Thursday, October 17, 2013

Europe A Prophecy Plate 4





Wikipedia Commons
Europe Plate 4

The Text
The shrill winds wake
 Till all the sons of Urizen look out and envy Los:
Sieze all the spirits of life and bind Their warbling joys to our loud strings
 Bind all the nourishing sweets of earth To give us bliss,
that we may drink the sparkling wine of Los 
And let us laugh at war, Despising toil and care,
Because the days and nights of joy, in lucky hours renew.
 Arise O Orc from thy deep den, First born of Enitharmon rise! 
And we will crown thy head with garlands of the ruddy vine; 
For now thou art bound; And I may see thee in the hour of bliss, my eldest born. 
 The horrent Demon rose, surrounded with red stars of fire, 
Whirling about in furious circles round the immortal fiend. 
 Then Enitharmon down descended into his red light, 
And thus her voice rose to her children, the distant heavens reply. 
(continue with Plate 5)
(Erdman 61)

About the Text
Remember that the sons of Urizen represent a reasoned attitude while Los
represents an intuitive attitude.

The shrill winds wake
Blake says the wind has awakened the 'sons of
Urizen' and they envy the intuitive attitude.

sparkling wine of Los 

"Now like a mighty wind they raise to heaven the voice of song"
From Holy Thursday, Songs of Innocence
(Erdman 13)

"Now comes the night of Enitharmons joy!"
Blake wrote more about this at the end of the Song of Los
:
From The Song of Los:
"The Grave shrieks with delight, & shakes
Her hollow womb, & clasps the solid stem:
Her bosom swells with wild desirel
And mild & glandous wine
In rivers rush & shout & dance,
On mountain, dale and plain." (lines 59-63)
(Erdman 69)

About the Image

Texts of these plates are continuous, so Blake is capable of illustrating Plate 3 (or Plate 5) in this Image.

After warbling joys there are moths and butterflies.
After despising war a series of figures going to a topsy turvy human.It is one of the 6 naked children "at sport beneath the solemn moon" (Blake repeated this line in Plate 14).

"Arise O Orc from thy deep den,
First born of Enitharmon rise!
And we will crown thy head with garlands of the ruddy vine;
For now thou art bound;
And I may see thee in the hour of bliss, my eldest born.

The horrent Demon rose, surrounded with red stars of fire,
Whirling about in furious circles round the immortal fiend:
The American Revolution was over; the French Revolution beginning.
Blake wore the red cap of French Patriots until he found them using the guillotine.

At the lower level Enitharmon is stretched out downward; she means to awaken a chained
Orc (Revolution), but she doesn't know what she's doing; the horrors of war do not
awaken a (non existent) conscience.

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