Giffordian Post-pastoral and Loss of Innocence in William Blake’s the Little Boy Lost and the Little Boy Found

Mohsen Zohrab Baigy; Bahman Zarrinjooee

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12

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Giffordian Post-pastoral and Loss of Innocence in William Blake’s the Little Boy Lost and the Little Boy Found

Mohsen Zohrab Baigy, Bahman Zarrinjooee

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 2, Issue 2)

Received: 19 January 2014 Accepted: Published: 28 February 2014

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Abstract

This article aims to explore loss of innocence in William Blake’s the Little Boy Lost and the Little Boy Found, from Songs of Innocence (1789) based on Gifordian Post-pastoral theory through interpreting three fundamental features. The analysis of these poems from this perspective considers the exploitation of the planet similar to the exploitation of minorities, awareness of nature as culture and of culture as nature, and the convergence of consciousness and conscience. Regarding Gifordian Post-pastoral attitudes, one might find how Blake dealt with the notions such as Innocence and Industrialization, which have been interlinked, in his poems. Blake represents a situation in which the state of innocent children is thoughtfully portrayed against the economic and political dominance of British capitalism. Having an eye on the viewpoints of Raymond Williams, (1921-1988), this paper clarifies the destructive function of capitalism which subjugates, exploits and victimizes the children in an unbearable working condition as cheap labours. Moreover, this paper sheds more light on Blake’s poems as the implication of New Jerusalem to that quality of unidealised awe, and shows how Blake argues that the pure nature of all children is supposed to be admired as equal to culture. Finally, this article deals with the spiritual Heaven as compensation for the alienation of innocent children throughout the world of materiality.

Published in	International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 2, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12
Page(s)	35-39
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Post-pastoral, Innocence, Industrialization, Exploitation, Capitalism, New Jerusalem, Heaven

References

[1]	Blake, William. Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. Ed. Philip Smith. Dover Publications; 1992.
[2]	Gifford, Terry. Pastoral. New York: Routledge, 1999.
[3]	Marx, Leo. The Machine in the Garden: Technology and the Pastoral Ideal in America. Oxford: Oxford Up, 1964.
[4]	Williams Raymond. The Country and the City. New York: Oxford UP, 1973.
[5]	Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society. New York: Oxford UP, 1976.
[6]	"Styal Mill." Year 10 Coursework Booklet. Fairfield High. 12 Sep 2013

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Mohsen Zohrab Baigy, Bahman Zarrinjooee. (2014). Giffordian Post-pastoral and Loss of Innocence in William Blake’s the Little Boy Lost and the Little Boy Found. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 2(2), 35-39. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12

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Mohsen Zohrab Baigy; Bahman Zarrinjooee. Giffordian Post-pastoral and Loss of Innocence in William Blake’s the Little Boy Lost and the Little Boy Found. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2014, 2(2), 35-39. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12

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AMA Style

Mohsen Zohrab Baigy, Bahman Zarrinjooee. Giffordian Post-pastoral and Loss of Innocence in William Blake’s the Little Boy Lost and the Little Boy Found. Int J Lit Arts. 2014;2(2):35-39. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12,
  author = {Mohsen Zohrab Baigy and Bahman Zarrinjooee},
  title = {Giffordian Post-pastoral and Loss of Innocence in William Blake’s the Little Boy Lost and the Little Boy Found},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {2},
  number = {2},
  pages = {35-39},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20140202.12},
  abstract = {This article aims to explore loss of innocence in William Blake’s the Little Boy Lost and the Little Boy Found, from Songs of Innocence (1789) based on Gifordian Post-pastoral theory through interpreting three fundamental features. The analysis of these poems from this perspective considers the exploitation of the planet similar to the exploitation of minorities, awareness of nature as culture and of culture as nature, and the convergence of consciousness and conscience. Regarding Gifordian Post-pastoral attitudes, one might find how Blake dealt with the notions such as Innocence and Industrialization, which have been interlinked, in his poems. Blake represents a situation in which the state of innocent children is thoughtfully portrayed against the economic and political dominance of British capitalism. Having an eye on the viewpoints of Raymond Williams, (1921-1988), this paper clarifies the destructive function of capitalism which subjugates, exploits and victimizes the children in an unbearable working condition as cheap labours. Moreover, this paper sheds more light on Blake’s poems as the implication of New Jerusalem to that quality of unidealised awe, and shows how Blake argues that the pure nature of all children is supposed to be admired as equal to culture. Finally, this article deals with the spiritual Heaven as compensation for the alienation of innocent children throughout the world of materiality.},
 year = {2014}
}

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JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
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AB  - This article aims to explore loss of innocence in William Blake’s the Little Boy Lost and the Little Boy Found, from Songs of Innocence (1789) based on Gifordian Post-pastoral theory through interpreting three fundamental features. The analysis of these poems from this perspective considers the exploitation of the planet similar to the exploitation of minorities, awareness of nature as culture and of culture as nature, and the convergence of consciousness and conscience. Regarding Gifordian Post-pastoral attitudes, one might find how Blake dealt with the notions such as Innocence and Industrialization, which have been interlinked, in his poems. Blake represents a situation in which the state of innocent children is thoughtfully portrayed against the economic and political dominance of British capitalism. Having an eye on the viewpoints of Raymond Williams, (1921-1988), this paper clarifies the destructive function of capitalism which subjugates, exploits and victimizes the children in an unbearable working condition as cheap labours. Moreover, this paper sheds more light on Blake’s poems as the implication of New Jerusalem to that quality of unidealised awe, and shows how Blake argues that the pure nature of all children is supposed to be admired as equal to culture. Finally, this article deals with the spiritual Heaven as compensation for the alienation of innocent children throughout the world of materiality.
VL  - 2
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Author Information

Mohsen Zohrab Baigy

M.A. Student of English Language and Literature, Islamic Azad University, Boroujerd Branch, Iran
Bahman Zarrinjooee

Assistant Professor of English Language and Literature, Islamic Azad University, Boroujerd Branch, Iran

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APA Style

Mohsen Zohrab Baigy, Bahman Zarrinjooee. (2014). Giffordian Post-pastoral and Loss of Innocence in William Blake’s the Little Boy Lost and the Little Boy Found. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 2(2), 35-39. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12

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ACS Style

Mohsen Zohrab Baigy; Bahman Zarrinjooee. Giffordian Post-pastoral and Loss of Innocence in William Blake’s the Little Boy Lost and the Little Boy Found. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2014, 2(2), 35-39. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12

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AMA Style

Mohsen Zohrab Baigy, Bahman Zarrinjooee. Giffordian Post-pastoral and Loss of Innocence in William Blake’s the Little Boy Lost and the Little Boy Found. Int J Lit Arts. 2014;2(2):35-39. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12,
  author = {Mohsen Zohrab Baigy and Bahman Zarrinjooee},
  title = {Giffordian Post-pastoral and Loss of Innocence in William Blake’s the Little Boy Lost and the Little Boy Found},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {2},
  number = {2},
  pages = {35-39},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20140202.12},
  abstract = {This article aims to explore loss of innocence in William Blake’s the Little Boy Lost and the Little Boy Found, from Songs of Innocence (1789) based on Gifordian Post-pastoral theory through interpreting three fundamental features. The analysis of these poems from this perspective considers the exploitation of the planet similar to the exploitation of minorities, awareness of nature as culture and of culture as nature, and the convergence of consciousness and conscience. Regarding Gifordian Post-pastoral attitudes, one might find how Blake dealt with the notions such as Innocence and Industrialization, which have been interlinked, in his poems. Blake represents a situation in which the state of innocent children is thoughtfully portrayed against the economic and political dominance of British capitalism. Having an eye on the viewpoints of Raymond Williams, (1921-1988), this paper clarifies the destructive function of capitalism which subjugates, exploits and victimizes the children in an unbearable working condition as cheap labours. Moreover, this paper sheds more light on Blake’s poems as the implication of New Jerusalem to that quality of unidealised awe, and shows how Blake argues that the pure nature of all children is supposed to be admired as equal to culture. Finally, this article deals with the spiritual Heaven as compensation for the alienation of innocent children throughout the world of materiality.},
 year = {2014}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Giffordian Post-pastoral and Loss of Innocence in William Blake’s the Little Boy Lost and the Little Boy Found
AU  - Mohsen Zohrab Baigy
AU  - Bahman Zarrinjooee
Y1  - 2014/02/28
PY  - 2014
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 35
EP  - 39
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.12
AB  - This article aims to explore loss of innocence in William Blake’s the Little Boy Lost and the Little Boy Found, from Songs of Innocence (1789) based on Gifordian Post-pastoral theory through interpreting three fundamental features. The analysis of these poems from this perspective considers the exploitation of the planet similar to the exploitation of minorities, awareness of nature as culture and of culture as nature, and the convergence of consciousness and conscience. Regarding Gifordian Post-pastoral attitudes, one might find how Blake dealt with the notions such as Innocence and Industrialization, which have been interlinked, in his poems. Blake represents a situation in which the state of innocent children is thoughtfully portrayed against the economic and political dominance of British capitalism. Having an eye on the viewpoints of Raymond Williams, (1921-1988), this paper clarifies the destructive function of capitalism which subjugates, exploits and victimizes the children in an unbearable working condition as cheap labours. Moreover, this paper sheds more light on Blake’s poems as the implication of New Jerusalem to that quality of unidealised awe, and shows how Blake argues that the pure nature of all children is supposed to be admired as equal to culture. Finally, this article deals with the spiritual Heaven as compensation for the alienation of innocent children throughout the world of materiality.
VL  - 2
IS  - 2
ER  -

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