The Divine Image
Introduction to Poet and Poem The English poet William Blake is the author of the poem, “The Divine Image”. It is from his book “Songs of Innocence” which was published in 1789. Later, a combined version of his two books, “Songs of Innocence” and “Songs of Experience” came out with the name “Songs of Innocence and Experience”. That joint collection of 1794 now has this poem. As the name suggests, The Divine Image, is the image of an ideal world, in which ideal human beings live. According to Blake’s beliefs of Christianity, a human has to have the four virtues of Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love to be ideal. This type of human being will be connected to God and will find comfort and support in Him. This world and its humans will be full of joy and gratefulness and will enjoy equality. The name of the poem also refers to the point that God’s image is Divine and perfect, so the creation that he created can get closer to Him through taking up virtues that God has, like treating everyone ...