The Exclusion of God
When reading the two versions of William Blake’s poem “The Divine Image,” found in his collections Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, the differences present themselves immediately. Just observing the incongruence of lengths reveals that these works vary greatly.
One reason for the shorter length of the Experience version of “The Divine Image” lies in Blake’s omission of talk about God, or any hopeful or positive force. In Innocence, Blake spends entire stanzas discussing the relationship between God and man, and of the prayer to “Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace” (16).
In Experience, one must also notice that the word “human” is capitalized every time it appears. Perhaps these differences point to a loss of God and hope in those who have lived in the world and experienced its harsh realities. Man’s industrialization and self-importance have led to an existence in which he perceives himself as a God-like figure.
From Innocent Child to Man as Machine
In the first version of the poem, man is a “child and care” for God. Man’s innocence leads him to pray when he is afraid and express gratitude for blessings. A similar sentiment appears in the poem “The Chimney Sweeper,” also found in Innocence. In it, Tom Dacre believes that doing his duty in life will lead to happiness in the afterlife. There is, however, an indication that such naïveté serves little purpose but to placate those living in horrible conditions. Following in that vein of cynicism, the later “Image” does not portray man as such an unsullied and innocuous creature at all. He has, instead, taken on mechanical characteristics: his dress is iron, his form a forge, his face a furnace, and his heart a gorge. Blake’s position as a Romantic in a world of Enlightenment and industrialization might have led to such a bitter discourse. The manifestation of man as machine illustrates a fear that many possessed about the “great strides” that humanity was making.
The Clod and the Pebble
The two versions of “The Divine Image” remind the reader of another poem of Blake’s, this one found in Songs of Experience: “The Clod and the Pebble.” One feels as if the two variations are an extension of the conversation between the optimistic Clod and the angry Pebble. The Clod presents the view found in Songs of Innocence, while the Pebble presents a theme of negative forces in the world with that exists throughout Songs of Experience. The Clod believes in the goodness of love and the ability to find happiness. Such a belief surely extends to religious matters, and there is little question that the Clod subscribes to the tenets of Mercy, Pity, and Peace, too. The Pebble, however, with its emphasis on the selfish nature of love, would probably concur with the image of Man as Machine.
The Power of Innocence
Discussion has been raised about the depictions of the pure characters, Tom Dacre and the Clod, as simpletons, while individuals like the Pebble reflect a more realistic view of the world. When looking at the two versions of “The Divine Image,” it might seem that Blake makes a more convincing argument in Songs of Experience. But would Blake, as a Romantic, ever truly give up hope for a more positive humanity, where people respect each other? Surely humans can resist the machination of life as long as some believe in the power of forces like Love and Pity, Mercy and Peace. The harsh and frightening views in the later poem exist to show the reader the flaws in humanity, in the hopes that, once realized, they can be changed.
