Assignment :2

Literary Criticism

Submitted to : Dr Syed Kazim Shah

Submitted by : Iqra Arooj

Roll No: 12506

BS 6th Morning

Department of Applied Linguistics

William Blake and Faiz Ahmed Faiz : A comparative study of their

poetry
William Blake and Faiz Ahmed Faiz both are romantic poets, though both of them wrote about
oppression, injustice and other such things and talked about equality for everyone in the society but the
sparks of romanticism are vividly marked on their poetry. Now the question is what is romanticism?
Answer to this question is,it is a phenomenon characterized by reliance on the imagination, freedom of
thought and expression , subjectivity of approach, idealization of nature and also common man,
childhood and individual strong emotions.

A piece of work in romanticism according to Blake is:

"An embodiment of the poet's imagination and vision."

For the comparison of romantic features in their poetry I chose "London" ( Songs of Experience, 1794)
by William Blake and "Intisaab" (Dedication) by Faiz Ahmed Faiz because these poems carry the above
mentioned parameters "poetic imagination and vision" , one of the features of romanticism. Both Faiz
and Blake were fighters against the industrialists oppression in their respective societies.

Faiz was a Pakistani romantic poet his poetry is romantic and infused with a revolutionary zeal. Faiz
wrote against industrialism and he was a great Marxist , he wants to see working living a life as equal
human being to the higher class of the society. On the other hand Blake was a great champion of liberty
and had strong humanitarian sympathies, which is also an expect of romanticism, readers can see his
humanitarian sympathies in his poem "London" :
 " In every voice, in every ban.

The mind-forg'd manacles I

Hear."

In "London" Blake attacks social injustice in its various forms as it shows in the chimney sweeper's cry ,
the hapless soldier sigh and the youthful harlot's curse. He also blame church , the boy in his poem
London finds the church inhospitable and cruel place while he thought that the ale-house is more warm
and friendly because the church imposes religious disciplines.

In this poem Blake shows sympathy towards common man of the society, infants and children are
treated sympathetically as it refers to :

" Every infant's cry of fear "

and

" The new-born infant's tear "

Blake talks about basic human rights, the poem mourns the devastating condition that Londoners
endure " the marks of weakness , the marks of woe " on every face. Faiz blames highr class and
authorities for the miserable condition of labour class but unlike Faiz Blake does not blame anyone he
just simply raises awareness of the misery of the human condition and says that Londoners deserve
equal and better lives.

Emotions and individual feelings are also the topic of this poem , which is an other feature of
romanticism. Men cry, churches appalled , soldier sig h " in blood " and Harlot's curse blasts plagues
and deformaties in the new born infants. There is also a strong use of imagination which steps readers
into the world in which poet is living. The intensity of strong negative emotions permeats the poem and
leave the readers with a heavy heart.

In comparison to Blake's poetry Faiz also has " romance and revolution" , "pain and cure" and "
country love" , as Blake shows worries for Londoners Faiz also mourns over the condition of his
Homeland. In "Intisaab" Faiz glorifies the common individuals and shares their sad life stories and
demands equal opportunities for them. His posm is also a a show of his powerful imaginations.

The prototypes of the humanity of Faiz are the farmers of the Punjab, the factory and railway workers
and the destitute mothers who work from dawn to dusk to earn their livelihood and to contribute to the
progress of their country. In “Intisaab” (Dedication), Faiz pays tribute to these prototypes of real
humanity. Exalting the struggles of destitute mothers, the poet says:

"Let me write of the Mothers

Whose children sob in the night

 And cradled in tired, toiling arms

Will not tell their woes."

The poet takes exception to the economic plunder of the land and the peasants at the hands of political
and administrative hierarchy in “Intisaab”. He questions why the peasant does not enjoy the right of the
ownership of the land he and his forefathers have been cultivating since generations. The legal rights of
the land are reserved for the absentee feudals. As feudal class is the author of cultural values, so it is
obligatory upon the peasant to obey and submit to the authority of his master. The life, honour and
belonging of the peasant are at the will of his tribal chief. In the aforesaid poem, the poet says:

"Let me write of the farmer

This lord whose fief was a few animal – stolen

Who knows when

This heir who once had a daughter – carried off

Who knows where

This chief whose turban is a tattered rag

Beneath the feet of the mighty."

The poet is equally critical of the non-existence of state patronage for the farmers who work with
singleness of intention to bring fertility to the salinity-hit regions of the native land.

Oppression, cruelty, injustice, bitter side of society and common people's struggle is discussed by Faiz
and he dedicates his poems his words to these common men. He pays tribute to mothers, postmen,
students, farmers, freedom fighters, soldiers, wives, infants, and to the prisoner who forced to live
behind the walls of dark cells just because they wanted equality for everyone.

Conclusion

In the light of above mentioned facts we can say tha both Blake and Faiz wrote about same romantic
features in their poetry, themes like love, common man, homeland, nature and imagination are there in
Blake and Faiz' poetry. There are huge numbers of similarities in their over all writing , but "London"
and "Intisaab" known as "Dedication" particular share almost same themes band and writing style.
Both had a heart filled with love and care for their people and they wanted to end up the injustice and
brutality of the society for lower middle class and they sketch all these delicate emotions in their poetry
in very well manner.