The Grey Monk

by William Blake

"I die, I die!" the Mother said,
"My children die for lack of bread.
What more has the merciless Tyrant said?"
The Monk sat down on the stony bed.

The blood red ran from the Grey Monk's side,
His hands and feet were wounded wide,
His body bent, his arms and knees
Like to the roots of ancient trees.

His eye was dry; no tear could flow:
A hollow groan first spoke his woe.
He trembled and shudder'd upon the bed;
At length with a feeble cry he said:

"When God commanded this hand to write
In the studious hours of deep midnight,
He told me the writing I wrote should prove
The bane of all that on Earth I lov'd.

My Brother starv'd between two walls,
His Children's cry my soul appalls;
I mock'd at the rack and griding chain,
My bent body mocks their torturing pain.

Thy father drew his sword in the North,
With his thousands strong he marched forth;
Thy Brother has arm'd himself in steel
To avenge the wrongs thy Children feel.

But vain the Sword and vain the Bow,
They never can work War's overthrow.
The Hermit's prayer and the Widow's tear
Alone can free the World from fear.

For a Tear is an intellectual thing,
And a Sigh is the sword of an Angel King,
And the bitter groan of the Martyr's woe
Is an arrow from the Almighty's bow.

The hand of Vengeance found the bed
To which the Purple Tyrant fled;
The iron hand crush'd the Tyrant's head
And became a Tyrant in his stead."

The idea of sacrifice runs through the issues explored in “The Grey Monk.” The “greyness” of the monk points physically to his age and the connotations of wisdom and experience. Hence, his ensuing words would be philosophically and morally enlightening – “When God commanded this hand to write…” Also, the colour symbolizes the middle ground between the barren whiteness of the Church and the bloody blackness of the Revolution. As the French Revolution progressed, Blake saw excessive violence and bloodshed being conducted between the Revolutionaries, Counter-revolutionaries and the dictators. The noble cause of the Revolution had been corrupted as it now oppressed the same people that it had aimed to free. The Monk is the symbol of all who had been tortured and sacrificed for it. This is indicated by his wounds – “The blood-red ran down the Grey Monk’s side, his hands and feet were wounded wide” which are similar to the injuries Jesus Christ had suffered as he died on the cross, the ultimate sacrifice to atone man’s sins.

Blake approves of the Monk as he lives a cloistered and austere life – “Stone Bed,” in meditation and to communicate with God. Though Blake abhors the Church and all its Priests in black, he believes that the Monk, also someone connected with the Church, as a “the hermit,” is closer to God than the hypocritical Priests. In many ways, Blake is like a monk as he lived an isolated, simple life, consolidating his theological beliefs and attempting to attain spiritual enlightenment.

The Monk’s intensity of feeling for the oppressed masses has united them as a family – “My brother starv’d… His Children’s Cry my Soul appalls… Thy Father drew his sword… Thy Brother has arm’d himself… To avenge the wrongs thy Children feel.” This kinship of pain and cycle of never ending injustice and violence has paid a terrible price on all involved. The suffering is collective, brought about by the destructiveness of the Revolution. It conveys the message that war is futile.

In the eighth to ninth stanzas, the Monk reveals his inner psyche, criticising the depravation of the idealistic cause. Despite his excessive wounds, he still voices his opposition to the bloodshed and the fighting, “vain the Sword and vain the Bow, they never can work War’s overthrow.” His spirit is still undaunted, he will fight to the very end for the purity of his ideals – “the bitter groan of the Martyr’s woe is an Arrow from the Almightie’s bow.” He speaks metaphorically on what he deems to be the philosophical truth in the struggle between life and death, war and peace. A tear shed in sympathy and love, the prayer made in sincerity and the dying sigh of the Martyr are all weapons connected with God as the “Angel King” and the “Almightie.” These arms stemmed from God as the creative force are by far more superior to the physical death-dealing weapons of war. Hence, Blake is stating that war is not the solution, but the harbinger of greater oppression and turmoil. Intellect and reason are the only tools to bring about justice and peace.

The poem ends with Blake’s view of the legacy of the Revolution. The oppressed masses, having arisen as the “hand of Vengeance,” sought to avenge the injustices of the French absolute monarchy. King Louis XVI, as the “Purple Tyrant,” had tried to flee once he was deposed but the “iron hand” of justice had found him and “crushed his head.” The King was guillotined, but after his execution, followed the Reign of Terror when many were massacred, tortured and executed, with prominent men of the Revolution engaged in a power struggle. Therefore, the Revolution that had sought to achieve equality, liberty and fraternity for mankind had conversely brought about death, persecution and war – “And became a Tyrant in his stead.” On the biblical level, the “Purple Tyrant” can be equated with the serpent, whose head could be crushed by the seed of woman. The monarchy then was associated with Satan and evil. Yet a question is posed now, as to how the Revolution can be compared with this biblical symbol, when it also has established itself as another Tyrant, that is, another Satan.

(analysis from bookstove.com)