IB Historiagraphy: Jim Morrison and William Blake's Poem

To what extent can Jim Morrison’s ideals be seen as parallel to those presented in William Blake’s “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” ?

(Word count: 1868)

A. Plan of Investigation

The focus of my study is to access the symmetry in ideals of Jim Morrison and William Blake’s poem ,“Marriage of Heaven and Hell.” The investigation calls to analyze concepts such as perception as it is presented in the poem and how it is interpreted by Jim Morrison who uses this to title his band, “The doors.” I will closely examine the world in which Morrison was living at the time to understand how his environment could have influenced his interpretation of the novel. In my investigation I will examine two primary sources, The Lords and The New Creatures. These are two books published by Morrison and will serve to obtain a strong grasp of his ideals. Apart from close examination of Blake’s poem, I will watch a lecture on this poem by Dr. Damrosch to greatly understand the poem and be able to effectively compare these ideals with those learned in Morrison’s books.

B. Summary of evidence

William Blake presents in “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” ideas that may have been seen as controversial during his life in the enlightenment period. Blake suggest as the title states a marriage between opposing ideas and makes one rethink their symbolism. He believes that conflict of “energies”(as he calls them) are necessary for human existenceBlake shows this as he states “These two classes of men are always upon earth, and they should be enemies; whoever seeks to reconcile them seeks to destroy existence.This rejects previous tradition ideals of good and evil that placed them at two opposing extremes. Blake is saying that is wrong to choose between either, and because both energies are required it is difficult to label one good and the other evil. These energies thus coexist harmoniously and not wicked as leaders had place them to keep subjugated to their authority Another poem by Blake, “London”, illuminates this idea. “And the Hapless soldier’s sigh runs in blood down the palace walls” . During Blake’s age, soldiers from his native land of England were fighting to expand and protect the empire. British soldiers were taught to be patriotic to their homeland that they would give their lives. Blake wonders if that they would remain loyal if they were free from subjugation. Blake believed in the power of the individual. He rejected the idea of divinity deriving from some distant realm. “Thus men forgot that all deities reside in the human breast.” . Blake suggest that humanity has the capability to be divine to see infinity. Man should push their boundary of perception beyond the limits of that of his organs of perception

Damrosch, L. , Ph.D. (2002). Harvard University [Lecture 24].Blake, Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Video

Blake, W. ,(1790) Marriage of Heaven and Hell, London: Blake

Damrosch

Blake, W. , (1794) London,London: Blake

Blake (Marriage of Heaven and Hell)

“If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is: infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro narrow chinks of his cavern”. Man is blinded by the world’s system of order that dictates his boundaries of perception, but if blindness was stripped from man, infinity would be seen. The line that the singer/poet Jim Morrison used to name his rock band, The doors. Jim Morrison is a controversial figure who is seen by some as a deranged mad mad, some see him as a heroic leader of a revolution, and others see him as what he tried desperately to be seen as: a poet. Perhaps upon forming the doors in 1965 Jim believe rock could be a means of which to display his poetryRay Manzarek, organist for The Doors, once said, “He lived on the edge, all the time.” This is clear illustrated in the title of one of their earlier songs Break on through. “You know the day destroys the night. Night divides the day. Try to run. Try to hide. Break on through to the other side.” (Break on through lines 1-5)This is a common theme that is shared through several of Morrison’s work. He encourages his listeners to go beyond the boundaries of their own perceptions. Morrison describes man a voyeur, a mastubator that pleasure from looking through a window, but there are things that are “Impossible in the open”. The man enjoys life from afar not to participate in activities Morrison saw man’s growing habit of spectatorship as a growing symptom of man’s isolation from “infinity” The 1960’s was a time of cultural revolution for the youth especially in the United States. Morrison reflects on people’s spectatorship on the Vietnam War which was strongly oppose by the majority of the youth at the time. “Breakfast where the news is read. Television, children fed. Unborn living, living dead. Bullets strike the helmet’s head.” (The Unknown Soldier, 4-7)Through Morrison’s work he tried to address for man to seek freedom from social oppression and become creators of their own self image.

Blake (Marriage of Heaven and Hell)

Mann, R. (Producer), & Forbes III , G. (Director). (1981). No one here gets out alive The Doors tribute to Jim Morrison (Motion Picture) United States: Eagle Rock Entertainment

Morrison, J. D. , Densmore, J. , Krieger, R. , Manzarek, R. (1967) Break on Through. On The Doors. United States: Elektra Records

Morrison, J. D. (1969). The Lords. London, England: Omnibus Press

Morrison, J. D. (1969). The New Creatures. London, England: Omnibus Press

Hunt, J. (2011) Into this house we are born. United States: Lulu.com (publisher)

Morrison, J. D. , Densmore, J. , Krieger, R. , Manzarek, R. (1968) The Unknown Soldier. On Waiting for the Sun. United States: Elektra Records.

Erkel, S. A. ,(2011) The poet behind The Doors: Jim Morrison’s poetry and the 1960’s countercultural movement. Submitted to the faculty of Graduate School of Arts and Science of Georgetown University.

C. Evaluation of sources

The Lords, by Jim Morrison was originally published in 1969. The book contains several poems by Morrison that elaborates on his interest of film and reflects on mankind. The book is useful in that it is a first hand account of Morrison’s own view of society. Therefore, The Lords , can be considered the best source to describe Jim Morrison’s ideal, because it is here where he has written his inner thoughts free from the need to add a melody. By reading his book I have determine any similarities between themes presented in this book and in “Marriage of Heaven and Hell.” This source is limited in that some of statements in Morrison’s book are vague and open to multiple interpretations. I have adapted to this challenge by analyzing motifs and literary devices presented in that statement that recur elsewhere in the book.

Another source utilized in my investigation is be lecture number 24 of Dr. Damrosch’s video lectures released in 2002 , on “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.” Dr. Damrosch is the Ernest Bernbaum Professor of literature at Harvard University. He holds great strengths in the areas of study of Romanticism the Enlightenment and Puritanism. Dr. Damrosch’s lecture helps to understand the context and theme that William Blake was trying to state. His lecture also is valuable in that it sheds some light on William Blake himself, elaborating on his influences during his time period and his personal beliefs that are exemplified in “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.” Though Dr. Damrosch is a highly qualified individual, his lecture is limited in that it provides only one interpretation of Blake’s work.

Morrison, J. D. (1969). The Lords. London, England: Omnibus Press

Damrosch, L. , Ph.D. (2002). Harvard University [Lecture 24].Blake, Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Video

D. Analysis

William Blake is arguably one of Jim Morrison’s greatest poetic influences. This influence can be found in Morrison’s understanding of perception and reality. Blake believes that man has the potential to perceive infinity, but they have shut themselves from such possibility. “For man has closed himself, til he sees all things thro narrow chinks of his cavern.” (Blake, Plate 14 This theme is presented in several of his works such as “Break on Through” in which he asks the listener go beyond their field of knowing and “Break on through to the other sideBlake suggest that our minds have been closed due the world’s system of order which dictates their perception. Blake and Morrison arose during periods of great change in their societies. Blake expressed his ideas during the enlightenment era a time in which scientist and philosophers tried to make sense of the world through reason.

Blake describes the submission of the people to the principles and doctrines that teach them how to perceive, in his poem “London” Morrison uses these same ideal to describe society in his time. During the 1960’s the youth were rebelling against several tradition western practices (conservatism, materialism, christianity. As a rising rockstar, people looked to Morrison to represent them in the “revolution”, but in turn Morrison would criticize his generation’s lack of power to act. He criticizes their submission to the systems to control their perception. Songs as “Five to One” demonstrated Morrison’s disapproval of the counter culture’s desire for freedom through government overthrow

Blake claimed to have the ability to naturally hurl himself into divine trances This may have been Blake’s way of “opening the doors of perception”. Evidence for this lies in “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” in which Blake frequently praises imagination as truth, as in this example, “Everything possible to be is an image of truth” (Blake, plate 8) This thrust into mind dwelling trances is something that is seen as well in Morrison’s character. During the 1960’s the drug lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) became a popular hallucinogen, one in which Morrison had frequently indulged himself LSD allowed Morrison to cleanse his perception and view the infinite as describe by Blake.

Morrison believed as Blake that freedom is achieved through self-liberation, by “cleansing the doors of perception”. This connection to Blake’s ideal of internal liberation is noticeable in Morrison book The Lords. Morrison describes humanity as a Voyeur looking through a glass into a world where they want to exist. “You may enjoy life from afar. You may look at things but not taste the. You may caress the mother only with your eyes.” (Morrison 1Here Morrison is arguing the existences of two realms. One in which we existed looking in, and other in which we could exist. The infinite possibilities. What Morrison possibly failed to see is the need for both these realms, both these “energies.” As learned in “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” opposites rely on one another, and as they are both essential for the existence of the other neither one can not be describe a good or bad. Despite this idea, Blake and Morrison often attack ignorance and favor inspiration and imagination (which fills their voids for the second realm). They fail to recognize the paradox with their ideals, that to “break on through to the other side” there must exist a side in which to escape from; and if the other side is a source of enlightenment and inspiration, that would that mean that our place (the first realm) is a realm of lies, but if they are truths then they belong on the other side or of which case another side would not exist.

NOTE: These sources were fully cited in Part B, for the full citation please reference this section.

Blake (Marriage of Heaven and Hell)

Morrison J. D., Densmore J.,Manzarek R., Krieger R. (1967)

Blake (London)

Erkel, S. A

Morrison, J.D. (The Lords)

Hunt, J

Blake (The Marriage of Heaven and Hell)

Hunt, J

E. Conclusion

Morrison’s ideals that have been shown through his writing appear to have a unique similarity to William Blake’s “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.” A parallel structure appears amongst Blake’s and Morrison’s desire to seek the unknown. Both Blake and Morrison acknowledge the limitation of man as well the potential to break through these limitations. This structure of parallelism is imperfect at several points. Blake discusses the true nature of opposite energies in “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” in which Morrison took a step forward to describe the sensual unity of natureMorrison also had several other great influences that morphed his ideals. Among these would include the german philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche who proclaimed that “God is dead.”A statement that pushes Morrison to question God and his existence. Despite this it is evident that Blake was a deep profound influence on Morrison his development as poet and a human being.

Morrison,J.D. (The Lords)

Hunt, J.

F. Sources and word limit

Damrosch, L. , Ph.D. (2002). Harvard University [Lecture 24].Blake, Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Video

Blake, W. ,(1790) Marriage of Heaven and Hell, London: Blake

Blake, W. , (1794) London,London: Blake

Mann, R. (Producer), & Forbes III , G. (Director). (1981). No one here gets out alive The Doors tribute to Jim Morrison (Motion Picture) United States: Eagle Rock Entertainment

Morrison, J. D. , Densmore, J. , Krieger, R. , Manzarek, R. (1967) Break on Through. On The Doors. United States: Elektra Records

Morrison, J. D. (1969). The Lords. London, England: Omnibus Press

Morrison, J. D. (1969). The New Creatures. London, England: Omnibus Press

Hunt, J. (2011) Into this house we are born. United States: Lulu.com (publisher)

Morrison, J. D. , Densmore, J. , Krieger, R. , Manzarek, R. (1968) The Unknown Soldier. On Waiting for the Sun. United States: Elektra Records.

Erkel, S. A. ,(2011) The poet behind The Doors: Jim Morrison’s poetry and the 1960’s countercultural movement. Submitted to the faculty of Graduate School of Arts and Science of Georgetown University.

(Word Count:1868)