Romanticism + William Blake

Literature
Poems from the Romantic Era
1798-1850

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This lesson contains 40 slides, with interactive quizzes, text slides and 1 video.

time-iconLesson duration is: 45 min

Items in this lesson

Literature
Poems from the Romantic Era
1798-1850

Slide 1 - Slide

Romanticism
Not romantic...

Slide 2 - Slide

Literature this period
  •  We will work through the reader/poems/exercises together
  • There is a lot of information in the reader, I will not discuss everything, so you will have to read some on your own as well.
  • In class we will focus on discussing the poems
  • Questions?

Slide 3 - Slide

Romanticism
- Introduction to the Romantic Era
William Blake "The Lamb"
- William Blake "The Tyger"
Robert Burns "A red red rose"
-  Lord Byron "She Walks in Beauty"
William Wordsworth "I Wandered Lonely"
Walt Whitman "O Captain! My Captain!"

Slide 4 - Slide

Late 18th/early 19th century: great changes!
  • Society - industrial cities; poverty among workers
  • Nature - large-scale environmental pollution
Outside Britain:
  • Declaration of Independence (1776)
  • French Revolution (1789)
  • = Inspiration for many British intellectuals (liberty, equality, fraternity)

Slide 5 - Slide

  • Focus on nature / country life
  • Emotions vs power of reason
  • Imagination vs logic
  • originality was prized
  • Individual vs society
  • Longing for the past, supernatural and mythology
  • Anti-authoritarian, anti-establishment (French revolution)
  • Simple language, simple subjects (everyday life)
  • Children are pure, whereas adults are corrupted

Characteristics
Romanticism

Slide 6 - Slide

Slide 7 - Slide

Characteristics
Imagination
Emotions
Nature
Pastoral life
Symbolism
Individualism

Slide 8 - Slide

Imagination

Slide 9 - Slide

Emotions

Slide 10 - Slide

Love of nature

Slide 11 - Slide

Pastoral Life: Belief in the individual and the common man

Slide 12 - Slide

Symbolism

Slide 13 - Slide

Individualism: The romantic hero

Slide 14 - Slide

William Blake
 1757-1827
  • Poet, painter, engraver, and visionary
  • No formal schooling, but at age 10 he went to drawing school and at age 14 he became an apprentice to an engraver
  • Songs of Innocence (1789) and Songs of Experience (1794).
  • He was not very well known in his time and the responses to his work were mixed.

Slide 15 - Slide

Let's read the poem 
William Blake - The Lamb

Slide 16 - Slide

Slide 17 - Link

1. What is the central question of this poem?

Slide 18 - Open question

2. What is the clothing of delight?
A
fleece
B
silk
C
wool
D
iron

Slide 19 - Quiz

3. What does: "Making all the vales rejoice" mean?
A
Bringing happiness to everything is the surrounding valleys
B
The valleys are sad
C
The sheep are glad

Slide 20 - Quiz

4. For He calls Himself a Lamb. Explain please.

Slide 21 - Open question

What elements of Romanticism are represented in this poem?
A
Imagination, nature, pastoral life and symbolism.
B
Nature, pastoral life, emotion
C
Individualism, nature, imagination
D
Individualism, pastoral life, emotion

Slide 22 - Quiz

Let's read the poem
William Blake - The Tyger

Slide 23 - Slide

Slide 24 - Video

Slide 25 - Link

Slide 26 - Slide

  • By detailing the tiger’s fearsomeness and by directly comparing it to the innocent and gentle lamb, the poem hints that perhaps both creatures are necessary parts of God’s creation. 
  • Perhaps without fear and danger, there could be no love and joy.

Slide 27 - Slide

Which of the following statements best summarizes how Blake describes the tiger?
A
Blake depicts the tiger as a fearsome, dangerous animal that should be avoided.
B
Blake describes the tiger in terms of its light and dark elements.
C
Blake depicts the tiger as an awe-inspiring creature made artfully with powerful elements.
D
Blake describes the tiger as a peaceful part of nature that is unchallenged by its own origins.

Slide 28 - Quiz

How does the line “Did He who make the Lamb make thee?” contribute to the the development of the poem?
A
It implies that the tiger is actually a gentle creature like the lamb’s namesake, Jesus Christ.
B
It implies that God is cruel for making a dangerous tiger that can tear an innocent lamb to pieces.
C
It questions the judgment of a creator that would create such vastly different animals with such different components.
D
It reveals the creator’s incomprehensible motivation to create both a powerful creature like the tiger and a weak creature like the lamb.

Slide 29 - Quiz

Which of the following statements best describes the author’s purpose in this poem?
A
The author aims to explore the question of existence and how things came to be as they are.
B
The author aims to talk about biology and evolution by posing questions in a spiritual way.
C
The author aims to reveal a gap in human knowledge regarding where life came from.
D
The author aims to prove that only a higher power could create such a magnificent creature as the tiger.

Slide 30 - Quiz

Which characteristics of Romantic poetry can you find in this poem?

Slide 31 - Open question

What poetic devices can you find in the lines: What immortal hand or eye / Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
A
simile, onomatopoeia, alliteration
B
alliteration, metaphor, enjambment
C
enjambment, onomatopoeia, metaphor
D
metaphor, simile, alliteration

Slide 32 - Quiz

Did He who made the lamb make thee?------ Who does the lamb refer to?
A
Jesus
B
A lamb is a lamb is a lamb
C
An innocent human being
D
A harmless human being

Slide 33 - Quiz

What part of a tiger burns bright?
A
eyes
B
teeth
C
fur
D
tail

Slide 34 - Quiz

What does the tiger represent?
A
power
B
evil
C
guilt
D
mystery and fear

Slide 35 - Quiz

3. What is the central question of the poem?

Slide 36 - Open question

4. What do distant deeps and skies represent?

Slide 37 - Mind map

What profession is referred to in stanza 4?
A
butcher
B
hunter
C
blacksmith
D
god

Slide 38 - Quiz

6. Why does the poet use the word 'dare' in the last line?

Slide 39 - Open question

What immortal hand or eye / Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

Who do the immortal hand and eye belong to?
A
The Universe
B
The Christian God
C
Greek god/goddess
D
Mother Earth

Slide 40 - Quiz