The Bard's Song I: From the Beginning Until the Creation of Fallen Space

Abstract

Like Chapter 2, this first chapter deals with the use of speech in the first structural part of Blake's poem, which is called the Bard's Song. The Bard's Song deals with the Fall, and so here the speech acts are connected to developments associated with this early phase of Blake's myth, such as the emergence of Sin and Death as well as the creation of fallen space and time. That said, in Blake's mythology, the story of the Fall is also the story of the limits to the Fall which also contains the seeds of restoration, so the developments and speech acts in this part are also auguries of apocalypse. After an initial contextual section, this chapter deals first with Los's scolding Satan, Palamabron's attempt to boost morale in a speech to his servants and Los's attempts to resolve the conflict through peace-making. It proceeds with a discussion of Los's attempt to draw a line under the events of the day (‘a blank in Nature’), which proves ineffective. Next, it turns to the trial conducted by the ‘Great Solemn Assembly’ and focuses on the speech made by Satan (revealing his hand) when the verdict goes against him. It explains how the creation of fallen space follows on from Satan's defeat and his performative use of language.