To Tirzah
To Tirzah - context Summary
Songs of Experience, 1789
Published in Songs of Experience (1789), Blake's "To Tirzah" frames Tirzah as a symbol of the material world, mortality, and false comfort. The speaker rejects the bodily, sensual life that "moulded" his heart and senses, claiming spiritual liberation through Christ's death. The poem reflects Blake's mystical and philosophical struggles with innocence and experience, questioning the authority of the physical world while asserting a transcendent spiritual freedom.
Read Complete AnalysesWhate'er is Born of Mortal Birth Must be consumed with the Earth To rise from Generation free: Then what have I to do with thee? The Sexes sprung from Shame & Pride, Blow'd in the morn, in evening died; But Mercy chang'd Death into Sleep; The Sexes rose to work & weep. Thou, Mother of my Mortal part, With cruelty didst mould my Heart, And with false self-deceiving tears Didst bind my Nostrils, Eyes, & Ears: Didst close my Tongue in senseless clay, And me to Mortal Life betray. The Death of Jesus set me free: Then what have I to do with thee?
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