How does F. R. Leavis evaluate Blake’s poetry?
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Answer
How does F. R. Leavis evaluate Blake’s poetry? [2021, 2019] ✪✪✪
F.R. Leavis (1895-1978) is a prominent twentieth-century English critic. He studied William Blake (1757-1827) as a creative genius who rebelled against the Augustan tradition. In his essay “Literature and Society” (1937), Leavis admires Blake’s originality but also points out his artistic limitations. Let us study this evaluation.
Revolt against Augustan Tradition: Leavis sees Blake as the first poet to revolt against the Augustan insistence on social manners. He says Blake,
“…reversed the stress from society to the individual.”
Blake’s poetry shows personal emotion and private experience rather than social order. His poems, like “The Tyger,” express his inner vision and spiritual energy. Leavis admires this independence but believes Blake went too far in ignoring the influence of society’s culture.
Excess of Individualism: Leavis notes that Blake placed extreme importance on personal experience. Blake said,
“It is I who see and feel… My experience is mine.”
This strong sense of individuality made him powerful but also lonely. Leavis observes that Blake used the English language, not his own invention.
Lack of Social Collaboration: According to Leavis, Blake lacked a public that could understand and support his genius. He writes that Blake’s poetry “did not have much of the social element demanded by the English language.” So, his poems seemed neither wholly private nor wholly public.
Failure of Cultural Balance: Leavis believes that great literature should express both the individual and the social spirit. He says,
“It is only in individuals that society lives.”
But Blake failed to unite these two sides. His poetry reflects strong emotion but lacks moral and cultural balance.
In short, Leavis admires Blake’s originality and technical skill but finds his poetry incomplete. Blake’s isolation from society and lack of shared culture limited his artistic success.