William Blake's From Auguries Of Innocence

FROM AUGURIES OF INNOCENCE By : William Blake INTRODUCTION William Blake, a poet, engraver, painter and a mystic was born in London in 1757. He became an engraver by profession. He is known as the first romantic poet and his poetic skills appeared in 1783. This was followed by Songs of Innocence(1789) and Songs of Experience(1794). In this part of a longer poem, Blake writes about man’s cruelty and prophesises various evils which would befall on him for being cruel even to the smallest and the most insignificant creatures. The poet expresses protest against the indifference of man towards the other forms of life around him. It also conveys the poet’s warning against man’s cruelty even to the meanest creatures in the kingdom of God. A GOOD OUTLOOK In the opening lines, the poet says that even the smallest grain of sand symbolizes the whole of the universe, and in a beautiful wild flower can heaven be witnessed. These lines show the poet’s reverence to every form of life and object existing in a harmonious order in Nature. This gives an optimistic view and makes us love everything around us for its own beauty. CRUELTY AND ITS CONSEQUENCES A Robin bird, if trapped in a cage rather than leaving it free shall evoke the rage of the heaven. A dove house, full of doves and pigeons shudders the hell. A dog left starving at its master’s gate is said to predict the ruin of that state. If a horse is ill treated upon the roads, it calls for human blood from the heavens. The cry of a hunted hare makes a fiber from the brain to tear. If a skylark is wounded in its wings, the angels shall stop their singing. A game cock with metal spurs for fighting, frightens the rising sun. The howl of a hunted wolf or a lion, awakens a human soul from hell. A lamb being tortured evokes public sympathy, but when it is killed at the butcher’s shop, it is forgiven. The poet says that even the bat and the screeching owl have their own significance in the scheme of nature. The screeching owl reveals the dread of the unbeliever’s soul. A person who hurts the wren shall not be liked by any man and he, who earns the wrath of the ox shall never be loved by any woman. A boy who is capricious and kills the fly gains the enemity of the spider. A person who torments the cockchafer can never rest in peace and weave a bower in an endless night. The grief of a butterfly over the destruction of its caterpillar is the same as that of a mother over her child. CONCLUSION The poet therefore warns in an imperative tone that those who disturb any form of life will face the retribution in the preceding lines, on the day of Judgement, which is coming closer. Hence the poet warns mankind against his callous indifference towards nature in the name of modernization and says that they would be punished for their act on that Judgement day which is coming closer.