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12/04/2003 Entry: "The Tygers of Wrath are Wiser than the Horses of Instruction"

Wood waxes politically poetic (or poetically political, your choice) as he ponders the "wild prophetic imagery" of William Blake.

When I was  at school, they would sing this in the speech day. Even as a boy, it felt wrong, out of context, to be singing it in praise of the established order and the middle class way. Long before I read what Blake was actually about, I knew that it meant something else. And it stirred my heart. And did those feet in ancient timesWalk upon England's mountains green?And was the holy Lamb of GodOn England's pleasant pastures seen?

Posted by Richard @ 12/05/2003 06:56 PM CST

Well, it is a firm patriotic favourite.

But it's also not meant to be read that way, and Blake would have been really upset if he knew that his poetry had been co-opted in this way.

Posted by Wood @ 12/05/2003 05:10 PM CST

The comment on the insert of the CD that I have the song on says," Sir Hubert Parry's setting of Blake's visionary poem Jerusalem was created at the suggestion of the Poet Laureate Robert Bridges in 1916. It was written for a meeting of the "Fight for Right"campaign and later appropraited by the movement for women's suffrage which won it much fame for its heartfelt expressionm of hope. Ever since it was introduced into the Last Night of the Proms by Sir Malcolm Sargent it has been a firm patriotic favourite."

Posted by Carroll Sickles @ 12/05/2003 04:58 PM CST

Look. Are you going to take this seriously or what?

Posted by Wood @ 12/05/2003 01:31 PM CST

Oh absolutely. I'm sure they are.

And the juxtaposition of the two titles offers, through the analogy of proximity, an interesting counterpoint to the surrealism of the underlying metaphor.

;oP

Posted by Richard @ 12/05/2003 12:37 PM CST

I think the tune is called "Jerusalem".

It's all so confusing, isn't it? It probably wouldn't surprise you that "Milton" and "Jerusalem" are part of the same cycle, right?

Posted by Wood @ 12/05/2003 12:05 PM CST

You're dazzling us with your superior knowledge now, Wood. Those of us in "the common herd" do call that hymn "Jerusalem" -- isn't that the name of the tune?

Posted by Richard @ 12/05/2003 08:32 AM CST

It's intermittent until Sunday evening. It seems to be up now.

Actually the poem is an extract from "Milton"; "Jerusalem" is a different poem entirely.

Posted by Wood @ 12/05/2003 07:26 AM CST

I know he had a server move in the offing - I'm sure his site will be back soon.

Posted by Richard @ 12/04/2003 11:43 PM CST

I don't know what is wrong here but I can not make any connection to Wood's Dec 3 posting. I know the poem is Blakes, Jerusalem, which is set to the stirring patriotic Hymn by Sir Hubert Parry. I have a very moving ve rsion of this on a recording of "Last Night of the Proms". Makes me want to be English every time I play it. Is there something wrong at Woods web site?

Posted by Carroll Sickles @ 12/04/2003 09:06 PM CST

Thanks again for the link, Richard!

I should note that while I still haven't got permalinks sorted, I have now got a bulletin board where comments can be left.

Posted by Wood @ 12/04/2003 04:31 PM CST