The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

The Marriage of Heaven & Hell

William Blake

&

The Romantic Period

We, as members of the human race, have been endowed with five senses. We have the ability to reason and to be reasonable. We are able to present, receive, and mentally process information logically. The period in history when the importance of these innate functions was stressed is known as the “Age of Reason,” or the Enlightenment. Also important to this age was the use of science, scientific methods, and theories. This period in history lasted until roughly 1774.

The Romantic Period followed period of Enlightenment. This age was the exact opposite of the Enlightenment. Tremendous importance was placed on the imagination. The authors, poets, and artists of this time vehemently disputed the theories of the Age of Reason. One of the ‘revolutionaries’ of this time was William Blake. Blake is the author of many poems and letters and is one of the most famous writers of this age. I have chosen one of Blake’s poems to analyze in respect to the age of Enlightenment and the Age of Reason. I intend to show in the following pages that, Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven & Hell, does indeed conform to the characteristics