16 September 2002: Proverbs of Hell

I have decided that I am not a huge Blake fan. I think what he did was interesting, but more often than not his elaborate created mythos just makes my head hurt. An exception to this are the Proverbs of Hell, which I find to be a sort of primer for Romanticism at large. We went over these in class last week, with Dr. C picking out his favorites. Naturally, my favorites didn't tend to coincide with his, so we didn't really go over the ones I especially like. They include:

Dip him in the river who loves water.

This is the big one for me. This is the one that stuck in my head last semester. For me, it wraps up why I want to study Romanticism in one neat package. I fell in love with it - I want to submerge myself in it for two years, and maybe three more after that. It's a good way to explain a lot of obsessions, I think - if you love something, you want to be immersed in it. It's a very Romantic idea, this idea of "nothing in moderation." Follow your energies to excess - and whatever you do, do it with passion. The proverb I think goes hand in hand with this one is Exuberance is beauty.

No bird soars too high. if he soars with his own wings.

Blake just loves the idea of pride in self. This proverb is all about celebrating individualism, and includes that all-important Romantic love of birds (see Ode to a Skylark, for instance).

Excess of sorrow laughs. Excess of joy weeps.

More likely than not this was Blake cynicism at its best, but I tend to think of this proverb more personally. A lot of emotions taken to the height of extremity will veer in the other direction. Have you ever been happy enough to cry? Have you ever been so depressed that you found yourself laughing, more out of shock than anything else? Of course.

Some of these I just like to read aloud. Try it:

The hours of folly are measur'd by the clock, but of wisdom: no clock can measure.
Eternity is in love with the productions of time.
The most sublime act is to set another before you. (a statement on love, if I've ever heard one)
One thought. fills immensity.

The eagle never lost so much time as when he submitted to learn of the crow.

Another important example of Blakeian arrogance. The eagle is alone and free, soaring above the clouds in a solitary flight, going where he pleases. The crow is trapped in a group, pecking out their stolen food and being chased from farmlands. Which do you think Blake would rather be? Or rather, which did he believe himself to be?