A Study on the Process of Sublime Spiritual World of William Blake

Abstract

William Blake's dream, the spiritual form that comforts his soul, was a world of unity through the imagination that harmonizes the natural and human worlds in the idyllic natural landscape where the sound of children, sheep, and flutes can be heard. Blake begins his art world with a refutation of the logic of 18th century's empiricists such as John Locke, Burke and Bacon. The philosophies at that time underestimated the imagination and intuition of the poets and argued that all ideas emerged from external beauty with an emphasis on human's firm reason. The real world of art they reveal is a poet as a role model imitating nature. It is the concept of mirrors that illuminate things, not lamps that shine by themselves. In addition to theses concepts, these philosophers have called it innate ideas, believing that all noble and stubborn thoughts start with such a concept. The artistic world of mystic creativity of early Romantic poet Blake, who attempted to lead the poet's prophetic role, has a remarkable modernity in subjective spiritual function. In fact, current status of knowledge focus on cultivating talented people with creativity. It is similar to strengthening the pluralistic ability through mutual cooperation required by modern society and to emphasizing high personality and etc. and rejects the existing thinking system. And it reminds us of Blake's poetic spirit that emphasizes innovation, creativity, and harmony. Blake tries to overcome the philosophical limitations of contemporary times by combining both genres of literature and painting with his musical elements and harmonizing them into his poetic world. The association theory of contemporary empiricists points out that the domain of imagination can not be presented, and reaches the ultimate theory that only high-level ideas can be obtained through imagination. Based on this philosophical idea, he introduces his own creative worlds, illustrations and poems, and draws his own vision. His Visionary Form is the core concept of his art world. That is, human beings come to assimilate the attributes of God and this development process is embodied in the world theory of innocence and experience. Lamb and Tyger in his representative poem, Songs of Innocence and Experience, are symbols of the world of pureness and experience though, however, we could see Blake's unique philosophical and visionary world of mutual development and perfect harmony through these conflicting concepts. To him, imagination refers to the human being as a recognizing subject and has Divine Image he wanted to pursue throughout his entire life is the attribute of God that man has: Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love. This paper is to trace the process leading to humanity through the symbolism of painting and music, recognizing the limitations of his empirical philosophy and overcoming it, through his sympathy with the divine image that his poetic journey world starting from infancy. In the end, he emphasizes that Divine Image was to embody the spiritual world through this poet's imagination.