A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man

Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man

Symbolism

“He heard a mad nun screeching in the nuns’ madhouse behind the wall. 

–Jesus! O Jesus! Jesus!” 

The lunatic asylum that Stephen refers to as the “nun’s madhouse” was run by nuns, they were not necessarily the patients. However, Stephen still says that is was the nun’s screeching that he hear as he walked down the road. 

James Joyce uses the insane nun as a symbol for Stephen’s growth. Throughout the novel it was the internal struggle he faced between desires and his religion. Stephen was in a constant fear of hell and sin. These wild thoughts and extremities came very close to driving him insane. He leaped from one extreme to the other. All his life his path had been chosen for him and set through religion, even to the point of his parents wanting him to become a priest. 

The scene in which this symbol is presented can be considered part of the culmination of Stephen’s struggles. Stephen walks along the road to his lecture, after showing his parents defiance. Walking down the road can also be seen as walking down his own path. He has finally discovered his individuality and what he would like to do with his life. 

He hears the screeching nun behind the wall. The nun is symbolic of Stephen making the right decision in not devoting his life to the church. A nun, a woman who devotes their entire life to the church, screams from within the walls of a lunatic asylum. 

“Look here, Cranly, he said. You have asked me what I would do and what I would not do. I will tell you what I will do and what I will not do. I will not serve that in which I no longer believe, whether it call itself my home, my fatherland, or my church: and I will try to express myself in some mode of life or art as freely as I can and as wholly as I can, using for my defence the only arms I allow myself to use-- silence, exile, and cunning.”

Cranly is Stephen’s best friend at the University. Stephen uses him as a way to confess and share his thoughts. Originally Cranly had been a source of support for Stephen, until his advice begins to change. Cranly suggests that Stephen actually follow the life his parents want him to lead and stay in touch with his religion. 

This is the point when Stephen clearly defines his plan for Cranly. Stephen puts his goals and ideas out into the open with confidence in knowing the opinions of others are not going to persuade him into thinking his is foolish or lazy. He first says that he will, “not serve that which I no longer believe.” He gives three examples of things he no longer believes in, “my home, my fatherland, or my church.” First, by saying he know longer believes in his home means he no longer is in touch with his parents. Stephen has a very different and more distant relationship with his mother, and basically no relationship at all with his father other than negative interactions. Second, is his fatherland or society. Stephen has declared that he will no longer be pressured and feel sadness in his ability to be, “normal.” He knows he has reached a higher level of thinking. Third, he no longer believes in his church and what it tries to install within him. Stephen has discovered his own values, and picks and chooses what he wants to believe in. This is exemplified in his responses to other questions posed by Cranly regarding sins. 

Stephen also establishes to Cranly that he plans to express himself through some form of art. He wants to do this as, “Freely and wholly as possible.” This is a contrasting opinion and sign of individuality from the conformity presented to him through school and his family. 

Lastly, Stephen presents a philosophy on how he plans to fact the troubles of his future. He states that he plans to use, “silence, exile, and cunning.” This is a result of all of the experiences he had to deal with in his childhood and adolescence. He has finally come to the conclusion that his mind is above those that wish to oppress his future.  

Poem #205 The Tiger (Page 274-5)

Fearful Symmetry

Symbolism: 

The prominent devise used in “The Tiger” is symbolism. The main symbol, not surprisingly, is the subject of the poem: the tiger. The tiger represents all the elements of our world that cause violence and fear. This is conveyed by lines such as, “frame thy fearful symmetry?” 

The overall idea of the poem is questioning what God, what being, would create such a beast like the tiger. Really meaning who would create the violence and terrors of the world. The tiger is meant to represent that all the individual aspects of the world that are majestic and powerful in creation but then are not peaceful and kind. 

Blake then links his other poem, “The Lamb,” back into this poem by using the lamb as a symbol. He compares the tiger to the lamb to signify the differences between the peace and violence in the world. The poet questions whether the same God that made the lamb, a peaceful and timid creature, could have also made the fierce and violent tiger. 

Metaphor: 

William Blake uses metaphors to explain the creation of the tiger. He explains the creation as if God was a blacksmith. He uses questions such as, “What the hammer? What the chain?” and “What the anvil?” These are all tools of a blacksmith used to create different objects. He also compares it to a blacksmith because the job of a blacksmith involves using fire to melt and transform. Fire can be destruction and birth both at the same time which is similar to the theme of the poem which involves the beauty of creation as well as the violence of that which is created. 

Like the blacksmith pulls what he has created from a burning furnace, the poet wonders why when God saw the creation of the vicious tiger coming to life he continued to make it and allowed it to live knowing it would be a violent creature. This is all symbolic of how God allows free will in the world and thus evil and violence sometimes occur.

Reaction:

One of the reasons I chose the poems “ The Lamb” and “The Tiger” is because they were written to be read together. They are the two perspectives in which one can look at God. I found Tiger to be especially beautiful and fascinating. The metaphoric connection between the creation of the earth and the blacksmith was powerful and beautiful. Despite the fact that the poem was about the evils of the world, it gave still a feeling of deep equality and a sense of one’s origins. 

The poem was also relatable because it took one of the main reasons people chose not to believe in God and simplified it. I also was impressed by the diction in this poem. Especially when he describes the tiger, such as “fearful symmetry,” or “sinews of thy heart,” they create such powerful images of the Tiger and its creation. 

Poem #204. The Lamb (Page 274)

The Good Shepherd 

Repetition:

In the poem “The Lamb”, William Blake uses repetition to create a rhythm and mood for the poem. He also uses repetition to stress the importance of certain lines and their symbolism. The poem contains repetition of, “Little Lamb,” as the poet addresses the small animal with questions and statements about its origin. The questions and thoughts themselves are also repeated in the poem. 

In the first stanza, “Little lamb who made thee?” is the first line of the poem and repeated again at the end of the stanza. This question is stressed because it forms the basis for the general theme of the poem which is creation. The question is much broader than a question of literal birth; it is a question of faith. The question used the word “made” to reference the Christian belief about the creation of earth. It is written both at the beginning and end, because in the middle of the stanza there are questions of where each of the lambs characteristics came from. The repetition of the question further installs the power and beauty of the creation of the lamb. 

The next stanza begins with the line, “Little Lamb, I’ll tell thee,” this line is repeated again as the second line of that stanza. This line forms the introduction for the answer to all the questions posed in the prior stanza. This line is repeated to emphasize the importance of the answer to come. It represents a priest or preacher about to teach the word of God. In this case the little lamb is a symbol for the people of the world, since in the bible it is said that we are the lambs and God or Christ is our shepherd. In the stanza the speaker explains that Christ calls himself a lamb as well and relates people to the Lord. 

The last line of the poem is repeated twice in a row as well, “Little Lamb, God bless thee.” This line is repeated as if it was the end of a prayer and to bring the entire theme of the poem full circle. It is determined in this stanza that the voice of the poem is indeed that of a child. Therefore, the child is asking God to bless the lamb. This also brings back the idea of God as a shepherd and the flock as the people of the world. The young boy asks the shepherd to look over his flock. The statement is larger than just a little lamb, it is in reference to all things young, innocent, and beautiful in the world. 

The over all repetition of, “Little Lamb,” is the poets way of continually referencing a symbol as well as creating a rhythm. The little lamb is a symbol for all the beauty and innocents that God created in the world. The poem is written to emphasize the miraculous power of God. The repetition also gives the poem a childlike sound, a very song-like format. This, once again, ties in with the innocents of the subject and the voice of the poem which is a child. 

End Rhymes:

William Blake uses end rhymes in his poem “The Lamb” to create a voice and further develop the theme. The end rhymes give the poem a song like feel along with the repeated lines. The poem develops a sweetness in its rhythm that compliments both the voice and subject. The poem focusses on innocents and beauty. The voice of the poem is a child’s voice. The end rhymes give the poem more of a youthful sound because rhyming is common in children’s rhymes and songs. Primarily, the rhymes portray the poem as a children’s prayer. One that would be taught in Sunday school or something similar. This further ties into the second stanza where the little lamb is being taught about who made him, and that the Lord is too a lamb. 

The end rhymes also focus on words that have positive denotations as well as connotations. Words such as delight and bright, voice and rejoice, and mild and child all give a joyful and light feel to the poem. This further installs the theme of the beauty of the world that God created. 

Reaction: 

William Blake created the embodiment of the positive and innocent aspects of religion. Immediately, one feels the soft and pleasant emotions that caress one’s thought process. The rhythm of the poem makes it a pleasure to read, especially out loud. Coming from a family of the Christian faith I found the poem extremely relatable as well as enjoyable. The way that Blake portrays faith is beautiful. He captures the idea that we have so much in the world to wonder over, and appreciate. Though the idea of the Lord as a lamb, and the people of the world as lambs is very common, Blake does it in a way that is refreshingly graceful and simple. The lines, “I a child and thou a lamb, we are called by his name.” Gives a sense of equality to all of the blessings in the world, and all of the things God created. The child and lamb are one in the same.