Date of Award
1984
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Department
Graduate Studies
First Advisor
Robert Knighton
First Committee Member
Louis H. Leiter
Second Committee Member
John D. Smith
Abstract
While eschewing a strict definition on the didacticism of Blake's imaginative vision, the following four analyses could be said to revolve around three general themes. These are: (1) that Songs of Innocence engage in a dialectic, much of their appeal deriving from the tension created between the co-existence of so-called qualities of "innocence" and "experience"; (2) that each one is an individual attempt to reconcile these, as well as other, oppositions; and (3) that such a reconciliation is hierarchical, usually concluding on a transcendent or visionary plane. The first three center on the text and metrical phenomena. In "The Ecchoing Green" they are explicated synonymously, whereas in "The Shepherd," "The Little Black Boy," and "Laughing Song," the textual approach precedes an appropriate metrical amplification. The final discussion of "The Blossom" marks a technical shift into sound color, though the structure of the approach continues the same alternating pattern demonstrated on the three analyses before it.
Pages
92
Recommended Citation
Faunce, Biff. (1984). The great task : Prosody and Songs of innocence. University of the Pacific, Thesis. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/2112
Rights Statement
No Known Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/
The organization that has made the Item available reasonably believes that the Item is not restricted by copyright or related rights, but a conclusive determination could not be made. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use.
