Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Plate 50

Plate 50
Therefore remove from Albion these terrible Surfaces
And let wild seas & rocks close up Jerusalem away from
PLATE 50
The Atlantic Mountains where Giants dwelt in Intellect;
Now given to stony Druids, and Allegoric Generation
To the Twelve Gods of Asia, the Spectres of those who Sleep:
Sway'd by a Providence oppos'd to the Divine Lord Jesus:
A murderous Providence! A Creation that groans, living on Death.
Where Fish & Bird & Beast & Man & Tree & Metal & Stone
Live by Devouring, going into Eternal Death continually:
Albion is now possess'd by the War of Blood! the Sacrifice
Of envy Albion is become, and his Emanation cast out:
Come Lord Jesus, Lamb of God descend! for if; O Lord!
If thou hadst been here, our brother Albion had not died.
Arise sisters! Go ye & meet the Lord, while I remain--
Behold the foggy mornings of the Dead on Albions cliffs!
Ye know that if the Emanation remains in them:
She will become an Eternal Death, an Avenger of Sin
A Self-righteousness: the proud Virgin-Harlot! Mother of War!
And we also & all Beulah, consume beneath Albions curse.
So Erin spoke to the Daughters of Beulah. Shuddering
With their wings they sat in the Furnace, in a night
Of stars, for all the Sons of Albion appeard distant stars,
Ascending and descending into Albions sea of death.
And Erins lovely Bow enclos'd the Wheels of Albions Sons.

Expanding on wing, the Daughters of Beulah replied in sweet
response

Come O thou Lamb of God and take away the remembrance of Sin
To Sin & to hide the Sin in sweet deceit. is lovely!!
To Sin in the open face of day is cruel & pitiless! But
To record the Sin for a reproach: to let the Sun go down
In a remembrance of the Sin: is a Woe & a Horror!
A brooder of an Evil Day, and a Sun rising in blood
Come then O Lamb of God and take away the remembrance of Sin
End of Chap. 2
(Erdman 199-200)

Notes:

"The Atlantic Mountains where Giants dwelt in Intellect;"
Blake referred here to the time of yore before the cataclysmic Flood.

Jerusalem was closed up from it by "the Spectres of those who Sleep:"

"A murderous Providence! A Creation that groans, living on Death."
All this is a cogent description of the Fall (Creation came after the Fall). 

"Albion is now possess'd by the War of Blood! the Sacrifice
Of envy Albion is become, and his Emanation cast out:"

"Come Lord Jesus, Lamb of God descend! for if; O Lord!
If thou hadst been here, our brother Albion had not died.
Arise sisters! Go ye & meet the Lord,"

This sentence is completely biblical. It refers of course to
the story of Lazarus and his sisters (Mary and Martha)
(Luke 10:38-42), a prelude to the first 'resurrection'

This paragraph is ascribed to Erin, speaking to the Daughters of Beulah.

"Erin, the ancient name of Ireland, is the western most of the British Isles."
Damon

 They respond: "take away the remembrance of Sin" stated twice.

"to let the Sun go down
In a remembrance of the Sin: is a Woe & a Horror!"
That homely adage is seen in the lower right of the picture as a small arc
sinking into a black sea (Erdman p.329.
Like most of Blake's pictures, this one shows many things to many people.
Erdman saw two crowned heads, but Morton Paley showed a third one with a crown.
One obvious interpretation might be three zoas, the middle one Urizen,
the other two pensive with their head on their hand.
Above I see a veiled Vala. I'm completely unable to give any reasoned
interpretation of it, although Plate 51 is said to be related.

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