How Does Divine Human Form Relate To The Theme Of William Blake's "The Divine Image"?

William Blake was one of the greatest poets of the Romantic age and a protest against oppression which also becomes an aspect of Blake’s religious faith. His The Divine Image   glorifies the innocence of human being as in the grand design of God.

The poem The Divine Image   is from Songs of Innocence and is written in the ballad metre. It expresses Blake’s faith in man as being an embodiment of all the divine qualities. This being so, the poet feels that man must love his fellow-beings just as he loves God, Love for man alone, believed Blake  could bring man closer to God and create paradise on earth.

 

William Blake

The Divine Image speaks to the theme of universal love and brotherhood. It consists of four stanzas, each consisting of four lines. The poem's tone is hopeful and optimistic, emphasizing the importance of love and empathy in human relationships. The Divine Image is a visible representation of something. In Blake’s poem, God or the divine qualities cannot be seen. But ‘man’ becomes the image of God and of these qualities.

 Blake introduces the four virtues that he believes are essential for a harmonious society: mercy, pity, peace, and love. He suggests that when people are in distress, they turn to these virtues for help and support. Furthermore, he emphasizes the importance of gratitude, as people return thanks for the blessings that these virtues provide. Mercy and pity mean almost the same, compassion and sympathy for someone in distress. Mercy also means forgiveness for someone who has committed an offence. Peace and love arc two other related Christian virtues. But Blake regards all these as universal human virtues which also reflect the divine in man. These divine qualities, according to Blake may be found in human relationship itself, cutting across religions:

“For Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love

Is God, our father dear,

And Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love

Is Man, his child and care.”

 

  Delighted virtues, for Blake, are not just a matter of stern moral duty. They are ‘virtues’ because they bring delight or joy to both giver and taker. So both sides are ‘thankful’ for them:

“And to these virtues of delight

Return their thankfulness.”

  Is God our father dear is a modification of the Christian idea of the Trinity, that is, God the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost (the spirit of God). God the son, His child is Jesus Christ; Christ is sometimes called the ‘son of man’, being born of a human mother. Here ‘man’ refers both to Christ and to mankind, who are seen as Gad’s children. In this poem, God is not an angry and punishing, hut an affectionate and forgiving father.

 Blake suggests that the virtues mercy, pity, peace, and love are not just human ideals but also divine qualities, embodied by God. He also suggests that humanity is not separate from God but rather a part of God's divine creation. By calling humanity "His child and care," Blake suggests that God is intimately involved in human affairs and cares deeply for humanity. Human heart offers mercy and compassion. In it we may see the virtues embodied. ‘Heart’ is believed to be the seat of feelings in man.  Human face is in the expressions of the human face that pity becomes visible.  The phrase ‘human form divine’ recalls Genesis 1:26 - “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in Our image, to Our likeness.” the ‘human form divine’ also recalls the feeling that Christ has sometimes been described as the embodiment of God’s love for man. He is both ‘human’ and divine’. Human dress is Peace. Like the other virtues, it is an idea that cannot be seen. We see it only when it wears a human flesh or ‘dress’ and expresses itself through human action:

“For Mercy has a human heart,

Pity a human face,

And Love, the human form divine,

And Peace, the human dress.”

Ultimately these are the divine design of human being and humanity. Blake emphasizes that the virtues of mercy, pity, peace, and love are not just abstract ideals but are embodied by human beings. He suggests that these virtues are part of what makes us human, and they are what allow us to connect with one another on a deep level. A change of place or order of faith does not change its greater meaning of being innocent of God’s broad design:

“Then every man, of every clime,

That prays in his distress,

Prays to the human form divine,

Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace."

Blake suggests that these virtues are universal and apply to all people, regardless of their race, nationality, or religion. He suggests that when people pray for help and support, they are really praying to these divine virtues, which are embodied by humanity:

"And all must love the human form,

In heathen, Turk, or Jew;

Where Mercy, Love, and Pity dwell

There God is dwelling too.”

In The Divine Image, Blake emphasizes the importance of universal love and brotherhood. He suggests that the virtues of mercy, pity, peace, and love are not just abstract ideals but are embodied by humanity, and they are what allow us to connect with one another on a deep level. Furthermore, he suggests that these virtues are divine qualities embodied by God and that they are universal, applying to all people, regardless of their background or beliefs.

Ardhendu De