William Blake was born in 1757 and died in 1827; he was a prophet addressing himself
to the English nation.’ (Raine: 1979:1) Blake was an avid non conformist and it is
clear to see this as Blake stepped over the barrier of social norms and conventions. Child
labour was problematic for Blake , which is expressed through some of his poems in
Songs of innocence and experience (1794). However, The Human Abstract (1794) is different
to the other poems in the collection, as this poem is a brief enquiry into the human soul as an
abstract is a short summary. This poem pairs up with the, The Divine Image (1794) which
suggests that God is the only divinity but man and God are closely connected , through the
virtues man and God poses, however it seems that Blake is suggesting that the divine image
is un reachable for man as man is not divine.
Kathleen Raine asserts that, ‘A Divine Image expresses the terrible image of the God
of natural religion worshiped by great numbers of human beings who have no experience of
the God within.’ (Raine: 1979:149) The human abstract shows the realities of this and the
effects that it has upon the human soul. For example only showing pity to feed our own
superiority . Blake criticizes the natural religion and seems to argue for a non structured
religion and urges humans to find the God within themselves. The poem also seems to
serve as a philosophical view of ontology which is the study of the being.
Throughout this presentation the nature of human nature according to Blake will be discussed
as well as the religious and romantic contexts of this poem .
The human abstract seems to satirize the virtues that seem so pure in The divine image
(1794) for example:
‘Pity would be no more,
if we did not make somebody poor.
And mercy would be no more,
If all were as happy as we ;’ (Abstract 1-4)
This is extremely important to understanding this poem; it suggests that if we did not
have class divisions and people less fortunate than ourselves we would not be able to
show kindness to others. This is definitely a social criticism upon the nature of humans.
Blake could be saying that mercy and pity only exist in an imperfect world, as without
suffering we would not show mercy and pity , as these values then do not belong to the
human soul. Humans may do this to feed their own superiority.
The use of the word ‘We’ is interesting as it suggests a common ground with
Blake and the reader. This common ground could be, that Blake is human like the
reader . Blake could be stating that he shows kindness to people less fortunate than
himself in the sense that he shows kindness through his poetry as it benefits the reader .
As the reader is more than likely less fortunate than Blake as they cannot write such
glorious poetry and speak to the world as he does. This then feeds Blake’s own superiority
and could suggest that he is human and again can only show kindness to the less fortunate
and maybe that God is the only divinity. This also feeds his role as a romantic poet as Blake
is acknowledging himself as a fantastic poet that privileges the reader.
The rhythm of this poem deserves close attention as the rhythm is very tight, anti pathetic
and teasing it is also in free verse which creates the organisation of his subject matter.
According to Wordsworth a Romantic poem was ‘a spontaneous overflow of powerful
feelings. (Wordsworth Lyrical Ballads: 1802: 4 ) However this rhythm is tight structured
and thought about as well as controlled and detached . What Blake is saying in this poem
provokes strong emotions which shows the free thinking of the Romantics . Blake is
formal breaking the silence, maybe Blake is avoiding the dangers of kayos , a spontaneous
overflow of emotions a poem produces , for example Kubla Khan (1797) by Samuel Taylor
Coleridge. Maybe Blake’s pictures serve as the spontaneous overflow of emotions, which
can be seen to adapt the romantic traditions. As Blake was a visionary and skilled visual
artist this could be definite evidence that the picture that goes with this poem does show
the trauma and emotion associated with this poem. Blake may have also constructed the
rhyming scheme tight to express the feelings of caging in society such as the natural religion,
as Blake detested all forms of structured religion.
‘He sits down with holy fears,
And waters the ground with tears,
Then humility takes its root.’ (Abstract 9-11)
This could be stating that the only reason that humans are not arrogant is due to the fear
of their religion and holy penance, this could be Blake enlightening the reader to the
realities of a structured religion and the effect it has upon the nature of man. Alan Gregory
states that, ‘Romantic religion involves not so much a seismic break with eighteenth century
thought as a new range of responses to questions concerning the nature and grounds of
religious belief ‘(Gregory:2002:102) Blake is staying true to the romantic traditions
according to Gregory as Blake questions structured religion and the relationship with human
nature throughout this poem.
And it bears the fruit of Deceit,
Ruddy and sweet to eat:
And the Raven his nest has made
In its thickest shade.’ (Abstract 17-20)
These four lines carry a strong meaning to this poem and enlighten the reader to Blake’s
feelings upon the nature of man. ‘The fruit of Deceit’ could be referring to the tree of
Adam and Eve, the adjectives ‘Ruddy’ and ‘sweet’, could be said to imply that the apple
is of temptation to humans and they cannot resist to deceive people around them in order
to feed their own selfish desires. Blake again is criticizing human nature and social
ideologies. Bronowski observes that, ‘Blake knew that the French revolution had made a
better society but not a good one....he did not believe societies could be good.’
(Bronowski: 1972:181) This is reflected in The Human Abstract (1794) as Blake believes
that society cannot resist the temptation of being selfish and doing good to feed their own
ego and superiority.
It is interesting to note that in Genesis the raven symbolises, ‘those Christians who have
having baptized have gone astray.’ (Louth: 2001:345) This could then be that Blake is
associating the raven with the fall of man and religion, maybe suggesting that the astray
leads to Satan, and is a characteristic of the downfall of man which dams them for
eternity. So Blake maybe for a religion that does not lead man astray through strict, rigid and
limiting commandment but rather promotes the goodness of man.
However the last stanza of the poem seems to state that mans deceit is not due to the astray
from religion but the result of our own selfishness and nature. ‘There grows one in the human
brain’(Abstract 24) This tree that grows in the human brain is a poisonous tree that poisons
the brain . Cruelty and ‘selfish love’ waters the plant to help it grow. This metaphor could
suggests that the bad virtues of man feed the tree helping the tree fixate itself in the human.
The previous quote discussed states that humility is the root of the tree, so this is
This tree works in the same way as what Blake believes are the ‘mind forg’d manacles that
process un imaginative thought and stifles the soul.
Blake’s poem uses a analogy to question human nature, he uses the church to ask
why deceit is so common , but states that God does not cause this deceit it is us humans
that take risks and create our own selfishness , corruption and misery.
‘The original significance of the French Revolution implied that William Blake was
interested in the notion of equality and nature of the human mind. Hence his objection to
the church holding its status as the wealthiest institution.’ (Jarvis: 2004:15) This is
extremely clear to see throughout The Human Abstract (1794) that Blake did not favour the
church and saw the nature of man in reality. Blake was also a highly original romantic poet
with an active visionary mind and revolutionary. Blake’s contribution to art, literature and
psychology is truly ground breaking, meaningful and interesting.
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