Eighteenth century Europe was a disaster. The Seven Years' War ended and the Treaty of Paris was signed, meaning that France had no money, no army and was forced to give up everything it once had in favor of Great Britain. Brittany. Years later, France continued to fall into debt and citizens became frustrated with the monarchy. The Americans had succeeded in their revolution and with only a short time left before the old regime was overthrown and the French Revolution rapidly transformed all political and social institutions, people wanted change, as Henri Sée explains, professor at the University of Rennes. Citizens of the 18th century experienced countless wars, reigns, and revolutionary social movements. The Romantic Era emerged when people lacked connection, emotion, and clarity. Writers such as William Blake and Anna Letitia Barbauld were revolutionary in using these notions to enrich the world. Blake's "The Tyger" was written in 1794 as part of the Songs of Experience collection and Anna Barbauld wrote "To a Little Invisible Being That Should Soon Become Visible" in 1825. Although 31 years apart, these poems describe similar notions; references to the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror, a connection to nature and the importance of imagination. However, it can be difficult to interpret these poems as such, as they use simple language and are implicitly aimed at children. Conversely, writers of the Romantic era, particularly William Blake and Anna Letitia Barbauld, hoped that new generations would think critically in an entirely new way. Writers often looked to imagination and nature to parallel the political movements present at the time. Linked together, imagination, nature and the sublime convey in the reader a particular feeling of escape, pushing them towards a form of social clarity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayThe Oxford English Dictionary states that the definition of imagination is the power or ability to form images or ideas internal effects of objects and situations that are not actually present to the senses, including memorized objects and situations. Nature is defined as the physical strength or constitution of a particular thing. a natural substance. It is important to note that the force of nature can be physical, such as in a person's body or environment. Both versions of these definitions are seen in “The Tyger” and “To a small invisible be…”. For example, we see the nature of a woman who is about to give birth versus a creature of nature that everyone fears. Love and fear, two elements at odds with the sublime. Edmund Burke, in his essay on "the sublime and the beautiful", published in 1757, defined the sublime as an "emotion principally characterized by feelings of astonishment and fear, and to a lesser extent by admiration, respect and reverence. Burke adds that “sublime emotion means experiencing painful or delightful, terrible or pleasant passions, depending on a person's proximity to real danger. It is triggered by the experience of subjugation to something greater than oneself, such as nature, the divine, or the institutionalized power of kings, and is associated with fear and "a bond with terror." Anna Barbauld's text is the perfect example of subliminal astonishment, while William Blake's "The Tyger" represents fearsubliminal. Subliminal astonishment is evident in the theme of a woman experiencing such strong emotion as she gives birth to her child: Germ of new life, whose powers grow slowly For many moons their full perfection awaits, — The haste, precious token of a happy love, to leave A good omen carried through the mysterious door of life. Here, the mother expresses her deep love for her child. She knows that this baby will be perfect, powerful and happy – she is already seduced by it. She will soon experience the sublime. In contrast, Blake goes on to mention notions of the sublime and frightening describing the deadly clawed tiger, "Dare his mortal terrors cling!" and eyes of fire “Burn the fire of your eyes”. Even the phrase “And when your heart began to beat, / What formidable hand?” and what dreaded feet? implies a presence of inner fear, even as a reader. Whether subliminal love or fear, the imagination, the natural and the sublime work cohesively. The sublime acts as a form of escape because it can make one feel tiny in the presence of something, whether it is the birth of a newborn or a snarling tiger. As a result, many writers of the Romantic era used emotion and the sublime as a form of social understanding. As mentioned previously, the sublime can put things into perspective, and make one forget one's personal problems in order to have a moment of awareness. Blake and Barbauld use powerful objects to represent a deeper meaning beyond what is at first glance. With this in mind, William Blake and Anna Barbauld added connotations towards the French Revolution, and specifically the Reign of Terror. Barbauld writes: “Hurry up, little captive, break down the doors of your prison! » which echoes the revolutionary storming of the Bastille prison. Blake opposes this naive perspective of the French Revolution by embodying in the tiger the most evil side of it: What is the hammer? what is the chain, In what furnace was your brain? What is the anvil? what a fearful grip, Dare to clutch his mortal terrors! Blake alludes to the extremists of Robespierre's Reign of Terror and the horrors that accompanied that government as well as the implications of their overthrow. These authors were before their time, alluding to the lessons of history and human morality. In one of Blake's earlier poems, "The Lamb," part of his collection "Songs of Innocence," he implies that God created the lamb, contrary to what is happening online. 20 of “The Tyger,” it suggests a lack of faith in God: When the stars threw down their spears watered the sky with their tears: Did he smile at his work to see? Did he who created the Lamb create you? Blake suggests this with all the horrors of the world: wars, murders, etc. How could there be a God? Some argue that spirituality is essential to understanding people's emotions and is a central part of environmental experience (Frederickson & Anderson, 1999). Before the revolution, many citizens began to lose faith in God and the Church, which took up much of the country's money. People were beginning to perceive spirituality in a whole new way, which in turn changed the way they perceived nature. This is also evident in “To a Little Invisible Being…”: If charmed verses or whispered prayers had power, With favorable spells to speed you on your path, Anxious, I would offer him my rosary with each passing hour , Until your wish smiles on your mother's. the pains prevail. The mother suggests that the prayershave no power, but rather it is the “seed of new life” which holds the power; proving a lack of trust in God and religion. “Launch yourself on the living world and spring towards the light! » is the spiritual emergence of an invisible being into the light. “Nature shows you her various stores, / Opens her thousand coves of delights. » Again, this notion of nature and the inner self that holds power over money and weapons. Nature and environment are the real delight. The end of the first stanza of the Tyger says: “What immortal hand or eye could frame thy fearful symmetry? and the end of the poem ends with “Which immortal hand or eye/Will dare to frame thy fearful symmetry?” Robespierre romanticized death and murder during his reign of terror and would later meet the same fate of guillotining that he so heavily imposed on others. In this passage, Blake comes full circle by ending his poem the same way he began. Even if here, he ends with a threat. Nature often views symmetry as a form of beauty. Just like the tiger being symmetrical, Blake plays on this notion of symmetry and beauty; what happens to one side must happen to the other to create a symmetrical balance. Robespierre's reign of terror ended the same way it began. Overthrow the leader and publicly execute him. While Anna Barbaud offers a "naive" perspective on the French Revolution, with hope for a next generation and a better future, William Blake mocks the chaos of the revolution and the radically terrible ideals that society seemed ignore (the fire tiger in front of them). While this may be true, it is important to note that both of these works were published from an “immature” perspective; written using simple vocabulary with children in mind as an audience. These are therefore difficult texts to interpret due to their simplicity and the target audience. They were written with a youthful vocabulary, perhaps for a younger audience, so one should not go too far in interpreting the bloody parallels of the 18th and 19th centuries. We have now explored the blending of imagination and nature, the sublime as escape, and certain connotations. towards the political unrest of the time. Now the question is: how does all this push us towards social clarity? The theological basis for Coleridge's view of imagination is that not only does it unify the mind into a single process, but it also constitutes (or at least is part of) the creative force of eternal reason such as it acts in the universe. Essentially, our imagination can offer reason and clarity. While nature and the sublime offer perspective and understanding. All of these elements combined bring social awareness to the reader. The poet holds significant power to transcend his readers in their work, a form of escape combined with imagination and nature, and often the sublime, allowing us to experience social clarity. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a custom paper now from our expert writers. Get a Custom Essay All things considered, it is no surprise that William Blake and Anna Barbauld were revolutionary sympathizers. Through their poetry, authors have the ability to bring imagination, emotion and subliminal feelings, as well as social awareness, to their readers. It is ironic that these two poems were arguably written for children because of their simplicity. Even more precisely, in Toward a Little Invisible Being... it is written about a child without name, without sex and without class. Blake and Barbauld support revolutionary ideals by writing about issues,-31.