Question: Explore the meaning of the word “Bard” as used by Blake in a number of places and as used by other poets and historians. Search the Blake Archive at http://www.blakearchive.org/ to find out where else Blake uses the word and what the context is. Is it possible to say who the Bard is or what he represents?
Etymology:
According to the OED, the definition of a bard is “a poet, traditionally one reciting epics and associated with a particular oral tradition.” The word itself is Middle English in origin, but its lineage can be traced back to Scottish Gaelic.
In medieval Gaelic and British culture, a bard was a professional story teller, verse-maker and music composer, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or noble), to commemorate one or more of the patron’s ancestors and to praise the patron’s own activities.
It was later romanticised by Sir Walter Scott; with the notion of a bard now meaning a minstrel with qualities of a priest, magician or seer.
Usage in Blake’s work
– “America a Prophecy”
– “Introduction” to the Songs of Experience”
– “Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Great Albion”
– “Letter to William Hayley, 27 January 1804”
– “Milton: A Poem”
– “Voice of the Ancient Bard”
Who is the Bard in Blake’s works?
In his works, Blake has continually referred to the Bard. The most direct references to this enigmatic figure are in the “Introduction” (to the Songs of Experience) and “the Voice of the Ancient Bard;” the concluding poem to the Songs of Experience. From these two poems, it is seen that Blake respects the Bard.
There is no exact explanation as to who the Bard is besides that he is the one “Who Present, Past & Future sees/ Whose Ears have heard,/ The Holy Word,/ That walk’d among the ancient trees.” As such, the Bard is a figure of authority, wisdom, and divinity.
In the “Introduction,” the Bard is calling upon the Earth’s “lapsed soul,” possibly a metaphor for humanity, to break from Reason’s spell and awaken its imagination: “rise from the slumberous mass.” Essentially, his divine message is one about unleashing and rejuvenating the inner genius by embracing imagination.
This message is carried onto the concluding poem: “Voice of the Ancient Bard.” For example, the Bard states that reason clouds the “image of truth.” Due to this clouded vision, some people fool themselves into thinking that they know the way to enlightenment, but as Blake says, it is exactly those kind of people who should be led instead.
Despite only brief appearances, the Bard is a significant part of Blake’s work. Through his poetic voice, he wants to dispel the clouds of reason and confusion which blind humanity and lead us into the light. In saying this, I believe that the Bard portrayed in the poems is Blake himself. Think about it. For isn’t Blake a poet who has qualities of a priest, magician, and seer?
Although he was not an ordained minister of the church, I would argue that he played a similar role to a priest. Blake would certainly argue this; that his illuminated works were a set of divine messages from God, intended for the public eye so that humanity can be enlightened. For isn’t the call to priesthood a call from God?
Although he isn’t exactly the kind of magician we see in today’s films, there was a touch of magic in his works. He was able to conjure up beautiful works of literature which allowed his viewers to see “heaven in a grain of sand” by unleashing the “deities [which] reside in [our] human breast.”
Although he isn’t exactly a divine oracle, Blake has predicted the future, our current climate. For Blake studied the mistakes of past; and understood that the same mistakes were being committed in his conservative England; namely the prioritisation of reason over imagination. As such, he proclaimed that if humanity were to continue on this path, the world would be engulfed in greed and jealousy. In a way, he was right. Just take a look around you.
Overall, the Bard is similar to Blake in the sense that he is an interesting figure who should be listened to.
Context of Image: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lnr8THgL5k
Jesse Ocsan 