18th century Europe was a real mess. The Seven Years' War ended and the Treaty of Paris was signed, which meant that France had no money, no army and was forced to give up everything it had to Britain. Years later, France continued to fall into debt and citizens began to feel frustrated with the monarchy. The Americans had succeeded in their revolution and there was only a short time left before the ancien régime was overthrown and the French Revolution rapidly transformed all political and social institutions. People wanted change, as Henri Sée, professor at the University of Rennes, explains. Citizens of the 18th century experienced countless wars, kingdoms, and revolutionary social movements. The Romantic Era emerged when people lacked connection, emotion, and clarity. Writers like William Blake and Anna Letitia Barbauld were revolutionary in using these notions to enrich the world. Blake’s “The Tyger” was written in 1794 as part of the Songs of Experience Collection and Anna Barbauld wrote “To a Little Invisible Being who is Expected Soon to Become Visible” in 1825. Although 31 years apart these poems describe similar notions; references to the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror, a connection with nature and the importance of imagination. However, it can be difficult to interpret these poems as such, because they use simple language and are thought to be for children. In contrast, Romantic era writers, notably William Blake and Anna Letitia Barbauld, actually hoped that new generations would think critically in a completely new way. Writers often turned to imagination and nature to parallel the political ideas present at the time. Tied together, imagination, nature and the sublime convey a particular sense of escape to the reader, pushing him towards a form of social clarity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayThe Oxford English Dictionary states that the definition of imagination is the power or capacity to form internal images or ideas of objects and situations not actually present to the senses, including remembered objects and situations. Nature is defined as the physical strength or constitution of a thing, esp. a natural substance. It is important to note that the force of nature can be physical such as in someone's body or in the environment. The two versions of these definitions are seen in “The tiger” and “To a small invisible being…”. For example, let's see the nature of a woman who is about to give birth compared to a creature of nature that everyone fears. Love and fear, two elements on the opposite spectrum of the sublime. Edmund Burke in his essay on “the sublime and the beautiful” published in 1757, defined the sublime as “an emotion characterized chiefly by feelings of awe and fear, and in a lesser degree admiration, respect and reverence”. Burke adds that “sublime emotion means experiencing passions that are painful or delightful, terrible or pleasant, depending on a person's proximity to actual danger. It is triggered by the experience of submission to something greater than oneself, such as nature, the divine, or the institutionalized power of kings, and is associated with awe and “a connection with terror.” Anna Barbauld's text is the perfect example of subliminal wonder, while William Blake's “The Tyger” represents subliminal fear. Subliminal wonder is evident in the theme of a woman who experiences such a strong emotion as she gives birth to her child: Germ of new life, whose powers slowly expand For many moons they await their full perfection, - Haste, pledge preciousof happy love, to go auspiciously brought through the mysterious door of life. Here the mother expresses her deep love for her child. She knows that this child will be perfect, powerful and happy: she is already in love with him. Soon he will experience the sublime. In contrast, Blake goes on to mention notions of the fearful sublime by describing the tiger with deadly claws, "Dare to grasp his mortal terrors!" and the fiery eyes “The fire of your eyes burned.” Even the line “And when your heart began to beat, / What terrible hand? and what scary feet?" implies a presence of internal fear, even as a reader. Whether it is subliminal love or fear, the imagination, the natural and the sublime work cohesively. The sublime acts as a form of escapism because can make us feel tiny in the presence of something, whether it is the birth of a newborn baby or a snarling tiger. As a result, many writers of the Romantic era used emotion and the sublime as a form of social understanding sublime can put things into perspective and make one forget about one's personal problems to have a moment of awareness. Blake and Barbauld use powerful objects to portray a deeper meaning beyond what is in reality they added connotations to the French Revolution, and more specifically to the Reign of Terror Barbauld writes: "Hurry, little prisoner, break down your prison doors!" which parallels the revolutionary storming of the Bastille prison. Blake counters this naïve perspective of the French Revolution by embodying its more evil side in the tiger: What the hell is the hammer? what chain? What furnace was your brain in? What is anvil? what a terrible grip, dare they clasp its mortal terrors! Blake alludes to the extremists of Robespierre's Reign of Terror and the horrors that resulted from that government, as well as the implications of their overthrow. These authors were ahead of their time, alluding to the lessons of history and the morals of human beings. In one of Blake's earlier poems, "The Lamb", part of his collection "Songs of Innocence", he implies that God created the lamb, in contrast in line 20 of "The Tyger" suggests a lack of belief in God: When the stars cast their spears they watered the sky with their tears: Did he smile to see his work? Did he who created the Lamb create you? Blake is suggesting the one with all the horrors of the world: the wars, the murders etc. How could there be a God? Spirituality is argued to be key to understanding people's emotions and is a central element of environmental experience (Frederickson and Anderson, 1999). Before the revolution, many citizens began to lose faith in God and the Church, which occupied much of the country's money. People began to perceive spirituality in a completely new way, which in turn changed the way they perceived nature. This is also evident in "To a little invisible being...": If enchanted verses or murmured prayers had power, With favorable incantations to speed you on your way, Anxious I would offer my rosary every passing hour, Till your desired smile does not it will be your mother's, the pangs are too strong. The mother is implying that prayers have no power, rather the “germ of new life” has power; demonstrating a lack of trust in God and religion. “Throw yourself into the world of the living and leap into the light!” it is the spiritual emergence of a being invisible to the light. "For you, nature shows its various reserves, / opens its thousand bays of delight." Again, this notion of nature and the inner self holding power over money and guns. Nature and the environment are the real delight. The endof the first verse of The Tyger he says "What immortal hand or eye, / Could frame your fearful symmetry?" and the end of the poem ends with "What immortal hand or eye, / Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?". Robespierre romanticized death and killing during his reign of terror and would later face the same fate of being guillotined that he had so heavily imposed on others. In this passage Blake comes full circle by finishing his poem the same way it began. Although here, he's ending it with a threat. Nature often views symmetry as a form of beauty. As the tiger is symmetrical, Blake plays on that notion of symmetry and beauty; what happens on one side must happen on the other to create a symmetrical balance. Robespierre's reign of terror ended the same way it began. Overthrow the leader and publicly execute him. While Anna Barbaud suggests a “naive” perspective on the French Revolution, with hope for the next generation and a better future, William Blake mocks the chaos of the revolution and the radically terrible ideals that society seemed to ignore (the fiery tiger in front of them ). While this may be true, it is important to note that both of these works were published as an “immature” perspective; written using simple vocabulary with children as the audience in mind. So they are difficult texts to interpret because of the simplicity and the audience in mind. They were written with a youthful vocabulary, perhaps for a young audience, so one should not go too far in interpreting the gory parallels of the 18th and 19th centuries. By now we have explored the fusion between imagination and nature, the sublime as escape and some connotations. towards the political revolts of the time. Now the question is: how does this move us towards social clarity? The theological foundation of Coleridge's view of the imagination is that it not only unifies the mind in a process but is also (or at least is a part of) the creative force of eternal reason as it operates in the universe.” In essence, our imagination can offer reason and clarity. While nature and the sublime offer perspective and understanding. All these elements combined bring social awareness to the reader. The poet possesses the significant power to transcend his readers in their work, a form of escapism combined with imagination and nature, and often the sublime, we are able to experience social clarity. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper now from our expert writers. Get a Custom Essay All things considered, it is no surprise that William Blake and Anna Barbauld were revolutionary sympathizers. Through their poetry authors have the ability to bring imagination, emotion and subliminal feelings, as well as social awareness to their readers. It is ironic that both of these poems are probably written for children because of their simplicity. Even more specifically in To a little invisible be... it is written about a child with no name, no gender and no class. Blake and Barbauld support revolutionary ideals by writing about seemingly “cultured” and “high-class” issues, in an “immature and childish” manner. In a time of total chaos and death, these two authors were able to provide a form of escape from reality, while still providing truth and clarity about it. Works Cited “A Forgotten Female Romantic Poet?: Introducing Anna Laetitia Barbauld.” Wordsworth Trust, 14 July 2018, https://wordsworth.org.uk/blog/2014/09/14/a-forgotten-female-romantic-poet-introducing-anna-laetitia-barbauld/.Barbauld, Anna Laetitia. “To a small invisible being who should soon become visible.” 1825.Barth, J. Robert.,-31.