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The Use of the Five Senses as a Spiritual Lesson in William Blake's "Proverbs of Hell"
This is a 4 page paper discussing the use of the senses in Blake's "Proverbs of Hell". William Blake's the "Proverbs of Hell" as found in "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell" relate the Devil's perspective of the disillusionment of man and his reliance upon his senses to try and understand the truth in nature and the Universe. The Devil quickly points out that not only are man's senses minimal in comparison with the powers of the Universe such as the air, water, fire and earth, but reliance upon the senses alone only leads man to belief in a diminished perception of the truth which actually exists far beyond that of the five senses. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Name of Research Paper File: D0_TJWBPro1.rtf
the disillusionment of man and his reliance upon his senses to try and understand the truth in nature and the Universe. The Devil quickly points out that not only are mans senses minimal in comparison with the powers of the Universe such as the air, water, fire and earth, but reliance upon the senses alone only leads man to belief in a diminished perception of the truth which actually exists far beyond that of the five senses. William Blake (1757-1827) wrote "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell" as a deliberate and ironic onslaught against the societal conventions during his time including the various elements of the Christian religion and piety. Blake reverses many of the Christian values within the work and as "the voice of the Devil" he wrote the "Proverbs of Hell" (Norton 1322). Overall, Blake explores the contrary union not only between Heaven and Hell but with the elements within it such as attraction and repulsion, reason and energy, love and hate; all of which are essential to Human existence. Unlike John Locke at the time who believed that knowledge was based on the experiences or impressions which come from the five senses, Blake believed that the truth lay beyond the five senses; "whatever the truth may be" (Ballis). In the "Proverbs from Hell", the Devil speaks wise statements in regards to the truth, but because they are spoken by the Devil, it is hard to say whether or not they can be believed to be true. Within the "Proverbs from Hell" however, Blake refers to the five senses to reinforce some of his contrary arguments which reinforce for him that not only is what the Devil saying may be true, but also reliance upon the five senses does not
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