Proverbs of Hell

In our recent class discussions regarding William Blake and his unique poetry, we firmly concluded that Blake continually implemented contrasting images and themes – allowing them to resonate and bounce-off of one another throughout The Marriage of Heaven and Hell in an attempt to ascend to a new and undiscovered truth. In this sense, this section – Proverbs of Hell – has a perpetually unfixed quality, in that good and evil are intermingled so intensely that it becomes difficult for the reader to differentiate between the two, supposedly dichotomous, ideals. More importantly, we learned that Blake disliked dualism and the fixed qualities that result from such concrete differentiations. Perhaps this dislike of dualism helps to explain the merging of ‘good doctrines’ with ‘evil doctrines’ in the Proverbs of Hell.

This difficulty in the differentiation between ‘good’ and ‘evil’ within the Proverbs of Hell leads one to ask – why did Blake title this section Proverbs of Hell and not just simple Proverbs, as this section clearly embodies both? Perhaps this seemingly cynical and downtrodden title is the result of Blake’s own belief that man has been sentenced by God to forever live in a sort of ‘fallen existence’ that may resemble Hell (although it may contain some aspects of Heaven as well), as punishment for Original Sin.

Interestingly however, the seventh plate (the introductory plate of Proverbs of Hell) appears to contain more ‘good doctrines’ than ‘evil doctrines. For example, Blake states: “the hours of folly are measured by the clock, but of wisdom no clock can measure” and “all wholesome food is caught without a net or a trap” and “no bird soars too high, if he soars with his own wings” and lastly “the most sublime act is to set another before you”. Blake seems to specifically applaud the virtues of wisdom, kindness and respect for other beings, self-reliance, and selflessness.

Moreover, while Blake provides four specific ‘good doctrines’ in this plate, he only provides two ‘evil doctrines’ during this pivotal introductory phase of the Proverbs of Hell. These two ‘evil doctrines’ are: “drive your cart and your plough over the bones of the dead” and “the road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom”. These doctrines, unlike the others, appear to specifically encourage the desecration of the burial grounds and the memories of the dead and the past, as well as the virtues of a life of excess.

One is led to wonder if good and evil are actually mutually dependent. In Proverbs of Hell, Blake seems to further merge the notions of Heaven and Hell – as good and evil lie side by side under the dimensionless title Proverbs of Hell. Perhaps good and evil are indeed the same and they are only differentiated by our own, individual perceptions. Perhaps the four ‘good doctrines’ that I outlined will be interpreted by other readers as ‘evil doctrines,’ and conversely, the two ‘evil doctrines’ that I outlined will be interpreted as ‘good doctrines’ by others.