In William Blake’s poem “Proverbs of Hell” from “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” he created an analogy, in which nature is to humans as heaven is to hell. Since nature is unselfconscious in such that animals react on instinct and plants act based on genetic makeup they are less vulnerable to err. However, humans are morally and personally malleable and can react based on social norms and perceptions. Therefore, nature can be a logical comparison with heaven because it is closer to a healthier ideology in which things occur naturally and adapt from person to person as well as nature can be an easy comparison for paradise; whereas humans tend to create their own hell when confined to a particular ideology created and organized by other people who have no jurisdiction dictation lives.

In order to preface the assertion that there will be a parallel between human life and the life of nature Blake said, “In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy. /Drive your cart and your plow over the bones of the dead. (1-2)” Therefore, he created a metaphor saying that the most natural way to lead life is to learn while young, teach while maturing, and enjoy the later years of life. Moreover, just as the earth forgets its bones that are buried in it, a more heavenly life can be lead if it is not spent worrying about the dead or grievances between others in the distant past.

This concept is further prefaced when Blake said, “Prisons are built with stones of Law, Brothels with bricks of Religion. (21)” This introduces to the reader that prisons of the mind and spirit are created by man with the stone of a legal form of power and control, as well as the establishments that are specifically dedicated to immoral behavior are created with the bricks of a religion. Moreover, by saying that these prisons are built with stone implies that by being a weak mineral they are more susceptible do deterioration are weakly constructed.

A preponderance of the traits qualified to the animals conveys a more astute sense of reality and of what a heaven on earth feels like. For example, “The rat, the mouse, the fox, the rabbit; watch the roots; the lion, the tyger, the horse, the elephant, watch the fruits./The cistern contains; the fountain overflows./One thought fills immensity.(34-36)” A lot of organized religions and institutions created by humans are centered around judgment of others; for example, people of opposing religions tended to be considered as inferior and people were very aware of their peers social status. However, Blake portrays animals as focus their attentions towards more important things such as food which will help them to survive. He furthered this assertion of nature being more heavenly by saying that a manmade cistern contains (which can be interpreted as a metaphor for organized religion, a manmade institution, can be confining and inhibiting to free thought or natural behavior) to a naturally created fountain (which can be interpreted as a metaphor for natural creations lead to a uninhibited flow of thought and actions).

However, the majority the characteristics of an unhealthy lifestyle Blake attributed to a human who seems to be living a life of hell on earth. For example, “A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees./He whose face gives no light, shall never become a star(8-9).” [HP1] To a fool a see may only be an object obstructing their way, however a wise person who has become attunes to nature and understands the value of a natural order of things has a greater appreciation for the oxygen it produces and the protection its tall limbs could provide. This assertion is furthered when Blake said, “The selfish smiling fool, & the sullen frowning fool shall be both thought wise, that they may be a rod.(32)” Greed and sadness are difficult to attribute to a plant or an animal without valid justification. However, it does seem plausible that human who is capable of being muddled with emotions, and who is nevertheless a fool can be capable of unreasonably being egocentric or miserable.

Nature works in a natural procedure that has evolved and accommodated to change over time. Since the primary function of nature is sustenance of existence, it is prone to less conscious fallacies and human error. For example, Blake said, “All wholsom food is caught without a net or a trap. /Bring out number weight & measure in a year of dearth./No bird soars too high, if he soars with his own wings.(13-15)” This means that the food with the most nourishing is found in nature and can not be received in an unnatural and forced way. This can also be a parallel with true knowledge cannot be forced into the brain, but must erupt from it, same applies or moral, ethical, and religious code. Additionally, he creates of image of a bird flying without being dependant on other wings; therefore even though a bird migrates in packs it is still independent and capable of flying without other birds.

To portray that nature works on instinct instead of social pressures or a structure of a religion Blake wrote, “The cut worm forgives the plow.(6)” Instead of the worm forgiving the plow because he fears a life in hell after death, it forgives it just because it the natural way of things. Blake progresses this idea further by saying, “The fox condemns the trap, not himself.(28)” He attributed the characteristic of an animal processing the ability to reflect at a situation, accept blame, and learn from it to a fox; whereas religion asks one to look to the Bible for answers to problems. Without this self reliance he portrayed the fox as more likely to survive; whereas a life where lessons are learned from the Bible may lead to an early death.

To establish a more heavenly image of nature, to portray that nature is less inclined to conscious fallacies, and suggest how nature is living a life of heaven on earth Blake wrote:

The apple tree never asks the beech how he shall grow; nor the lion, the horse, how he shall take his prey.
The thankful reciever bears a plentiful harvest.
If others bad not been foolish, we should be so.
The soul of sweet delight can never be defil'd.
When thou seest an Eagle, thou seest a portion of Genius. lift up thy head!
As the catterpiller chooses the fairest leaves to lay her eggs, so the priest lays his curse on the fairest joys.
To create a little flower is the labour of ages.
Damn braces: Bless relaxes.
The best wine is the oldest, the best water the newest.
Prayers plow not! Praises reap not!
Joys laugh not! Sorrows weep not! (51-61)

Blake explained that nature supersedes the need for petty jealousy of other life forms, as well as is appreciative for the bounty of life it possesses. Additionally, he refered to a creature with keen eyesight and the ability to look over at all of life and nature as a genius; therefore a creature is not defined by it’s social status or how well they have conformed to a religious code, but how well they can perceive the world around them and learn from their life and the life of others.  Moreover, he embraced the fact that the godliest of things is the creation of life; whereas sometimes getting caught up in pleasing the gods can lead to an internally hellish state.

To convey a hellish image in which humans create their own hell due to allowing themselves to consciously be vulnerable to desires of social acceptance and using faith based organizations as a crutch for internal fallacies instead of naturally resolving the issue. For example, Blake wrote:

The ancient Poets animated all sensible objects with Gods or Geniuses, calling them by the names and adorning them with the properties of woods, rivers, mountains, lakes, cities, nations, and whatever their enlarged & numerous senses could percieve.
And particularly they studied the genius of each city & country, placing it under its mental deity;
Till a system was formed, which some took advantage of & enslav'd the vulgar by attempting to realize or abstract the mental deities from their objects: thus began Priesthood;
Choosing forms of worship from poetic tales.
And at length they pronounc'd that the Gods had order'd such things

Thus men forget that All deities reside in the human breast. (71-76)

Therefore, all gods are created by human and are thus fallible. Since faulty creatures transcribed the words of the deities, there is an exponentially greater chance that the followers, readers, and preachers are going to substandard themselves. Placing a state of mind, body, and soul under a mental deity can cause people to become enslaved to the concept of salvation from another life force, as well as cause them to become overly dependant on another human to interpret how their life should morally be structured. By becoming wrapped up in other minds, it can be easy to forget that all gods and the summation of one’s existence lie in the heart.

 [HP1]