Classical Ideals Represented in Eighteenth Century Paintings Essay

Classical Ideals Represented in Eighteenth Century Paintings - Essay Example The essay "Classical Ideals Represented in Eighteenth Century Paintings" analyzes Eighteenth Century Paintings and Classical Ideals Represented in them. The classical cultures of Greece and Rome with their well evolved political organization were based on traditions of liberty, civic virtue, morality and sacrifice; and were considered worthy of emulation, during the great political upheavals in Britain. The significance of classical ideals in this era, emphasized neoclassicism during the French and American revolutions. Also, spectacular finds from the excavations of the Roman cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii, buried in 79 CE by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius, further fuelled public interest in classic art and architecture. Additionally, the scholarly attention of art historians such as Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717-1768) focused on the ancient world and classical antiquity, thus extensively increasing interest in neoclassicism. The reknowned art critic and poet Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) observed that eighteenth century paintings contained â€Å"a form of perfection borrowed from a repertory of classical ideals†. This paper proposes to determine the extent of truth in Charles Baudelaire’s above statement, by studying works of art from the eighteenth century painted by well-known artists of the time: Anton Raphael Mengs, Gavin Hamilton, Angelica Kauffman and Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun. In the intellectual and artistic world of eighteenth century Britain, there was a sense of optimism.

Phil of Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Phil of Law - Essay Example Among the lawyers, it designates the instincts and emotions found in every human being, such as love for offspring. When natural law is applied, the jury uses the power of reasoning to give a verdict that is universally and morally accepted. Legal realism is contrary to the natural law. In legal realism theory, legal rules are based on the decision of the judiciary and are given in the interest of the majority of the population and policies of the public. This is contrary to the natural law, which is based on dogmatism. Legal realism defines the legal rights and duties as the court of law defines them (Tebbit 21). Legal realists claim that exercising the common law is subjective and the results are always inconsistent and incoherent. This claim is based on either political, social, or moral alignments or beliefs of the state and the judges. Positivism as a theory of law is a philosophy based on the information obtained from the senses, logical and mathematical analysis sourced from s cientifically proved knowledge, which is valid and truthful (Tebbit 21). The empirical evidence sourced from verified data makes the society operate under the general laws of the physical world. Positivism declares the empirical sciences as the source of truth and knowledge, thereby rejecting cognitive reasoning. This theory emerged in response to the inability of the speculations in solving problems, which came up as a result of the expansion of the knowledge base of human being due to science. However, positivism is the contrast of natural law. It is always very clear, exact and does not subscribe to the beliefs of the society. Positivism postulates that laws written by the higher authority should be followed even if they are unjust or ethically acceptable. Positivism is advantageous because of its clarity, hence minimizing guesswork and binding people within its boundaries when making legal decisions. However, legal positivism may be disadvantageous because the majority might opp ress the minority as in the case of the Fugitive Slave Law that oppressed the Blacks in America (Tebbit 21). Relating the theories of law to Shadrach Minkin’s ordeal, it is clear that the theories of law have been applied. In May 1850, Shadrach Minkin, a house slave in Virginia, escapes from his owner in Norfolk to Boston. Courtesy of the support in the free black society, he becomes a waiter. However, with the passing of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, where federal marshals were given power to arrest any fugitive slaves and remand them back to their employers, made it a reality to him. Under the new Fugitive Slave Law, slave refugees were denied basic civil liberties that are accorded to the other white citizens. These include trial by jury and the right of the accused to testify. In the case of Morris vs. the US, the verdict of the jury portrays the theory of legal realism in application. The jury applied their legal mandate on the case in the interest of the majority of p eople. It might have been seen that the jury were aligned on their political beliefs, but their verdict was in the interest of the majority of the population (Tebbit 21). It is clear that the jury acquitted the defendants who were believed to be guilty during trial just because they disagreed with the law. According to the jury’s argument, the law was not applicable in the case and its application was unjust. In the spirit of the theory of

What Do The Media Do To People Media Essay

What Do The Media Do To People Media Essay In 1959, E.Katz, a psychologist by profession was trying to grapple with the question what do the media do to people? which other researchers were attempting to answer. According to Katz, what people did with the media was more important and worthy of research. He assumed that mass media audiences are active participants in the interaction and therefore it was important for the research to focus on motivations for selecting a medium and the expected gratification from it. This led to the development of uses and gratifications theory. Uses and gratifications theory attempts to explain the uses and functions of the media for individuals, groups, and society in general. There are three objectives in developing uses and gratifications theory: 1) to explain how individuals use mass communication to gratify their needs. What do people do with the media. 2) to discover underlying motives for individuals media use. 3) to identify the positive and the negative consequences of individual media use. At the core of uses and gratifications theory lies the assumption that audience members actively seek out the mass media to satisfy individual needs. It is an audience-centred approach. When an audience actively seeks out media, they are typically seeking it in order to gratify a need. For example, in social situations, people may feel more confident and knowledgeable when they have specific facts and stories from media to add to conversation. By seeking out media, a person fulfils a need to be informed. Social situations and ps ychological characteristics motivate the need for media, which motivates certain expectations of that media. This expectation leads one to be exposed to media that would seemingly fit expectations, leading to an ultimate gratification. There are three main paradigms in media effects: hypodermic needle (i.e., direct, or strong effects), limited effects, and the powerful to limited effects. Uses and Gratifications falls under the second paradigm. The hypodermic needle model claims that consumers are strongly affected by media and have no say in how the media influences them. The main idea of the Uses and Gratifications model is that people are not helpless victims of all-powerful media, but use media to fulfil their various needs. These needs serve as motivations for using media. The media dependency theory has also been explored as an extension to the uses and gratifications approach to media, though there is a subtle difference between the two theories. Dependency on media assumes audience goals to be the origin of the dependency while the uses and gratifications approach focuses more on audience needs, however both theories agree that media use can lead to media dependency. The media dependency theory states that the more dependent an individual is on the media to fulfill needs, the more significant the media becomes to that person. DeFleur and Ball-Rokeach (1976) illustrate dependency as the relationship between media content, the nature of society, and the behaviour of audiences. Littlejohn (2002) also explained that people will become more dependent on media that meet a number of their needs than on media that touch only a few needs. Dependency on a certain medium is influenced by the number of sources open to an individual. Individuals are usually more dependent on available media if their access to media alternatives is limited. The more alternatives there are for an individual, the less is the dependency on, and influence of, a specific medium. Kazt supported the idea of studies which sought to find out what people do with the media. He cited a 1949 Berelson study conducted by interviewing people during a newspaper strike about what they missed in the newspaper. Many read because they felt it was the socially acceptable thing to do, and some felt that the newspaper was indispensable in finding out about world affairs. Many however, sought escape, relaxation, entertainment, and social prestige. These people recognized that awareness of public affairs was value in conversations. Some wanted help in their daily lives by reading material about fashion, recipes, weather forecasts and other useful information Severin and Tankard Jr. (1992:270). Davidson in Severin and Tankard Jr. (1992:269) argues that the communicators audience is not a passive recipient; it cannot be regarded as a lump of clay to be moulded by the master propagandist. Rather the audience is made up of individuals who demand something from communications to whic h they are exposed, and who select those that are likely to be useful to them. In other words, they must get something from the manipulator if he is to get something from them. A bargain is involved. The uses and gratifications approach involves a shift of focus from the purposes of the communicator to the purposes of the receiver. To a large extent, the user of the mass communication medium is in control. Uses and gratifications approach reminds us that people use the media for various purposes. Studies have shown that bored audiences use the media for exiting content while stressed subjects would use relaxing content, supporting the idea that audiences choose media content to provide gratifications they are seeking. Elliot and Rosenberg concluded that much of mass media use might be merely a matter of habit. They carried a study in which people indicated that they watched some soap operators out of habit which they enjoyed doing. Jay G. Blumler and Elihu Katz devised their uses and gratifications model in 1974 to highlight five areas of gratification in media texts for audiences. These include: Escape some media texts allow the user to escape from reality. For example, video games. Social interaction People create personal relationships with the characters in a media text. Potentially this could become dangerous if people do not question the reality of such texts. It also creates a common ground for conversation in peoples everyday lives. Identify People often identify a part of themselves in a media text, either through character or circumstance. For example, hair style trends stemming from a magazine feature. This can go a long way in peoples ideologies. Inform and educate the audience gain an understanding of the world around them by consuming a media text, for example print and broadcast news. Entertain consumed purely for entertainment purposes, meaning that text need not have any other gratifications. The Uses and Gratifications Model of the Media The mass media is a huge phenomenon. Through the various different platforms, print or broadcast, the media is able to reach millions of people like no other force. Without the media, powerful speeches by politicians would affect no one, local events would remain local, and performances by great actors would be seen only by the people in the immediate audience. The media overcomes distances, and builds a direct relationship with the audience. Many sociologists have attempted to explore what effects this has on society, and how the media fits in to our social network. Through many programmes of research, including focus groups, surveys, questionnaires, clinical studies and plain hypothesising, a number of models describing the medias relationship with audiences have been drawn up. Initially, researchers approached the subject from the angle of how the media is able to manipulate audiences, injecting messages into their minds. This hypodermic model, as discussed in the earlier part was rejected after closer examination. The Uses and Gratifications model represented a change in thinking, as researchers began to describe the effects of the media from the point of view of audiences. The model looks at the motives of the people who use the media, asking why we watch the television programmes that we do, why we bother to read newspapers, why we find ourselves so compelled to keep up to date with our favourite soap. The underlying idea behind the model is that people are motivated by a desire to fulfil, or gratify certain needs. So rather that asking how the media uses us, the model asks how we use the media. The model is broken down into four different needs. Surveillance: The surveillance need is based around the idea that people feel better having the feeling that they know what is going on in the world around them. One of the genres this is often applied to is news. By watching or reading about news we learn about what is happening in the world, and as the news is usually bad news, this knowledge leaves us feeling more secure about the safety of our own lives. This idea might seem a bit strange, that the more we know about tragedies the safer we feel, but sociologists argue that ignorance is seen as a source of danger, and so the more knowledge we have the safer we feel. When looking at the news its easy to spot news items that give us this reaction. For example if it wasnt for watching the news we might be unknowingly become vulnerable to the latest computer virus or end up in a hospital with an epidemic like swine flu. Its not just news that fulfils the surveillance model however; the theory can also be seen in many consumer and crim e-appeal programmes. These appeal directly through the idea that they are imparting information that people need to know. The programmes talk far more directly to the viewer, and even try to get the viewer involved in the programme. Because these programmes deal purely with national and local concerns, without such vagaries as world news, the issues apparently have the potential to affect the viewer directly. This explains why certain channels like Aaj Tak and IndiaTV show programmes which have wide viewership in rural areas. Some of the contents of these channels would never be appreciated by the urban audience. The surveillance model then is all about awareness. We use the mass media to be more aware of the world, gratifying a desire for knowledge and security. Personal Identity: The personal identity need explains how being a subject of the media allows us to reaffirm the identity and positioning of ourselves within society. This can most be seen in soaps, which try to act as a microcosm of society as a whole. The characters in soaps are usually designed to have wildly different characteristics, so that everyone can find someone to represent themselves, someone to aspire to, and someone to despise. For example someone might feel close to a character who is always falling victim to other people, and this connection might help him/her to understand and express his/her feelings. Someone may also really like a character who seems cool and leads a aspirational lifestyle everyone would desire to lead. This relationship could act as a way to channel your ones life, helping to set goals to work to. Finally there may be a character one really cant stand. By picking out their bad characteristics and decisions, it helps audiences to define their own personal identity by differentiation. The use of the media for forming personal identity can also be seen outside soaps. Sports personalities and pop stars can often become big role models, inspiring young children everywhere (which is why theres such an outcry when one of them does something wrong). Even the seriousness of news can lend itself to gratifying personal identity, by treating news anchors as personalities, rather than simply figureheads relaying information. Personal Relationships: Audiences can form a relationship with the media, and also use the media to form a relationship with others. Relationships with the Media : Many people use the television as a form of companionship. The television is often quite an intimate experience, and by watching the same people on a regular basis we can often feel very close to them, as if we even know them. When presenters or characters in a soap die, those who have watched that person a lot often grieve for the character, as if they have lost a friend. Some events can even cause media outcries, such as the recent reality shows where the events within the show became main stories on the TV/News channels. The more we watch the same personalities, the more we feel we get to know them. Reality TV shows such as Big Brother and its adapted versions in India give us such a feeling of intimacy with the participants that they can become part of our lives. Even though the relationship is completely one-sided, its easy to see how we can fall in love with TV personalities. Using the Media within Relationships: Another aspect to the personal relationships model is how we can sometimes use the media as a springboard to form and build upon relationships with real people. Having a favourite TV programme in common can often be the start of a conversation, and can even make talking to strangers that much easier. Some families use sitting around watching the television as a stimulus for conversation, talking to each other about the programme or related anecdotes while it is on. Diversion: The diversion need describes whats commonly termed as escapism watching the television so we can forget about our own lives and problems for a while and think about something else. This can work with positive programmes, such as holiday shows or the constant happy endings which help to cheer us up and forget our own problems, and with negative programmes, such as a tragic film, which help to put our own problems into perspective. The diversion model also accounts for using the media for entertainment purposes, such as a good spy film, and for relaxation. The media can give us emotional release and also sexual arousal, which includes a sexy scene in a film as well as pornography. Altogether, the Uses and Gratifications model outlines the many reasons we have for using the mass media, and the kind of functions that the media can play within our lives. New media and current scenario The shift of media and media industry over the past few years into new forms, such as DVD/ Blue ray and the internet based social networking sites, changes the modalities available for audiences to consume and receive media. The change has caused some media theorists to call into question the influence that the media has over attitudes and beliefs. Urbanization, industrialization and modernization create social conditions in which the mass media is developing and reshaping. Mass media plays a crucial role in forming and reflecting public opinion: media connects the world to individuals and reproduce the self-image of society. Contemporary global media scenario presents a more complex interaction between the media and society, with the media generating information from a network of relations and influences. The individual interpretations and evaluations of the information provided sometimes lead to consequences and ramifications of the mass media which may relate not merely to the way newsworthy events are perceived (and which are reported at all), but also to a multitude of cultural influences that operate through the media. The media has a strong social and cultural impact upon society. This is predicated upon its ability to reach a wide audience which often sends a strong and influential message. It is through the persuasiveness of media such as television, radio and print media that reach the target audience. These have been influential media as they have been largely responsible in structuring the daily lives and routines of millions across the globe. Television broadcasting has a large amount of control in influencing the content that society watches and the times in which they are viewed. This is a distinguishing feature of traditional media and although they are by no means redundant, the development of the internet has challenged the traditional participation habits involved in media such as television. The internet has lifted some of the restrictions placed on society by allowing for diversification of political opinions, social and cultural differences and heightened level of consumer participa tion. There have been suggestions that allowing consumers to produce information through the internet will lead to a bombardment of too much information. It can however allow society a medium for expressing opinions and moving away from the political restrictions placed on society. The uses and gratifications theory of Blumler and Katz (1974) and other group studies in social psychology provide such major motivations for individuals to join virtual communities on social networking sites like facebook, orkut, twitter etc, as the need for social integration (belong and be affiliated), the need for help in achieving goals (e.g. by obtaining information), the need for realizing economic exchanges, the need for status enhancement (by impressing and manipulating others), and the need for entertainment. Some of the other ways in which uses and gratification becomes relevant in the Indian/Global media scenario are:- Media can also influence the way people converse due to embedding their minds with particular thoughts and feelings via their various media outlets. Certain movies have quotes that can be engrained into the minds of the audience. However, these quotes can be either appropriate or inappropriate. When someone hears something in the media and it is reinforced through the various media channels i.e. TV, radio, newspapers etc, general members of the public become more susceptible as taking the news as the whole truth, and this can then be accepted as the norm within society. Many famous trials about celebrities have ended in such bad publicity and negative depictions of the people involved that their reputation gets damaged forever, irrespective of the outcome of the trial. The general public already forms their opinion even before the trials are conducted. In the United States the election of many politicians has been enormously influenced by media. Most notably John F. Kennedys victory in the presidential race of 1960 against Richard Nixon has been described by many as the result of his more handsome and good looking appearance on television, especially when compared with Nixon. Also Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger whose fame as actors helped them to gain more media attention and eventually the victory in their elections as president or governor. Similarly Barrack Obama used all the forms of media to build a public opinion in his favour and exploited the latest available social networking platforms to maximize the multiplier effect. The results of the last general elections in India and the victory of Congress party can be linked to a similar media strategy. Criticisms of uses and gratification theory Many people have criticized this theory as they believe the public has no control over the media and what it produces. It can also be said to be too kind to the media, as they are being let off the hook and do not need to take responsibility for what they produce. It is not always safe to assume that people choose the media based on their needs. There are other factors which restrict choices of the audiences, virtually leaving them with a very few or no alternatives. Some of the other criticisms of the theory as found in the literature have been quoted below:- The nature of the theory underlying Uses and Gratifications research is not totally clear, (Blumler, 1979) Practitioners of Uses and Gratifications research have been criticized for a formidable array of shortcomings in their outlook they are taxed for being crassly atheoretical, perversely eclectic, ensnared in the pitfalls of functionalism and for flirting with the positions at odds with their functionalist origins, (Blumler, 1979). The biggest issue for the Uses and Gratifications Theory is its being non-theoretical, being vague in key concepts, and being nothing more than a data-collecting strategy (Littlejohn, 2002; Severin and Tankard, 1997; McQuail 1994). It seems that using this theory has little to no link to the benefit of psychology due to its weakness in operational definitions and weak analytical mode. Also, it is focused too narrowly on the individual and neglects the social structure and place of the media in that structure (Severin and Tankard, 1997). Due to the individualistic nature of Uses and Gratification theory, it is difficult to take the information that is collected in studies. Most research relies on pure recollection of memory rather than data (Katz, 1987). This makes self-reports complicated and immeasurable. uses and gratifications research portrays media consumption as primarily rational and individualistic, whereby individuals control consumption according to conscious goals. This assumes (contrary to Attribution Theory) that respondents are aware of every factor entering into their media choices and do not misjudge the causes of their behaviour. Little attention is therefore accorded to the ways in which media may be consumed mindlessly or ritualistically (Littlejohn, 1989, p. 276). Critics argue that needs for attending to certain media are formed and informed by culture as well as by certain psychological predispositions particular to individual consumers of media products. According to Littlejohn (1989), critici sm of this approach may be divided into three major strands: (a) lack of coherence and theory in the tradition; (b) social and political objections; and (c) the instrumental (versus ritualistic) philosophical bias of uses and gratifications (p. 276). This theory has also been blasted by media hegemony advocates who say it goes too far in claiming that people are free to choose the media fare and the interpretations they want (Severin and Tankard, 1997). Other motives that may drive people to consume media may involve low level attention, a habit or a mildly pleasant stimulation. Uniform effects are not the kind of factor the Uses and Gratifications approach would predict (Severin and Tankard, 1997).

Ending For Samphire By Patrick OBrien Essays -- Papers

Ending For Samphire By Patrick O'Brien 'As she pushed him, she felt her arms weak like jelly.' Molly knew the force of pushing this boy was too much for her tired arms, but he still fell downward, quite surprised by Molly's actions. On most occasions the boy would have felt embarrassed by being pushed over by a girl, but instead the boy stood up, stared at her and took his trustworthy chameleon and left. Molly really wanted to catch this figure up, but something, maybe her own pride, had pulled her back. Instead she went and sat down beside the palm tree, recollecting her thoughts on how to survive in this unknown island. She knew that she was the only one that survived in the plane crash, so where did the boy come from? And why was he accompanied by a chameleon? And why did she push him, when all he did was stare at her? These questions whirled around Molly's head until she went to a deep sleep. As the native boy left he felt only respect for Molly's action. It showed that she had a key strength of survival - courage. He knew that she is one to be respected if they ever meet again. For now though, his pet, which he names Lacey, was in desperate need for food, and he walked onwards to the lake of swamps. The lake of swamps was a lake that looked very abstract and gave a rancid stink, but still retained some of its beauty. The mystical them of the lake attracted the boy, as from generation from generation he has been taught from his tribe that there is a mystical creature that lives in the lake. The boy grabbed a small boulder and chucked it in the centre of the lake, which stunned most of the fish upwards onto the bank. The... ...outh, because the creature could sense if the human breathed underwater. But the boy could not take the girl upwards, because she was wriggling frantically, trying to kick her way out of the boy's grasp. The boy held on for dear life on her mouth, but she kept fighting frantically until suddenly she stopped. She rose above to the water as a motionless figure. The boy knew she was dead. At utter surprise of Molly's death and that the boy knew he had killed her, he shrieked in horror, tears rolling down his eyes against the floating water. What he forgot was the mystical swamp creature. He had motioned his mouth so the creature had grasped hold of him. The boy fought for escape, but he, like Molly, came to no avail. The creature, after one swirling motion of a hand, had knocked the boy out. The boy's vision went black.

Labor Movement Development in Chile: 1990 to Present

Chile underwent a change in 1990 to a democratic form of government.   As a result of this transformation to democracy, the labor movement within Chile has undergone massive development.   As developments have been undergone, several areas of the labor movement have especially experienced change, including collective bargaining, Under the prior authoritarian rule of Augusto Pinochet, collective bargaining negotiations by labor units was strictly limited to â€Å"initial wage readjustments, the time period for inflationary adjustments, and the levels of inflation adjustments†.   (Frank, 2002)   In his in-depth study of the labor movement in Chile, Professor Volker K. Frank explicitly states that â€Å"the most important of all changes concerns the new law on collective bargaining†. The reform that came about during the early 1990s involved a corporations last offer to a union and their rights to proceed with the business of their corporation based on the union reaction, as well as the rights of the union to strike based on a corporation following certain criteria. Because the first reforms that impacted the labor movement in the early 1990s fell short, more reforms were enacted in the middle 1990s.   Professor Frank explains that â€Å"This new legislation envisions major changes that would indeed limit the employers’ abusive powers, which a very flexible labor market has given them in the first place. In this sense, unlike the first reform of 1990–92, this second one does move much more toward a ‘protective’ labor market†.   (Frank, 2002) This major development in the labor movement is most key because of the enhanced protection afforded the laborer by a government becoming more democratic. The labor movement in Chile is far more complicated than reforms to collective bargaining laws or limitations on abusive powers.   By first analyzing those key changes, however, one can better understand the tremendous development Chile has indeed undergone. Reference Frank, V. K.   (2002)   The Labor Movement in Democratic Chile, 1990-2000.   University of Notre Dame: Helen Kellogg Institute for International studies.   

British Art-William Blake

Though William Blake is held today as one of the premier poets of the pre-Romantic era, his contributions as a painter is often overlooked. Like his poetry, his paintings and etchings reflect his deeply held religious beliefs, as well as the many questions he had not only about faith but the nature of existence. Reflecting a sensibility that was unusual by the standards of the day, Blake’s choice of subject matter for his paintings ran from traditional biblical scenes to gothic depictions of ghouls and creatures from Hell sent to tempt and torment humanity.His illuminated printing also helped create significant depth in his poetry, adding to the impact of the words, and often reflected the same biblical concerns and reverences that Blake held for his Christian beliefs. Combining the gothic with a proto-Romantic sensibility, William Blake created art that not only reflected his religious beliefs, but also borrowed from biblical, literary, mystical, and personal inspirations to create unique art that remains as compelling as his poetry and speaks volumes of the creative genius of the man.Though many in the modern day consider William Blake one of the seminal poets of the early Romantic period, Blake he did not support himself as a poet during his life but got by on patronage and commissions for engraving and painting. His projects were most often literary and religious in nature and included the Book of Job and other scenes from the Bible; Chaucer’s Canterbury Pilgrims; Milton’s Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained.His eccentricity and imaginative intensity, which seemed like madness to more than a few of his contemporaries, came from Blake’s childhood fill by such events as beholding God’s face pressed against his window, seeing angels among the haystacks, and being visited by the Old Testament prophet, Ezekiel (Abrams, 2000, p. 36). When his brother died in 1887, Blake claimed that he saw his â€Å"released spirit ascend heave nwards, clapping its hand for joy,† and soon after, this spirit would visit him with a critical revelation of the method of â€Å"Illuminated Printing† that he would use in his major poetical works.His obscurity as a poet was due in part to the difficulty of his work after the mid-1790s but chiefly to the very limited issue of his books, a consequence of the painstaking and time-consuming process of his â€Å"Illuminated Printing. † Blake’s illuminated printing allowed him to not only publish his poetry but also create art to compliment it.The books included many etchings, most often colored in dramatic fashion, that depicted many of Blake’s religious and social concerns. He prophesized, included biblical satire and concerns, and addressed timely subjects such as the suffering he observed and the rampant state of religious hypocrisy in London. As Blake’s mythical poetic character Los said, speaking for all imaginative artists, â€Å"I must C reate a System or be enslaved by another Man’s† (Abrams, 2000, p. 27).In Songs of Innocence and of Experience, Blake reflects the increasing shift of Western society towards a more secular, independent mode of thinking. To Blake, the simple joy to be had in venturing the countryside to hear the songs of the birds is more valuable than learning science from books, or religion from the scriptures, and in his work Blake suggests that children are inherently and naturally good, and only through the systems of man are they corrupted and robbed of joy.This new faith of Blake in the natural goodness of humans contradicts the concept of the fall of Man, espousing that the malaise of modern culture is a mode of psychic disintegration and of resultant alienation from oneself, one’s world, and one’s fellow human beings (Abrams, 2000, p. 39). To Blake, like later poets of the Romantic age, the only hope of recovery for humanity rested in reintegration into the social and natural worlds, as well as adherence to the incorruptible word of God.In Songs of Innocence, Blake combines many of his social and religious views into an etching accompanying his poem, â€Å"The Little Black Boy. † In some copies, Blake tinted the black boy’s skin as light as the English boy’s, while in others he colored them differently; while the heavenly scene that Blake depicts shows both boys sheltered by a tree and welcomed by Christ, it also puts the black boy outside of the inner circle formed by the curve of Christ’s body and the praying English boy.Blake depicted the racism of London by showing the little black boy as not a part of the configuration of the prayer, but rather a witness to it, stroking the hair of the English boy who has no regard for him (Abrams, 2000, p. 45). By depicting the innocent scene with Christ as he does, Blake is showing how Christian society often excludes those that do not fit the right social criteria. This uni que aspect of Blake’s religiousness was one of the main precursors to the spirit of freedom and equality that would come to dominate the Romantic era.Blake hoped to reach a wider audience with a private exhibition of his illustrations in 1809, but his adventurous originality, coupled with his cantankerous and combative personality, left him largely ignored, except by a few harsh critics. At the time of his death in 1827, he was impoverished and almost entirely unknown except to a small group of younger painters, and only decades after his life did interest begin to grow in his literary and artistic contributions.The overwhelming theme in the works of Blake is religion. During his life, Blake declared that â€Å"all he knew was in the Bible† and that â€Å"The Old and New Testaments are the Great Code of Art. † This is an exaggeration of the truth that all his religious and prophetic art deals with some aspects of the overall biblical plot of the creation and the Fall, the history of the generations of humanity in the fallen world, redemption, and the promise of a recovery of Eden and of a New Jerusalem (Abrams, 2000, p. 37).Though Blake spent considerable time on his illuminated printing, his continuous experimentation with form and artistic expression led to a series of large color prints of massive size and iconic designs. Though no commission or public exhibition is recorded, and the exact intensions of the artist and the works’ creation remain unknown, the prints continue to reflect Blake’s literary and biblical concerns, featuring twelve designs with subjects drawn from the Bible, Shakespeare, Milton, and Enlightenment subjects such as Newton (Barker, 2004).Once again, Blake treads the fine line between religious faith and faith in humanity to understand existence and create magnificent works of beauty. However, unlike many of the artists that would follow him, Blake’s art displayed many of his preferences for the medieval and gothic art of the centuries prior. Blake was not alone in his interest in gothic culture, and a great gothic revival swept through England, Europe, and North America towards the end of the eighteenth century.Often reflected best in the dramatic spires of architectural creations of the time, Blake saw these architectural and sculptural accomplishments as the perfect embodiment of his artistic ideal, where spirituality and aesthetic values were inseparable (Tate Britain, 2008). To Blake, the spiritual attributes of the gothic revival reflected the height of creative expression, and his art included many characteristics of the gothic style. In his engraving, Joseph of Arimathea among the Rocks of Albion helps express some of his Christian gothic ideals.The picture depicted the legendary figure that supposedly brought Christianity, as well as art to Blake, to ancient Britain, and Joseph is depicted as a melancholic artist reflective of Blake’s ideals (Tate Britain, 2008). Though Blake described his technique as â€Å"fresco,† it was more of a form of monotype which used oil and tempera paints mixed with chalks, painted onto a flat surface such as a copperplate or piece of millboard, and he simply pulled prints by pressing a sheet of paper against the damp paint, often finishing designs in ink and watercolor to make them each unique (Barker, 2004).Blake’s talent for painting religious icons caught the attention and won the patronage of Thomas Butts, who would become one of Blake’s biggest supporters. Using the Bible as he key source of inspiration, between 1799 and 1805, Blake produced one-hundred thirty-five watercolors and paintings for Butts; Blake used the Bible not merely as a historical, spiritual, and literary guide, but also the fundamental source of all human knowledge, even of the future (Tate Britain, 2008).In the religious paintings Blake produced for Butts, he employed the tempera technique believing it to be r epresentative of the spiritual art of the medieval times that inspired the gothic revival. Using his own symbolism in many of the religious scenes he depicts, Blake incorporates many of the Enlightenment ideals into his scenes. In one depiction of Christ, Blake depicts him as holding a compass, as meant to signify the predomination of reason, and shown in his other works, most famously in his portrayal of Isaac Newton (Tate Britain, 2008).Blake’s gothic style was also incorporated in his highly stylized religious subjects like The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in the Sun, which come directly from the Book of Revelation. Along with his depictions of Chaucer’s pilgrims and Dante’s themes of Catholicism, Blake continued to depict religion in his work until his death. Though William Blake is considered a precursor to the humanism and natural passion of the Romantic era, his religious beliefs dominated much of his work and his life.Unlike many religious arti sts, Blake retained his own unique views of religion, and did not shy away from depicting its flaws and misinterpretations. However, Blake continued to see the goodness of religion, as well as humanity, and did his best to combine the elements of the real world with that of the spiritual world. And, while Blake is still considered more of a poet than for his achievements in painting and etching, the complete picture of the artist is not complete without knowing his accomplishments in each art form, and understanding the importance that religion played in inspiring their creation.REFERENCES Abrams, M. H. (2000). William Blake: 1757-1827. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 7th Ed. Vol. 1. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. Barker, E. E. (2004, October). William Blake (1757–1827). Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved April 22, 2008, from http://www. metmuseum. org/toah/hd/blke/hd_blke. htm Tate Britain. (2008). William Blake. Retri eved April 22, 2008, from http://www. tate. org. uk/britain/exhibitions/blake/blakethemes2. htm