William Blake
(Riferimenti pagine: D
28-29-30-31-32-33-36-37)
William Blake(1757-1827) was born in London
He was a political freethinker and is still considered a “visionary”, and
a round artist, because he was a poet and even a drawer and a painter.
He rejected the classical conventions and started a new way of writing
poems. Blake used a simple speech and
knew the importance that connects sound with meaning. His symbolic imagery is
often very simple: lambs, children, flowers, other animals...
The main theme of Blake’s poetry is the opposition of the contraries.
According to the poet, human life is characterised by a series of complementary
opposites: Hell and Heaven, Good and Evil, love and hate, childhood and
adulthood, reason and imagination, male and female, attraction and repulsion,
and so on.. Imagination is the way through which men could see more beyond the
reality.
William Blake was interested on social and political problems of his
time and on the evil consequences of the economic development.
He wrote two collections of lyrical verses, “Songs of Innocence” and
then “Songs of Experience”. They are linked together.
“The
Chimney Sweeper”
When my mother died I was very
young,
And my father sold me while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!
So your chimneys I sweep, and in soot I sleep.
There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head,
That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved: so I said,
"Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare,
You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."
And so he was quiet; and that very night,
As Tom was a-sleeping, he had such a sight, -
That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack,
Were all of them locked up in coffins of black.
And by came an angel who had a bright key,
And he opened the coffins and set them all free;
Then down a green plain leaping, laughing, they run,
And wash in a river, and shine in the sun.
Then naked and white, all their bags left behind,
They rise upon clouds and sport in the wind;
And the angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,
He'd have God for his father, and never want joy.
And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark,
And got with our bags and our brushes to work.
Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm;
So if all do their duty they need not fear harm.
And my father sold me while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!
So your chimneys I sweep, and in soot I sleep.
There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head,
That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved: so I said,
"Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare,
You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."
And so he was quiet; and that very night,
As Tom was a-sleeping, he had such a sight, -
That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack,
Were all of them locked up in coffins of black.
And by came an angel who had a bright key,
And he opened the coffins and set them all free;
Then down a green plain leaping, laughing, they run,
And wash in a river, and shine in the sun.
Then naked and white, all their bags left behind,
They rise upon clouds and sport in the wind;
And the angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,
He'd have God for his father, and never want joy.
And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark,
And got with our bags and our brushes to work.
Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm;
So if all do their duty they need not fear harm.
Traduzione:
|
Quando mia madre morì ero molto giovane, e mio padre mi vendette quando ancora la mia lingua poteva a malapena piangere "weep!'weep!'weep!" Così spazzo i tuoi camini e dormo nella fuliggine. C'era il piccolo Tom Dacre, che piangeva quando la sua testa, che era ricciuta come il dorso di un agnello, fu rasata. Così io dissi "Zitto Tom! Non ti preoccupare, perché quando la tua testa sarà rasata ti renderai conto che la fuliggine non potrà rovinare i tuoi capelli chiari". Così era quieto e proprio quella notte, appena Tom si addormentò, ebbe una tale visione! Mille spazzacamini, Dick, Joe, Ned e Jack, erano tutti chiusi nelle bare nere. |
E lì vicino arrivò un Angelo con una chiave
luminosa, ed aprì le bare e liberò tutti, e poi giù da un pendio verde e pianeggiante essi correvano ridendo, e si lavavano al fiume splendevano al sole. Poi nudi e bianchi, abbandonate tutte le loro borse, si sollevano sopra le nuvole e giocano nel vento, e l'Angelo disse a Tom: "Se tu sarai un buon ragazzino, avrai Dio per padre e sarai sempre contento". E così Tom si svegliò; e noi ci alzammo al buio, e prendemmo le nostre borse e spazzole per lavorare: sebbene la mattina fosse fresca Tom era felice e caldo; Così se tutti compiono il proprio dovere non avran nulla da temere. |
Comment:
The poem was written in 1789 and it’s part of the first collection,
“Songs of Innocence”.
It talks about one of the social problems in Blake’s time. The chimney
sweepers were little children used for climbing up and cleaning the dark
chimneys in the cities. They were orphans, or poor little children sold by
their parents. These children were exploited, they had very bad living conditions,
they had to sleep in the dirt, they hardly reached adulthood.
It opens with the first person singular, it’s divided in six quatrains.
In the second stanza, the poet introduces another character, called Tom Dacre, a
little boy. He’s sad because he’s been shaved and he cries for his fair curled
hair. In the third stanza there is the description of Tom’s dream: in a cold
dark night, he and his friends were locked up in black coffins, when an angel
saved them . They were free and started to run over a green plain, in a sunny
place, completely different from their daily reality. When Tom awakes, he feels
happy and he goes to work with a smile on his face, thinking about his “duty”:
if he continues with his hard work, he won’t “fear the harm”, so, he won’t be
afraid of Evil.
“The
Chimney Sweeper”(2)
A little black thing among the snow: Una piccolo
creatura scura in mezzo alla neve che
Crying weep, weep, in notes of woe! Piange “weep,weep” con note di dolore!
Where are thy father & mother? say? “Dimmi,dove sono tuo padre e tua madre?”
They are both gone up to the church to pray. “Sono andati tutti e due in chiesa a pregare.”
Because I was happy upon the heath, Siccome ero felice (quando vivevo) nella brughiera,
And smil'd among the winters snow: e sorridevo nella neve d’inverno,
They clothed me in the clothes of death, Loro mi fecero indossare I vestiti della morte(scuri)
And taught me to sing the notes of woe. E mi insegnarono a cantare le note di dolore.
And because I am happy & dance & sing, E siccome ora io sono contento,danzo e ballo
They think they have done me no injury: sono convinti di non avermi recato alcun danno,
And are gone to praise God & his Priest & King, e sono andati a pregare Dio,il suo prete e il Re,
Who make up a heaven of our misery. I quali crearono un paradiso per la nostra tristezza.
Crying weep, weep, in notes of woe! Piange “weep,weep” con note di dolore!
Where are thy father & mother? say? “Dimmi,dove sono tuo padre e tua madre?”
They are both gone up to the church to pray. “Sono andati tutti e due in chiesa a pregare.”
Because I was happy upon the heath, Siccome ero felice (quando vivevo) nella brughiera,
And smil'd among the winters snow: e sorridevo nella neve d’inverno,
They clothed me in the clothes of death, Loro mi fecero indossare I vestiti della morte(scuri)
And taught me to sing the notes of woe. E mi insegnarono a cantare le note di dolore.
And because I am happy & dance & sing, E siccome ora io sono contento,danzo e ballo
They think they have done me no injury: sono convinti di non avermi recato alcun danno,
And are gone to praise God & his Priest & King, e sono andati a pregare Dio,il suo prete e il Re,
Who make up a heaven of our misery. I quali crearono un paradiso per la nostra tristezza.
Comment:
The collection “Songs of Experience” was
written five years later, in 1794. This sequence of poems represents two
different-complementar situations, two levels of life: first, the childhood, the
age of innocence and purity. Then the experience, the adulthood. The world is
like “two contrary states of the human soul”. The theme is the same of the
previous poem. The setting is different: in a snowy day, a little child, crying
and singing, left alone by his parents ,that are praying in the church. They
don’t care and continue praying God, “the Priest”(the Church in general) and
the King (the government),while he’s suffering outside, among the snow, crying
“in the notes of woe”. Misery is the key word in the whole poem. The child
seems to be conscious of his condition, and he’s desperate.
“The
lamb”
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Gave thee life & bid thee feed.
By the stream & o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing wooly bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice:
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Little Lamb I'll tell thee,
Little Lamb I'll tell thee:
He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb:
He is meek & he is mild,
He became a little child:
I a child & thou a lamb,
We are called by his name.
Little Lamb God bless thee.
Little Lamb God bless thee.
Dost thou know who made thee
Gave thee life & bid thee feed.
By the stream & o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing wooly bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice:
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Little Lamb I'll tell thee,
Little Lamb I'll tell thee:
He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb:
He is meek & he is mild,
He became a little child:
I a child & thou a lamb,
We are called by his name.
Little Lamb God bless thee.
Little Lamb God bless thee.
Traduzione:
Piccolo
Agnello, chi ti ha creato?
Sai chi ti ha creato?
Ti ha dato la vita ed insegnato a nutrirti,
grazie al ruscello ed il prato,
ti ha dato la veste della gioia,
la più dolce veste lanosa e luminosa,
ti ha dato una voce così tenera
che ha fatto gioire tutte le valli?
Piccolo Agnello, chi ti ha creato,
Sai chi ti ha creato?
Sai chi ti ha creato?
Ti ha dato la vita ed insegnato a nutrirti,
grazie al ruscello ed il prato,
ti ha dato la veste della gioia,
la più dolce veste lanosa e luminosa,
ti ha dato una voce così tenera
che ha fatto gioire tutte le valli?
Piccolo Agnello, chi ti ha creato,
Sai chi ti ha creato?
Piccolo
Agnello, te lo dirò
piccolo Agnello, te lo dirò.
E' chiamato con il tuo nome
Perchè egli chiama se stesso un Agnello
Egli è mite ed egli è lieve
Egli divenne un piccolo bambino
Io un bambino, tu un Agnello,
noi siamo chiamati con il suo nome.
Piccolo Agnello, Dio ti benedica!
piccolo Agnello, te lo dirò.
E' chiamato con il tuo nome
Perchè egli chiama se stesso un Agnello
Egli è mite ed egli è lieve
Egli divenne un piccolo bambino
Io un bambino, tu un Agnello,
noi siamo chiamati con il suo nome.
Piccolo Agnello, Dio ti benedica!
Comment:
It’s part of “Songs of Innocence”, made of two big stanzas.
In the first one, the poet asks to the lamb, the symbol of innocence and
simplemindedness: “Do you know who made you?”. He speaks about all his
characteristics, and then the poet answers himself “Little lamb, I’ll tell
you”: in this parts are mentioned Jesus Christ and God, both illustrated with
the symbol of the lamb. Then, it’s possible to find an identification between
the poet and the imagine of a child. During the Romantic age, children were
very important: they were considered closer to Nature and to God, they were
sincere, truthful, pure. Growing up meant alienate the purest idea of God.
“The Tyger”
Tyger ! Tyger ! Burning bright
In the forest of the night ,
Nella foresta della
notte,
What immortal hand or eye
Che immortale mano o
occhio
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
Poté forgiare la tua paurosa simmetria?
In what distant deeps or skies
In
che distanti profondità (mari) o cieli
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
Bruciava i l fuoco dei tuoi occhi?
On what wings dare he aspire?
Su quali ali osò egli (=creatore)aspirare?
What the hand dare
seize the fire?
Che mano osò afferrare i l fuoco?
And what shoulders, and what art
E che spalle, e che artificio
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
Riuscì
a intrecciare le fibre del tuo cuore?
And, when thy heart began to beat ,
E, quando i l tuo cuore incominciò a battere,
What dread hand? and what dread feet?
Che terribile mano? e che terribili piedi?
What the hammer? what the chain?
Che martello? che catena?
In what furnace was thy brain?
In che fornace fu i l tuo cervello?
What the anvil? what the dread grasp
Che incudine?che terribile
morsa
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
Osò i suoi mortali terrori
del tuo cervello afferrare?
What the hammer? what the chain?
Che martello? che catena?
In what furnace was thy brain?
In che fornace fu i l tuo
cervello?
What the anvil? what the dread grasp
Che
incudine? che terribile morsa
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
Osò i
suoi(del tuo cervello)mortali terrori afferrare?
When the stars threw down their spears,
Quando le stelle buttarono giù le loro
lance,
And watered heaven with their tears,
Ed annaffiarono
il cielo con le loro lacrime,
Did he smile his work to see?
Sorrise
al vedere il suo lavoro?
Did he who made the lamb make thee?
Colui che fece l ’agnello
fece anche te?
Tyger ! Tyger ! burning bright
In the forest of the night ,
Nel la foresta del la notte,
What immortal hand or eye
Che immortale
mano o occhio
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
Osò forgiare la tua paurosa simmetria?
Traduzione:
Normally we write and say
“tiger” but the title is in Blake’s original spelling, a sort of archaism. It’s
in the second Blake’s collection, in “Songs of Experience” and it’s linked to
“The Lamb”.
Its made of six quatrains.
This poem has an original
rhythm and a simple but powerful imagery.
The Tiger is the symbol of
something “sublime”: beautiful, amazing,
but frightening and dangerous, at the same time.
The question is the same of
the previous poem: “who had enough power to create you, Tiger?”.
It’s necessary a very powerful
blacksmith(creator) to give life to this beautiful animal.
She has a fearful symmetry, that
attracts and, at the same time, frightens.
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