Blake and Burns ?'s

1. Robert Burns is known as the national poet of Scotland; how does Burns incorporate/
honor is Scottish heritage in the poems “Auld Lang Syne•” and “John Anderson My
Jo”?
He writes in Scots, which is a dialect Scottish people use.
2. What idea concept is being praised/honored in “Auld Lang Syne”?
How is this same
theme extended in “John Anderson, My Jo”? How do these values reflect the values
of Romanticism? How do they contrast with the values of the Age of Reason?
Honoring the past as they go to the future. It reflects romanticism because it talks about emotion and it uses language of regular people. The age of reason used logic in their poems and used the language of the aristocracy.
3. What does the metaphor of the hill in the second stanza of John Anderson, My Jo
represent?
Even through trials and tribulations, going up and going down, they will always be together.
4. Explain how William Blake's upbringing/worldview influenced the type of poetry he wrote.
He had visions of God and of bright angels when he was a child, so he was a very spiritual person. His worldview was very very different from most other people, so his poetry reflected that in addition to his spiritual beliefs.
5. How are “The Lamb” and “The Tyger” similar to each other? (Read “About the
Selection” on p 679) What two sides of the human soul do the animals represent?
Why did Blake find it equally important to understand both sides? In a religious framework, what do the two animals represent?
They were both in the same book and they have a similar rhyme scheme. The lamb represents innocence. The tiger represents the worst part of humanity, or the bad things humans can do to each other. He wanted to show that people are complex and that humanity has different sides to it. Religously, the two animals represent Jesus and the Devil or Heaven and Hell.
6. How do William Blake's three poems celebrate the untameness of nature and reject the urbanity/structured society? How does this reflect Romanticism?
He believes that urban lifestyle is oppressive and doesn't allow people to be at their best. This reflects Romanticism because romantics value having their freedom and being able to do what they want.