind Rintrah is his peaceable brother, Palamabron.



(Elsewhere Blake referred to Satan as a state, not an

individual. He is the 'state of Error'.)



There is further infomation

.