Literary Technique: Allusion
Poem Example:
To the Muses
By William Blake
Whether on Ida's shady brow,
Or in the chambers of the East,
The chambers of the sun, that now
From ancient melody have ceas'd;
Whether in Heav'n ye wander fair,
Or the green corners of the earth,
Or the blue regions of the air,
Where the melodious winds have birth;
Whether on crystal rocks ye rove,
Beneath the bosom of the sea
Wand'ring in many a coral grove,
Fair Nine, forsaking Poetry!
How have you left the ancient love
That bards of old enjoy'd in you!
The languid strings do scarcely move!
The sound is forc'd, the notes are few!
Biographical Information: Blake himself believed that his writings were of national importance and that they could be understood by a majority of men. Far from being an isolated mystic, Blake lived and worked in the teeming metropolis of London at a time of great social and political change that profoundly influenced his writing. After the peace established in 1762, the British Empire seemed secure, but the storm wave begun with the American Revolution in 1775 and the French Revolution in 1789 changed forever the way men looked at their relationship to the state and to the established church. Poet, painter, and engraver, Blake worked to bring about a change both in the social order and in the minds of men.
Explanation of Technique: An allusion is an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference. In this poem's first line, William Blake makes an allusion to Ida, or Mount Ida. Mount Ida was near to Homer's Troy, and is a reference to the Greek classics. One element of the classics were the Nine Muses, the source of inspiration for Greek artists and musicians.
Interpretation of Poem: Throughout the poem, Blake wonders where the Muses have gone and where they have hidden. The inspiration that the 'bards of old' enjoyed has vanished. The art is forced and bland, the strings of the instruments hardly move. Blake longs for how art used to be, but the Muses have left them. Despite how much poetry there is, he scoffs at the idea that the poetry is better than before. The poem could also be a sign of Blake's desperation for inspiration, and that he is low on fine ideas.
Visual Representation:
Explanation of Visual: This is an image of the Nine Muses of Greece. They are the goddesses of art and music, and inspired artists to create and musicians to play. I selected this image because, in the poem, Blake makes an allusion to the Nine Muses. His poem centers around the idea that the Muses have abandoned the artists of England.
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