New vision

• The Little Girl Lost - 'For her maker meek'


  • when describing spiritual revelation, Blake describes God as meek
  • God can guide us without being authoritative & domineering
  • link to lamb 'He is meek and he is mild'
  • suggests liberty from oppression is possible if we show christ-like qualities of love & compassion
  • need for spiritual leaders
• The Little Girl Lost - 'And the desire wild/ Become a garden mild'

  • humanity's perception will shift from viewing world as full of temptation that causes us to repress to seeing the world as a 'garden mild' where we are free from shame, and recognise desire, nature & freedom as inherently good & part of a divine order
  • possibility of liberation
• The Voice of the Ancient Bard - 'Image of truth-new born' 'Doubt is fled and clouds of reason,/ Dark disputes and artful teasing' 


  • poem opens with prophetic voice of bard presenting idea of a new vision
  • perception has been changed - mind forged manacles destroyed as humanity has understood how they were being manipulated
  • humanity as questioned & now sees the truth for what it is
  • clouds of reason = logic/ science clouding our perception & not allowing us to see truth - obscuring perception
  • Blake suggests it is possible to escape oppression & recapture the ethos of eden - however, poem then proceeds to outline the obstacles they need to overcome in order to achieve this ideal
• The Divine Image - 'For Mercy has a human heart,/ Pity a human face' 


  • presents idealistic vision of humanity & God
  • qualities associated with God are found within every human being
  • the body is divine - body & soul are united
  • we have divine behaviours and therefore to pray to God is to pray to humanity
  • the divine lives within us - we are not fallen & should not be punished
  • God is present wherever love & compassion are, not just in churches or christian doctrine
• How does Blake offer a new spiritual vision in 'Night'

  • final 2 stanzas
  • rather than being corrupt, experienced portrayed as necessary & natural progression toward greater understanding
  • authority is reimagined as gentle & empathetic - 'lion's ruddy eyes/ Shall flow with tears of gold' - rules through emotion & protective presence, not fear
  • sexuality is sacred not shameful - 'My bright mane for ever/ Shall shine like the gold,/ As I guard o'er the fold' - authority figures do not need to be exempt from sexual pleasure - need to rid shame
  • final image of poem is acceptance/ pride/ appreciation of beauty of sexual desire - not a threat but in fact allows greater sense of contentment, happier experience & benevolent authority figure to lead us
• Holy Thursday (E) 'For where'er the sun does shine... Babe can never hunger there/ Nor poverty the mind appal' 


  • alternative vision - world of true justice and equality, where resources are naturally available to all - children & humanity would not have to suffer
  • if we lived in world of sunlight/ where everyone shared, poverty would not exist 
  • however this vision stands in contrast to the bleak, controlled reality of children suffering in a wealthy nation - an ideal world should be possible, but human greed and institutional corruption prevent it