The Role of Nature and Post-Pastoral Signs in William Blake’s “Night” and “A Little Girl Lost”

Mohsen Zohrab Baigy; Bahman Zarrinjooee

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.14

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The Role of Nature and Post-Pastoral Signs in William Blake’s “Night” and “A Little Girl Lost”

Mohsen Zohrab Baigy, Bahman Zarrinjooee

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

Received: 7 March 2014 Accepted: Published: 30 March 2014

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Abstract

This study traces the role of nature in William Blake’s “Night” and “A Little Girl Lost” through the application of three out of six crucial features of Gifford’s Post-pastoral principles. Within the framework of the Eco-critical paradigm, which is still very much a work in progress, the analysis of these poems from this perspective puts emphasis on the sense of sorrow towards the natural world, the exploitation of the planet, here the Earth, which is of the same as the oppression and exploitation of women and minorities, and the recognition of the inner world and the workings of the outer world; i.e., man’s inner nature can be understood in relation to his external nature. Moreover, from Post-pastoral perspective, this paper shows the oppressive treatments of female being and identity which is one of the consequences of the industrialism as well as the restricted norms of British Evangelical Church. Women are among those who are suppressed and deprived from the privileges of life except prostitution. Finally, this study sheds more light on Blake’s implication of Jerusalem in relation to man’s continuous desire to reach a compromise between the inner and outer natures

Published in	International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 2, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.14
Page(s)	44-48
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

Nature, Post-Pastoral, Exploitation of Women, Oppression, Evangelical Church, Prostitution

References

[1]	Blake, William. Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. Ed. Philip Smith. New York: Dover Publications, 1992.
[2]	Bloom, Harold. Bloom's Major Poets: William Blake. New York: Chelsea House Publications, 2003.
[3]	Davis, Natalie Zemon. History of Women in the West, Volume III: Renaissance and the Enlightenment Paradoxes. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard UP, 1993.
[4]	Engels, Friedrich. The Condition of the Working Class in England. London: Penguin Press, 1987.
[5]	Gifford, Terry. Pastoral. New York: Routledge, 1999.
[6]	-----------. “Judith Wright’s Poetry and the Turn to the Post-Pastoral”. Australian Humanities Review. Vol.48 (2010): 75-86.
[7]	---------. Pastoral, Anti-pastoral and Post-pastoral as Reading Strategies. Ipswich: Salam, 2012.
[8]	Gorham, Deborah. “The ‘Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon’ Re-Examined: Child Prostitution and the Idea of Childhood in Late Victorian England.” Victorian Studies, Vol. 21:3 (1978): 353-379.
[9]	Hudson, Pat. The Industrial Revolution. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1992.
[10]	MacDougall, Kara. Sex and Sexuality in William Blake's Visions of the Daughters of Albion. Google Book Search. Web. 23 Feb 2014.
[11]	Marx, Leo. The Machine in the Garden: Technology and the Pastoral Ideal in America. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1964.
[12]	Wellman, Sara. “Post-Pastoral Possibilities: Nature and the Literary Imaginary in Early Modern France”. Google Book Search. Web. 23 Feb 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11299/120062
[13]	Williams Raymond. The Country and the City. New York: Oxford UP, 1973.
[14]	Eldridge, John., and Eldridge, Lizzie. Raymond Williams: Making Connections. London and New York:
[15]	Wilson, Tom. “Introduction to the Post-pastoral in Australian Poetry”. Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language. Vol. 3:1 (2009): 1-17.

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APA Style

Mohsen Zohrab Baigy, Bahman Zarrinjooee. (2014). The Role of Nature and Post-Pastoral Signs in William Blake’s “Night” and “A Little Girl Lost”. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 2(2), 44-48. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.14

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ACS Style

Mohsen Zohrab Baigy; Bahman Zarrinjooee. The Role of Nature and Post-Pastoral Signs in William Blake’s “Night” and “A Little Girl Lost”. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2014, 2(2), 44-48. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.14

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AMA Style

Mohsen Zohrab Baigy, Bahman Zarrinjooee. The Role of Nature and Post-Pastoral Signs in William Blake’s “Night” and “A Little Girl Lost”. Int J Lit Arts. 2014;2(2):44-48. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.14

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.14,
  author = {Mohsen Zohrab Baigy and Bahman Zarrinjooee},
  title = {The Role of Nature and Post-Pastoral Signs in William Blake’s “Night” and “A Little Girl Lost”},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {2},
  number = {2},
  pages = {44-48},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20140202.14},
  abstract = {This study traces the role of nature in William Blake’s “Night” and “A Little Girl Lost” through the application of three out of six crucial features of Gifford’s Post-pastoral principles. Within the framework of the Eco-critical paradigm, which is still very much a work in progress, the analysis of these poems from this perspective puts emphasis on the sense of sorrow towards the natural world, the exploitation of the planet, here the Earth, which is of the same as the oppression and exploitation of women and minorities, and the recognition of the inner world and the workings of the outer world; i.e., man’s inner nature can be understood in relation to his external nature. Moreover, from Post-pastoral perspective, this paper shows the oppressive treatments of female being and identity which is one of the consequences of the industrialism as well as the restricted norms of British Evangelical Church. Women are among those who are suppressed and deprived from the privileges of life except prostitution. Finally, this study sheds more light on Blake’s implication of Jerusalem in relation to man’s continuous desire to reach a compromise between the inner and outer natures},
 year = {2014}
}

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AU  - Mohsen Zohrab Baigy
AU  - Bahman Zarrinjooee
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Author Information

Mohsen Zohrab Baigy

Department of English Language and Literature, College of Humanities, Boroujerd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Boroujerd, Iran
Bahman Zarrinjooee

Department of English Language and Literature, College of Humanities, Boroujerd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Boroujerd, Iran

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Mohsen Zohrab Baigy, Bahman Zarrinjooee. (2014). The Role of Nature and Post-Pastoral Signs in William Blake’s “Night” and “A Little Girl Lost”. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 2(2), 44-48. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.14

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ACS Style

Mohsen Zohrab Baigy; Bahman Zarrinjooee. The Role of Nature and Post-Pastoral Signs in William Blake’s “Night” and “A Little Girl Lost”. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2014, 2(2), 44-48. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.14

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AMA Style

Mohsen Zohrab Baigy, Bahman Zarrinjooee. The Role of Nature and Post-Pastoral Signs in William Blake’s “Night” and “A Little Girl Lost”. Int J Lit Arts. 2014;2(2):44-48. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.14

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.14,
  author = {Mohsen Zohrab Baigy and Bahman Zarrinjooee},
  title = {The Role of Nature and Post-Pastoral Signs in William Blake’s “Night” and “A Little Girl Lost”},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {2},
  number = {2},
  pages = {44-48},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20140202.14},
  abstract = {This study traces the role of nature in William Blake’s “Night” and “A Little Girl Lost” through the application of three out of six crucial features of Gifford’s Post-pastoral principles. Within the framework of the Eco-critical paradigm, which is still very much a work in progress, the analysis of these poems from this perspective puts emphasis on the sense of sorrow towards the natural world, the exploitation of the planet, here the Earth, which is of the same as the oppression and exploitation of women and minorities, and the recognition of the inner world and the workings of the outer world; i.e., man’s inner nature can be understood in relation to his external nature. Moreover, from Post-pastoral perspective, this paper shows the oppressive treatments of female being and identity which is one of the consequences of the industrialism as well as the restricted norms of British Evangelical Church. Women are among those who are suppressed and deprived from the privileges of life except prostitution. Finally, this study sheds more light on Blake’s implication of Jerusalem in relation to man’s continuous desire to reach a compromise between the inner and outer natures},
 year = {2014}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Role of Nature and Post-Pastoral Signs in William Blake’s “Night” and “A Little Girl Lost”
AU  - Mohsen Zohrab Baigy
AU  - Bahman Zarrinjooee
Y1  - 2014/03/30
PY  - 2014
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.14
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.14
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 44
EP  - 48
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20140202.14
AB  - This study traces the role of nature in William Blake’s “Night” and “A Little Girl Lost” through the application of three out of six crucial features of Gifford’s Post-pastoral principles. Within the framework of the Eco-critical paradigm, which is still very much a work in progress, the analysis of these poems from this perspective puts emphasis on the sense of sorrow towards the natural world, the exploitation of the planet, here the Earth, which is of the same as the oppression and exploitation of women and minorities, and the recognition of the inner world and the workings of the outer world; i.e., man’s inner nature can be understood in relation to his external nature. Moreover, from Post-pastoral perspective, this paper shows the oppressive treatments of female being and identity which is one of the consequences of the industrialism as well as the restricted norms of British Evangelical Church. Women are among those who are suppressed and deprived from the privileges of life except prostitution. Finally, this study sheds more light on Blake’s implication of Jerusalem in relation to man’s continuous desire to reach a compromise between the inner and outer natures
VL  - 2
IS  - 2
ER  -

Copy | Download