The Human Abstract, is a sad but true poem. I find it funny that in this one short poem Blake explains how the world functions on a day to day bases. The human Abstract reminds me of a book that I have previously read. The entire poem refers to the human abstract but what stood out at me the most was the first stanza. Humanity has always been a struggle of give and take. When happiness is present there must be something sacrificed in order to obtain that happiness. The human abstract comes into play when human life is sacrificed. This is present in the history of Christianity and in many other religions.
“Pity would be no more,
If we did not make somebody poor
And mercy no more could be,
If all were as happy as we:
And mutual fears bring peace:” (Line 1-5)
Blake states that the human abstract is present in the human brain. I believe that he is referring to the longing for power, or to achieve better conditions and thrive. But the contrary is that someone is always hurt in the process wither it is directly or indirectly.
Although everyone wishes for world peace and a crime free society, If given that opportunity there are so many people whom would have nothing to do. There would be no system of discipline or even a drive to do better and advance as a whole.
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Simone,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on having reached your 20th blog post!
Good closing post, with insightful and supported observations on Blake's poem. Good job!
This was one of the Blake poem's that was not too difficult to understand. I like how he talked about all the things in the world that we despise, but he dares to say that we need them to help us appreciate what we have and want more. At the end of the poem, his comment that the Gods could not find the tree that was giving birth to all of these ills because it was growing in the human brain was amazing to me.
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