The Garden Of Love

Question 1

William Blake

Answer 1

1757-1827
Wrote about religion controversially
Radical politician- spoke out against church and monarchy
Imprisoned for opposition to repression of desires
Believed love and sexuality to be natural
Was religious and spiritual but disliked church
Disliked Old Testament

Question 2

Typicality

Answer 2

Society was to follow not question
Live blindly
Blake questioned and found pain in knowledge
Natural and religious imagery of love - romantic period
Connection between harsh and negative perception of church and natural, perfect and innocent imagery is purely romantic
Old Testament imagery
Romantic period - believed in direct experience of nature, love and religion
Country under church and monarchy’s control

Question 3

Structure

Answer 3

Religious imagery
Negative portrayal of church
Adam and Eve - passage from innocence to knowledge
Garden of love - symbol for his beliefs - desire sex is wild and natural
Priests - symbol of church and its control
Wrote collection of poems in pairs of both innocence and corruption
Innocent poem ‘The Echoing Green’ paired with ‘TheGaredn of Love’

Question 4

Types of love

Answer 4

Innocence
Unselfconscious sexuality
Church’s corruption
Sexual freedom
Repression

Question 5

Gatsby

Answer 5

Daisy - ‘beautiful soul’
Easier to live innocently than with knowledge of reality
Myrtle - promiscuity
Female repression of sexuality- Daisy