Kaitlyn Harrison
Professor Kimbrell
ENL 4240-0001
23 October 2018
The Inherent Unhappiness of Humanity in “The Book of Thel”
Questions of life’s purpose and what happens to people after they die have plagued humans for centuries; it has been the focus of countless pieces of literature and the subject of numerous philosophy books. In “The Book of Thel,” William Blake tries to answer exactly these same questions. In order to illustrate the anxieties regarding the purpose of life and the uncertainty surrounding death, Blake utilizes a juxtaposition between Thel and the other creatures in the poem.
“The Book of Thel” grapples with questions regarding the purpose of life, a question plaguing Thel in her life at Harr. In the poem, Blake uses the other characters, such as the Lilly and the Clay, in order to demonstrate their ideology that the purpose of life is to help and sustain others. This is unlike Thel, who is still searching for her meaning of life. For example, the Lilly subscribes to the idea that the purpose of life is to fulfill one’s duty to others; in the Lilly’s case, that duty is to sustain the lambs and other animals with its dew. However, this idea that the purpose of life is to nourish others does not resonate with Thel. This is shown by the quote on plate two when Thel says, “ ‘Thy breath doth nourish the innocent lamb, he smells thy milky garments…I vanish from my pearly throne, and who shall find my place’ ” (5-13). Blake uses a similar juxtaposition for each of the characters to show to the reader that Thel is unimpressed with the idea that the purpose of life is to help others. It becomes clear to the reader that Thel would be unhappy with any response from the other creatures to her question of the purpose of life. A revealing sentiment is when the Clay tells Thel, “ ‘We live not for ourselves’ ” (4.10). This quote is significant because it demonstrates the difference between Thel and these other selfless living beings. Thel is living for herself, and that is why she feels as if her life is lacking in some way. She is concerned that she is living incorrectly, as it seems her only purpose is to “live to be at death the food of worms” (2.23). When this is juxtaposed with the Cloud’s reaffirmation that, “How great thy use, how great thy blessing,” it becomes clear that Thel is ungrateful as opposed to the other living things in Harr (2.26). This is likely a commentary on the fact that what makes humans special, their abilities to reason and question the world, ultimately is what leaves them unhappy and unfulfilled. However, when Thel enters the Clay’s house and she is peering into the world of sexual desire, reproduction, and experience, she runs away from her life’s purpose: to procreate. It is clear that Thel is concerned with her lack of legacy as shown by quotes regarding her having no one to take her place when she is gone, but she would rather maintain her comfortable yet unfulfilled life in Harr than dare to live in experience (2.13).
Another separating factor between Thel and the other characters is Thel’s concern with death. The other characters in the poem are content with the idea that, once they die, they will spend the rest of eternity with the creator in a much better life than the one they live now. Perhaps, that is why they are content to live simple and innocent lives in Harr. In the poem, Blake utilizes the Lilly’s explanation of the afterlife to show Thel’s habit of constantly shifting the goal posts. The Lilly says that the creator told her she will “flourish in eternal vales” after “summer’s heat melts thee beside the fountains and the springs” (1.24-25). After this is revealed, Thel immediately changes her mind and says that she must be more like a cloud, symbolizing the impermanence she feels, than a Lilly. Later, when the Cloud tells Thel a similar story about living better than ever in the afterlife, she then realizes that she is not like the Cloud at all. However, when Thel has the opportunity to talk to the Clay and the Worm, then she realizes the source of her anxiety is that she is lacking the whole-hearted faith in the creator which the other living beings have. “ ‘That God would love a Worm, I knew…but that he cherish’d it with milk and oil I never knew; and therefore I did weep, and I complained in the mild air, because I fade away, and lay me down in thy cold bed, and leave my shining lot’ ” (3.9-13). This quote shows that Thel sees herself in the Worm, and she is worried that after she dies God will not care about her after she is gone. This signifies a fundamental difference between Thel, who is concerned with only herself and her perceptions, and the other characters of the poem, who accept their life purpose is to nourish others. Thel’s fear of death and the unknown, ultimately, is not enough to keep her in the world of experience, as she flees back to Harr almost immediately.
In summation, Blake was able to successfully communicate to the reader the complexities of human thought regarding life’s purpose and the uncertainty of death with the juxtaposition of Thel and the other characters in the poem. Thel did not subscribe to their ideas that she would live a happy and fulfilled life by continuing on and living in the afterlife with the creator. The entire poem was based upon her incessant questioning in order to figure out what allowed the others to live such seemingly unfulfilling lives. However, her quest for fulfillment proved fruitless when she turned her back upon the world of experience and sexual desire at the end of the poem.