I've been thinking about Mrs. Coleman's section of Blake that she found "freaky". The one where all the strong animals mate with the weak and then dismember them while continually stroking/licking them affectionately. Then they devour them.
First I was thinking about how completely morbid, but kind of compelling that is. This brought me to question why it is that people find horrible things so engrossing. Like car crashes and seriel killers. What draws us to them?
Also, on a completely different(ish) note, my dad was telling me that up until about 1922 Opium and Heroin were sold over the counter. I look back at some of Blake, and even Dante's writing and wonder if that had an influence. I mean, these were Godly men of the Catholic church, but if they didn't know that the drugs had the affect they do, it's totally feasible that they used them to "open their doors of perception" right? Like Blake's visions and such....
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I think that the opium theory is completely plausible. It just depends on the culture of the time. How was opium use viewed in Dante's time, or Blake's? Becuase, we still sell cigarettes everywhere now even though we know that thery're bad for us. Also, if they did use these drugs, would anyone have thought enough of it to record it? Will we ever know for sure?
That's not a crazy thought at all. Your idea definitely warrants some investigation.(Just remember, though, only Dante was Catholic. He was from Florence, Italy, writing in the late 1200's to early 1300's, a period known as the Italian Renaissance. Blake is English, not a Christian, not a Catholic, and is writing in the late 1700's, early 1800's.)
Oops, sorry. Typo. Blake IS a Christian, not a Catholic.
i think drug use and artistic license often go hand in hand, though i'm not condoning such behavior. i think the opium induced depth of blake's work is extremely plausible. how many famous writers though out history have struggled with substance abuse? how many brilliant minds have turned to drugs and alcohol for support?
i think those that see the world for it's depth and explore such philosophical subject matter are more prone to depression and other mental health issues. in turn, that makes them more prone to substance abuse.
and in response to the human obsession with all things grotesque, it excites us. physically, our heart rate jumps, our palms sweat. parts of our brain that generally get little attention are exercised. mentally, our minds are racing. thoughts we never imagined we could have are pouring in.
in short, it's seeing something rare, or something that causes a great upheaval of emotion that draws us in. humans are so dependent upon emotion that it's inconceivable to think we wouldn't respond to them. it's instinct.
O.k.--after a cursory cruise of the internet and our textbook, I've found that the general consensus on Blake is that he was just whacky and not an opium eater, like some of the other Romantic poets, namely Coleridge, who was an addict. One source claims that William Wordsworth was the only Romantic poet never to have touched the stuff. I dunno, though. Still seems plausible that that angel who turned to a devil might have done so under the influence of drugs.
A thought just occurred to me. Medicines of Blake's time could have initiated his strange behaviors. He could have had a fairly uncommon illness as a small child that they treated with something whose side effects were halucinations. I fBlake was on any type of regular treatment and the doctors of the time didn't know that the medicine was causing halucinations, drug use could still be a plausible theory.
honestly, while i do think that drugs could have contributed to the outcome of his work, i think crediting them that much is severely undermining blake's creative talent.
while i do think he could have seen such sights while under the influence of opium or another hallucinagin, i still believe that most of the content came from his sober mind. writers tend to have a knack for conceiving the inconceivable. why allow drugs to take credit for his genius?
Thank you for clearing that up Boo, because for a moment i thought you might've been implying that drugs can be a creative influence. Drugs/alcohol have become crutches for many writers, yet the idea of them formidablly INSPIRING an artistic thought is rare. "Out there" isn't necessarily creative.
We have used music a lot in our class so i think it's fair to bring this up: Layne Staley (deceased lead singer of the ever-famous band Alice in Chains, and phenominal song writer) is quoted to NEVER write or be creative while under. Just one example.
I do think the drug-indused idea is interesting, but, like Boo said, I wouldn't want to acredidate either's artistic ability to drugs, belittling their talents somewhat.
I agree with boo, Blake's ideas where far too logically explained to be the by product of drug use. However, I still believe that his visions of talking to angels and dead relatives could be the work of hallucinogenic substances.
Just chiming in on the opium question. A professor of mine called opium (laudnum -- spelling?), "the Victorian babysitter" because this medicinal form of opium was given to children in the 19th century to keep them quiet and hallucinating in a corner...
The little I know about Blake includes "visions" from his early childhood (around 4 or 5 years old) which were encouraged by his parents as a form of religious worship and insight.
What about his parents use of various drugs, If they had been used while he was still in the womb there may have been some affects on the fetus unborn. The movie "Minority Report" suggested that the children of drug addicts may develop new "powers" as a result of the influence of the drug with in the womb.
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