블레이크의 숭고와 카니발적 세계관 - 『천국과 지옥의 혼인』을 중심으로
This article aims to study the relationship between Blake’s sublimity and Bakhtin’s carnival theory. The Marriage shows that Blake’s sublimity is not so much an aesthetic experience as an act which opens the self toward others. Instead of following Burke’s sublime obscurity to guild the predominant truth and mystified political ideology, Blake subverts the static world view of Burke by creating the principle of ‘Contraries’: reason and energy, soul and body, ‘the Devouring’ and ‘the Prolific.’ The idea is similar to a ‘gay relativity’ of carnival arriving the ‘both /and’ world in which the self and others coexist. Blake’s satire on dogmatic religion and hypocritical authorities results in Carnival laughter directing not only at people to be laughed but also at those who are laughing. This laughter breaking the distinction between actors and spectators, writers and readers leads to creative interpretation of the text, revealing a completely new world where the fool speaks God’s truth, free from all laws and restrictions. The devil’s voice in The Marriage reflects the wisdom of the holy fool combining the sacred with the profane. Through continual shifting from top to bottom, from front to rear of numerous parodies, Blake reminds us that the sublime has its roots in the process of exploring the new relationship between I and you living in the dynamic world.