| Peer-Reviewed

Giffordian Post-pastoral and Loss of Innocence in William Blake’s the Little Boy Lost and the Little Boy Found

Received: 19 January 2014     Published: 28 February 2014
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

This article aims to explore loss of innocence in William Blake’s the Little Boy Lost and the Little Boy Found, from Songs of Innocence (1789) based on Gifordian Post-pastoral theory through interpreting three fundamental features. The analysis of these poems from this perspective considers the exploitation of the planet similar to the exploitation of minorities, awareness of nature as culture and of culture as nature, and the convergence of consciousness and conscience. Regarding Gifordian Post-pastoral attitudes, one might find how Blake dealt with the notions such as Innocence and Industrialization, which have been interlinked, in his poems. Blake represents a situation in which the state of innocent children is thoughtfully portrayed against the economic and political dominance of British capitalism. Having an eye on the viewpoints of Raymond Williams, (1921-1988), this paper clarifies the destructive function of capitalism which subjugates, exploits and victimizes the children in an unbearable working condition as cheap labours. Moreover, this paper sheds more light on Blake’s poems as the implication of New Jerusalem to that quality of unidealised awe, and shows how Blake argues that the pure nature of all children is supposed to be admired as equal to culture. Finally, this article deals with the spiritual Heaven as compensation for the alienation of innocent children throughout the world of materiality.

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 2, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12
Page(s) 35-39
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Post-pastoral, Innocence, Industrialization, Exploitation, Capitalism, New Jerusalem, Heaven

References
[1] Blake, William. Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. Ed. Philip Smith. Dover Publications; 1992.
[2] Gifford, Terry. Pastoral. New York: Routledge, 1999.
[3] Marx, Leo. The Machine in the Garden: Technology and the Pastoral Ideal in America. Oxford: Oxford Up, 1964.
[4] Williams Raymond. The Country and the City. New York: Oxford UP, 1973.
[5] Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society. New York: Oxford UP, 1976.
[6] "Styal Mill." Year 10 Coursework Booklet. Fairfield High. 12 Sep 2013
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Mohsen Zohrab Baigy, Bahman Zarrinjooee. (2014). Giffordian Post-pastoral and Loss of Innocence in William Blake’s the Little Boy Lost and the Little Boy Found. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 2(2), 35-39. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Mohsen Zohrab Baigy; Bahman Zarrinjooee. Giffordian Post-pastoral and Loss of Innocence in William Blake’s the Little Boy Lost and the Little Boy Found. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2014, 2(2), 35-39. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Mohsen Zohrab Baigy, Bahman Zarrinjooee. Giffordian Post-pastoral and Loss of Innocence in William Blake’s the Little Boy Lost and the Little Boy Found. Int J Lit Arts. 2014;2(2):35-39. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12,
      author = {Mohsen Zohrab Baigy and Bahman Zarrinjooee},
      title = {Giffordian Post-pastoral and Loss of Innocence in William Blake’s the Little Boy Lost and the Little Boy Found},
      journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
      volume = {2},
      number = {2},
      pages = {35-39},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20140202.12},
      abstract = {This article aims to explore loss of innocence in William Blake’s the Little Boy Lost and the Little Boy Found, from Songs of Innocence (1789) based on Gifordian Post-pastoral theory through interpreting three fundamental features. The analysis of these poems from this perspective considers the exploitation of the planet similar to the exploitation of minorities, awareness of nature as culture and of culture as nature, and the convergence of consciousness and conscience. Regarding Gifordian Post-pastoral attitudes, one might find how Blake dealt with the notions such as Innocence and Industrialization, which have been interlinked, in his poems. Blake represents a situation in which the state of innocent children is thoughtfully portrayed against the economic and political dominance of British capitalism. Having an eye on the viewpoints of Raymond Williams, (1921-1988), this paper clarifies the destructive function of capitalism which subjugates, exploits and victimizes the children in an unbearable working condition as cheap labours. Moreover, this paper sheds more light on Blake’s poems as the implication of New Jerusalem to that quality of unidealised awe, and shows how Blake argues that the pure nature of all children is supposed to be admired as equal to culture. Finally, this article deals with the spiritual Heaven as compensation for the alienation of innocent children throughout the world of materiality.},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Giffordian Post-pastoral and Loss of Innocence in William Blake’s the Little Boy Lost and the Little Boy Found
    AU  - Mohsen Zohrab Baigy
    AU  - Bahman Zarrinjooee
    Y1  - 2014/02/28
    PY  - 2014
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12
    T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
    JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
    JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
    SP  - 35
    EP  - 39
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2331-057X
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12
    AB  - This article aims to explore loss of innocence in William Blake’s the Little Boy Lost and the Little Boy Found, from Songs of Innocence (1789) based on Gifordian Post-pastoral theory through interpreting three fundamental features. The analysis of these poems from this perspective considers the exploitation of the planet similar to the exploitation of minorities, awareness of nature as culture and of culture as nature, and the convergence of consciousness and conscience. Regarding Gifordian Post-pastoral attitudes, one might find how Blake dealt with the notions such as Innocence and Industrialization, which have been interlinked, in his poems. Blake represents a situation in which the state of innocent children is thoughtfully portrayed against the economic and political dominance of British capitalism. Having an eye on the viewpoints of Raymond Williams, (1921-1988), this paper clarifies the destructive function of capitalism which subjugates, exploits and victimizes the children in an unbearable working condition as cheap labours. Moreover, this paper sheds more light on Blake’s poems as the implication of New Jerusalem to that quality of unidealised awe, and shows how Blake argues that the pure nature of all children is supposed to be admired as equal to culture. Finally, this article deals with the spiritual Heaven as compensation for the alienation of innocent children throughout the world of materiality.
    VL  - 2
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • M.A. Student of English Language and Literature, Islamic Azad University, Boroujerd Branch, Iran

  • Assistant Professor of English Language and Literature, Islamic Azad University, Boroujerd Branch, Iran

  • Sections