Hello and welcome to the Discourse. ‘Hear thy Voice’ is the first poem of the illustrated poetic collection Songs of Experience by William Blake which was published in 1794. Blake combined his two collections Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience in the same year and republished them. Hear Thy Voice is the first poem or frontispiece of Songs of Experience and it is also known as Introduction to the Songs of Experience. The very first poem offers the contrast between the two separate collections. While Blake wrote Songs of Innocence at an early age and most of those poems are written more simply to resonate with younger audiences, the poems of Songs of Experience are more captivating with rich and intricate symbolism, imagery, and metaphoric mysticism.
Blake wrote Songs of Innocence while opposing the idea of Original Sin and suggested that childhood is a protected state of innocence but it is not immune to the corrupt ways of the fallen world and its institutions. Thus, he stressed the importance of children's literature and juvenile education. His idea of innate innocence and goodness in human beings became the centerstone of Romanticism.
The Illustrative figure of Hear Thy Voice shows the same shepherd and winged child from the “Innocence” frontispiece. But the shepherd has captured the winged child and wrestled him firmly upon his head, pinning his arms to the earth, restricting his flying. The poem suggests that contemporary ideas and reason have restricted the creativity and imagination of people and they must raise their voice. Hear Thy Voice is an invocation to all of humankind to cast off their degenerate condition of suffering and blindness and to begin to self-govern the material universe (“fallen fallen light renew”) instead of remaining its prisoner.
Structure of Hear Thy Voice:
Blake used the Iambic tetrameter for this poem consisted of 20 lines set in four stanzas of five lines each. The poem has a consistent rhyme scheme of ABAAB in each stanza. Blake used Personification, Anthropomorphism, Symbolism, Imagery, Alliteration, and Repetition in this poem along with some illustrious Metaphors. The poem is structured as a dialogue between the Bard and the speaker. The Bard is a symbol of inspiration and creativity, while the speaker represents an individual who is struggling to find their voice. The dialogue between the two is meant to inspire the speaker and help them find their creative voice.
Summary of Hear Thy Voice:
Stanza 1 Lines 1-5
“HEAR the voice of the Bard,
Who present, past, and future, sees;
Whose ears have heard
The Holy Word
That walk'd among the ancient trees;”
The speaker suggests that one should hear the wise words of the Bard who has seen the present, past, and future, he is omniscient. The Bard heard the almighty and his ‘Holy Word’ that were meant to govern and bully all of mankind. Blake accuses the almighty of being an oppressive tyrant father figure. In line 5, Blake used Allusion to the Garden of Eden (“the ancient trees”) where Adam and Eve were punished for eating a fruit from the ancient tree. Blake used Capitalization with the beginning word (HEAR) to emphasize the importance of what the Bard has to say. The Bard appears to be some mystical person with cosmical awareness, who sees the present, past, and future.
Stanza 2 Lines 6-10
“Calling the lapsed soul,
And weeping in the evening dew;
That might control
The starry pole,
And fallen, fallen light renew!”
The poet explores the fallen state of humanity in this poem and calls him a ‘lapsed soul’. The sad humanity has been evicted from the state of innocence and hence has lost the connection with the divine. Thus, humanity weeps in the evening dew. The imagery suggests a compassionate feeling towards the human who just lost his innocence and fell for the corrupt world. Blake continues his Allusion to the Garden of Eden which is comparable to the state of innocence (childhood). He describes the expulsion from Eden and the individual’s loss of innocence upon becoming aware of mortality. The souls have fallen into sin and away from heaven.
The fallen man has a strong desire to ‘control the starry pole’, or to regain a sense of order, reason, and spiritual guidance that he lost in the fall. As he falls, he finds darkness all around and thus makes an earnest plea to ‘renew’ the light. The light is innocence, and the man requests for the restoration of the lost state of innocence, emphasizing the impact of individual awareness on the forfeiture of carefree childhood innocence.
Blake used metaphors (Starry Pole) for reason and spiritual guidance. ‘Weeping in the evening dew’ is a fine example of imagery. ‘Fallen, fallen light renew’ is an example of alliteration.
Stanza 3 Lines 11-15
“'O Earth, O Earth, return!
Arise from out the dewy grass!
Night is worn,
And the morn
Rises from the slumbrous mass.”
The Bard notices that the man is not able to stand again and thus he addresses the Earth. Blake used Anthropomorphism, casting Earth as a representation of the Divine Feminine. He tries to awaken the earth and ‘arise from out the dewy grass.’ The Bard offers an imagery of Divine earth sleeping in the dewy grass as if in hibernation which suggests the subjugation of the feminine by the patriarchial religious and societal setup. The Bard calls the feminine to arise and revolt. He says that the night is passing while the morning is arising from the ‘slumbrous mass’ which symbolizes a spiritual and feminine renaissance.
Stanza 4 Lines 16-20
“'Turn away no more;
Why wilt thou turn away?
The starry floor,
The watery shore,
Is given thee till the break of day.'”
The Bard again addresses Humanity and exhorts that humans must face the truth and must not turn away from it. “Turn away no more,” serves as a fervent plea, urging a cessation of avoidance or denial. The subsequent question, “Why wilt thou turn away,” adds a contemplative dimension, compelling humans to think why should they turn away or should they?
‘The starry floor’ and ‘watery shore’ suggest the limitless extent of a creative mind that the man can use if he breaks off the shackles. The Bard further warns that this opportunity is temporal or time-bound, this freedom that humans can enjoy is of a fleeting nature and thus humans must grab it. Instead of blaming themselves for being sinful, humans must attain pleasure through their creative capacities. The creator argues that the fall of humanity is a result of sin but the Bard counters, saying it is due to the creator’s restricted visions of inspiration and spirit and his lack of permission and allowance in a law-governed society.
So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!
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