Blake

1. I agree with the editor's of the textbook that Blake's poetry had the power to enact social change by appealing to imagination. I believe this because his writing is aimed towards a lower class society. When the people read his text, if they can even read, they are going to relate to his use of imagination because thats all that they rely on in thier life. With no money or possesions, people would most likely use thier imagination to make a better life for themselves, a feeling they can relate to Blake's writing. At the time, his words were helpful to most, but in a society such as today, with different social classes, and the middle class being the biggest, the effect of his words my not have as much as an impact.
2. The editors might have included the Parliament as a primary source document because they felt that Blake's words as a poet didn't represent the entire picture of the working man. When you take into consideration the emotions and thoughts of a person, you would most likely read about them in poetry, especially a romantic poet such as Blake. It is the Parliament that tends to see the outer part of the worker, and not comprehend the inner part of the worker, that is, the physical and not the emotional aspect of the working mans life. The Parliament gave me a further knowledge of the worker in the time period, but it was Blakes text that stuck out to me.