Browsing by Subject "Blake, William, 1757-1827. Four Zoas -- Criticism, Textual"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Against the Text: Reimagining Creative Struggle in the Hypostasis of the Archons and William Blake’s The Four Zoas
    (2013) Penney, Aubree; McGuire, Anne Marie
    The creation stories of Genesis have left something to be desired for many readers, as seemingly male figures create the world with minimal effort and personal repercussions. The Hypostasis of the Archons and William Blake’s The Four Zoas reimagine the primordial cosmos as involving more complex, prolonged acts of creation which require struggle on the part of the creators. This thesis focuses on female figures as acting independently of male figures, specifically addressing the role intention plays in creating. Male responses to these female acts of creation vary from adulation to outrage, but often include rape. Yet in both the Hypostasis and the Zoas, the children born of these rapes proffer a brighter future for humanity. In both these stories, humankind is descended from the female figures, which sets up the human race to struggle like its primordial predecessors. These texts provide an opportunity for such struggle. One must wrestle with the complex stories and symbols of these texts in order to comprehend what is happening. This proves fruitful though, allowing readers to experience the psychological effects of the text as a primary response, with mimetic understanding becoming a secondary priority. The authors, too, engage in such creative acts, as they engage with previous texts, and as Blake continuously revises his work. There is only so much creative control one can have though when one is mortal, as death will ultimately cause a divide between author and work. As both these material texts have outlived their authors, the texts have fallen into states of disrepair, subject to censorship and loss. This provides the opportunity for further creative acts on the part of readers and scholars, as they fill in gaps and attempt to restore what once was there. In these two texts, the creation story is expanded to include more female figures and is designed to encompass humankind as a whole, allowing these stories to become a part of readers’ personal narratives.