Controversial representation of God and Christianity in William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience

This thesis examines how William Blake represents God and Christianity in Songs of Innocence and of Experience, and to what extent this representation parallels Blake's religious outlook. First, Blake's religious outlook as demonstrably recorded in his biographies and in the referential works written on his literary works, is handled to better understand his religious presentation in Songs of Innocence and of Experience. How he regards God and interprets Christianity is clearly depicted in the study. Then, 15 selected poems that are relevant to each other in terms of religion are analysed in detail. The selected poems have been analysed thematically. The data obtained as a result of the analyses proves that Blake does not show a consistent representation of God and Christianity in Songs of Innocence and of Experience. More clearly, the concepts of God and Christianity are represented through different means in different poems. Therefore, this representation somehow contrasts with Blake's own religious outlook. In other words, his understanding of God and Christianity is presented in a controversial way in some of the analysed poems in this thesis. Keywords: Christianity, Church, God, Institutionalized Religion, Songs of Innocence and Experience, William Blake