Graphene Oxide With Covalently Linked Porphyrin Antennae

Graphene Oxide With Covalently Linked Porphyrin Antennae Swetanshu Tandon Paper Title: Graphene oxide with covalently linked porphyrin antennae: Synthesis,characterization and photophysical properties. Relevant spectroscopic Techniques UV-visible spectroscopy ATR-IR spectroscopy Raman spectroscopy Fluorescence spectroscopy Transient absorption spectroscopy Introduction In this paper, the authors describe the synthesis, characterisation and properties of a hybrid material, GO-H2P, obtained by treating graphene oxide (GO) with 5-(4-aminophenyl)-10, 15, 20-triphenyl-21, 23H-porphyrin (H2P). The characterisation has been done by UV–visible, ATR-IR (Attenuated Total Reflection Infrared) and Raman spectroscopy. Steady state and time resolved fluorescence studies and transient absorption measurements were also conducted to study the electron transfer process from H2P to graphene oxide by photoexcitation. Morphological characterisation has been carried out with the help of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Cyclic voltametry and differential pulsed voltametry were conducted to study the electrochemical characteristics like redox potentials. Choice of techniques Spectroscopic techniques have been carried out on the GO-H2P material dispersed in dimethylformamide at concentration not exceeding 1 mg/mL. UV-visible spectroscopy has been employed in this study due to the presence of porphyrin group which have a characteristic absorption around 420 nm (Soret band) corresponding to a1u(π)–eg*(π) transitions and a weak absorption near 550 nm (Q band).The Soret band involves transition from ground state to second excited state while Q band involves transition from ground state to first excited state. Graphene oxide also shows a characteristic transition at 230 nm again corresponding to π-π* transitions. The nature of linkage can be investigated with the help of this technique. ATR-IR spectroscopy has been used in the study in order to characterise the O–H, C=O, and C–OH bands present in graphene oxide which have characteristic vibrations. Also, in order to confirm the formation of GO-H2P hybrid by the formation of amide units between carboxylic group of graphene oxide and amine group of the porphyrin derivative, ATR-IR spectroscopy can be used. Raman spectroscopy has been used to follow the transformation of graphite to graphene oxide and further to GO-H2P. The sp2 hybridisation in all the three materials, i.e. graphite, graphene and graphene oxide, leads to the formation of different peaks due to first and higher order scattering process. The presence of π-electrons make the scattering process resonant thus making the response stronger. The fluorescence properties of porphyrin derivatives due to π- π* transitions between the two highest occupied molecular orbitals and the two lowest occupied molecular orbitals within the ring justifies the use fluorescence spectroscopy in the study. Fluorescence spectroscopy has been used to examine the nature of electronic interaction between graphene oxide and H2P. The photoexcitability of GO-H2P leads to the application of transient absorption spectroscopy. Transient absorption spectroscopy has allowed the examination of the phenomenon of quenching of luminescence in further detail. Information Obtained A broad monotonically decreasing signal on moving from ultraviolet to visible region was obtained in the UV-visible spectrum of GO-H2P which is characteristic of graphene oxide. The spectrum was obtained in a solution of dimethylformamide at concentration not exceeding 1 mg/mL as mentioned before. Broadening and shortening of the band at 420 nm, characteristic of H2P (Soret-band), is also observed besides its bathochromic shift (by ca. 2 nm) while the Q bands were flattened to the base line. Bathochromic shift signifies increased conjugation. So, it can be concluded that not only there is a linkage between GO and H2P units but also electronic interactions between the two. The ATR-IR spectra provided in the supporting information reveals a peak at 1715 cm-1 corresponding to C=O vibration. The fingerprints are at 3616 cm-1 and 3490 cm-1due to O–H stretching due to their high bond strength. The covalent linkage between GO and H2P moieties is supported by the presence of a peak at 1630 cm-1 which is characteristic of carbonyl group of amide units. The signal due to graphene layer appears in the region ~1650 – 1550 nm. In the Raman spectrum for graphite the G-band, characteristic of all sp2 hybridised carbons, is present at 1580 cm-1. The G/ (or 2D)-band – the first overtone of the D peak which is also a characteristic of all sp2 hybridised carbons – is located at 2725 cm-1 as a sharp and symmetric band. For GO, the Raman spectrum shows a D band, which is a characteristic of disorder for sp2 hybridised carbons, at 1345 cm-1. This accounts for the defects produced due to the oxidation of graphite. Also, the G/-band in GO appears broader and hypsochromically shifted thereby implying the presence of single and bilayers of GO sheets which is further supported by AFM analysis. The Raman spectrum of GO-H2P is almost identical to that of GO. This means that treatment with H2P perturbs the graphene layer of GO to a very small extent. IR as well as Raman spectroscopic techniques have been used in this study to follow the formation of GO-H2P from graphite. Both these techniques complement each other as one (infrared spectroscopy) is applicable to vibrational modes in which the dipole moment of the molecule is altered while the other (Raman spectroscopy) is applicable to modes involving change in the electric polarizability. ATR-IR spectroscopy provides information of the functional groups and thus helps in following and confirming the formation of GO-H2P from graphene oxide and the porphyrin derivative. Raman spectroscopy, on the other hand, supports the observations obtained by infrared spectroscopy. Also, it provides an insight of the extent of disorder of the graphene layer which keeps vibrating. The D band gives information about the extent of disorder in graphene layers. UV-visible spectroscopy provides information about the nature of interaction between GO and H2P units. It, in addition to the data provided b y IR and Raman spectroscopy, points out that transfer of electrons might be possible between the porphyrin units and graphene oxide layers. The nature of electronic interactions of the H2P units with the graphene oxide sheets has been further investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy. On excitation with 418 nm radiation, characteristic fluorescence emission H2P, in dimethylformamide, at 660 nm and 716 nm are observed. In GO-H2P, these emissions are significantly quenched. The emission at 660 nm is also shifted by 10 nm hypsochromically. Quantifying the quenching of the porphyrin emission in this hybrid material tends to be a little difficult because of interference from the absorption of graphene oxide at the excitation wavelength. However, the effective emission quenching of porphyrin in the GO-H2P hybrid indicates that electronic interactions between the singlet excited state of the porphyrin and graphene oxide are dominant. The fluorescence lifetime of photoexcited porphyrin in GO-H2P hybrid have been calculated to be 675 ps (50%) and 1600 ps (50%) which is significantly lower than that of the intact porphyrin, H2P (2900 ps (100%)). This further supports the efficient emission quenching by the graphene sheets. The effective quenching of the fluorescence emission due to H2P in GO-H2P implies electronic interaction between the singlet excited state of H2P with GO. So, H2P acts as an energy absorber unit and GO unit acts as an electron transporting unit. Transient absorption spectrum complements the information obtained from fluorescence spectroscopy using Nd-YAG laser. The Q band can be photoexcited by using a laser light source of 532 nm which led to the population of the singlet excited state of H2P. The band absorption, in the transient absorption spectrum, due to oxidised porphyrin species (H2P+) lies in the visible region at 610 nm. The band observed at 450 nm is the characteristic feature of porphyrin and is almost identical to the one observed in the transient absorption spectroscopy of intact H2P. It occurs due to triplet-triplet absorption of the porphyrin. The bands in the near infrared region are due to the electrons trapped within the reduced graphene sheets (GO) in which absorption is observed in the near infrared region due to the presence of GO species. This is further supported by the absorption spectrum of electrochemically reduced graphene oxide. Thus, transient absorption spectrum provides evidence in support of t he formation of charge separated radical ion pair GO H2P+. The depletion observed near 1100 nm is due to the fundamental YAG laser. The decline of transient absorption with time is a proof of the development of charge recombination which de-excites the radical ion pair back to its ground state. The decay profile for these transient species gave a charge-recombination rate constant (kCR) of 1.8 X 107 s1. This allows the evaluation of the lifetime of the radical ion pair GO H2P+ which comes out to be 56 ns in dimethylformamide. This further confirms that the charge separation is the cause of fluorescence quenching. The emission and transient absorption spectroscopy give information about the conductive nature of GO-H2P hybrid. As pointed out in the observations of UV-visible spectroscopy, the nature of bond in between graphene oxide and H2P if not purely covalent but involves electronic interaction too. Fluorescence spectroscopy helps in further examining the nature of interaction of the GO-H2P linkage. It confirms the observations of UV-visible spectroscopy and indicates the presence of charged species as inferred by the short fluorescence lifetime profile. Transient absorption spectroscopy further confirms this. Also, it confirms that the observations of cyclic voltammetry and differential pulsed voltametry which indicate the presence of radical ion pairs GO H2P+. It also indicates the development of charge recombination which drives the radical ion pair back to its ground state. Overall, it gets confirmed that H2P can easily get photoexcited and transfer electron to graphene oxide which is able to capture these electrons effectively. Additional spectroscopic information that may provide useful information The presence of porphyrin moiety makes this substance particularly interesting. This is because of the characteristic Soret band which is used for its identification. Also, the molar extinction coefficient for porphyrins is pretty high. 5-(4-aminophenyl)-10, 15, 20-triphenyl-21, 23H-porphyrin, which has been used in the analysis, is chiral in nature. So, circular dichroic spectroscopy can be conducted. The high value of the molar extinction coefficient would be helpful as it increases the sensitivity of the technique in this study carried out over this porphyrin derivative covalently linked to graphene oxide. The chiral nature would not only help in supporting the data obtained by various characterisation techniques (infrared, UV-visible, Raman spectroscopy) but would prove helpful in the conformational and configurational analysis of the porphyrin as well. It might also help in exploring the chiral nature of the GO-H2P hybrid. Spectra and Tables

Outline for Quiz

Ideology operates mainly at the level of connotations, the secondary, often unconscious meaning that texts and practices carry, or can be made to carry. D. Ideology is encountered in the practices of everyday life and not simply in certain ideas about everyday life. Question 3 of 20 Which of the following is NOT one of the definitions of popular culture. Popular culture is: A. The culture that is left over after we have decided what is high culture B. An authentic culture that originates from the people' C.A site of struggle between the ‘resistance' of subordinate groups and the forces of incorporation operating in the interests of dominant groups. D. A culture which emerged during feudalism Answer Key: D Question 4 of 20 Which of the following is NOT one of the purposes of the Storey (2009) book? A. Let is about the theorizing that has brought us to our present stage of thinking on popular culture B. Let is about exploring the historically fixed set of popular texts and practi ces that are the objects of popular culture C.It is about how the changing terrain of popular culture has been explored and mapped by different cultural theorists and different theoretical approaches. D. Let is about introducing readers to he different ways in which popular culture has been analyzed and the different popular cultures that have been articulated as a result. Question 5 of 20 Which of the following statements is NOT culture from the perspective culture and civilization tradition of Matthew Arnold? Culture is A. The ability to know what is best B. What is best C. The mental and physical application of what is best D.The pursuit of what is Answer Key: C Question 6 of 20 According to Matthew Arnold, the social function of culture is to: A. Police the disruptive presence of the raw and uncultivated masses. B. Provide an all- encompassing pattern for living C. The material and monetarily attributes necessary for people to carry out a collective life D. Challenge cultural an d social authority Answer Key: A Question 7 of 20 According to the culture and civilization tradition, which of the following is NOT one of the purposes of education in terms of culture? A. To civilize the working class for subordination, deference and exploitation B.To prepare the middle-class children to the cultural power that is to be theirs C. Training to resist the influence of mass D. To develop skills in cultural relativism and the pluralistic approach to cultural meaning. Question 8 of 20 According to the Alleviates, which of the following was NOT a cause or symptom of the cultural decline: A. Advent of Industrial Revolution B. Rise of Mass Democracy C. Advertising and how it is consumed D. Unquestioning assent to authority Question 9 of 20 Which of the following is a point in the mass culture debate? A.The majority choose second- and third-rate cultural texts and practices instead of the texts and practices of high culture B. Popular culture serves a benign function for so cializing people into the pleasures of consumption in the new capitalist-consumerist society C. Without high culture, America is under threat from Graham's Law of culture. D. III of these options are correct. Question 10 of 20 Which of the following is NOT one of the assumptions that the culture and civilization tradition sought to confirm? A. Cultural decline B. Cultural difference C. The need for cultural relativity D. He need for cultural deference Question 11 of 20 According to Grandstand, â€Å"textual analysis† is a strand of interpretative work that includes the study of A. Media genres B. Narrative analysis C. Scholarship on â€Å"the politics of representation† D. All of the above Question 12 of 20 Grandstand claims that most of the new and interesting work on popular culture is being done A. By cultural sociologists B. Outside sociology C. In anthropology D. By the Frankfurt School Question 13 of 20 According to Grandstand, drawing on the theory of hegemony d eveloped by Antonio Grammas, cultural studies A. O not produce important work on popular culture B. Seem to be too close to its British roots to explain the phenomenon of global culture C. Have not been very influential at American universities D. Placed meaning, ideology, and power relations at the center of theorizing Question 14 of 20 According to Grandstand (2008), the challenge of defining popular culture results from A. The existence of too many cultural forms B. Different ways that scholars conceptualized it for analysis C. The postmodern condition D.None of the above Question 15 of 20 Grandstand (2008) claims that different definitions of culture clearly embody A. Different assumptions and political orientations about popular culture B. Particular scholar's preferences for specific cultural forms C. The different socioeconomic backgrounds of scholars D. III of the above Question 16 of 20 Production of culture† perspective refers to A. The Marxist perspective B. Debates about how to interpret culture C. The empirical study of culture-producing organizations within specific institutional contexts D.None of the above Question 17 of 20 According to Grandstand (2008), the majority of contemporary pop culture scholarship is tied to the media, especially television, due to A. The proliferation of media technologies B. The expansion of media systems in the U. S. And abroad C. The increasing connectedness of the media to other cultural pursuits D. III of the above Question 18 of 20 The â€Å"embedded consumption† refers to A. The blurring of boundaries between consumer and consumed in the use of new media B. Marxist view of the relationship between culture and capitalism C. He excessive use of new media technologies D. The dangers in using the new media technologies Question 19 of 20 According to Grandstand (2008), the positive aspect(s) of today's cosmopolitan consumer culture is (are) that it A. Is not bound by old hierarchies of status and disti nction B. Creates a great deal of cultural choice due to the use of new technologies C. Is highly participatory Question 20 of 20 The negative aspect(s) of the today's cosmopolitan consumer culture is (are) A. The growing consolidation of media/ entertainment industries and monopolizing of popular culture B. Globalization of culture C. TTS elitism Which of the following does Cultural stress? A. Structure B. The popular C. Human agency D. Education Which of the following theorists identified that there was a ‘good' popular culture of the working class in the sass? A. Hall and Handle B. Haggard C. Thompson D. Williams Which of the following theorists provided the basis of Cultural by identifying a social definition of culture as a particular way of life? A. Hall and Handle C. Leaves Which of the following theorists identified class as a historical phenomenon and provided an approach to culture that included a history from below?A. Hall and Handle Which of the following theorists developed a category for ‘good' popular culture? A. Hall and Handle Which of the following is NOT a level of culture identified by Williams? A. Lived B. Recorded culture C. Culture of selective tradition D. Mass culture The ability individuals have to be active in their own choices, and to make choices ND act in a way that can change structure/society, refers to: A. Organization B. Human agency C. Mass culture D. Youth culture Which of the following statements about Cultural is NOT true? A.There is an assumption about cultural decline B. There are different types of culture, and they should all be studied C. There is a fundamental difference of value between high culture and popular culture. D. III popular culture is bad. Which of the following theorists found they needed to alter their theoretical approach when youth culture was taken into account? A. Hall and Handle Which of the following theorists based their analyses on a desire for a democratic account of culture, and ba sed their solution to the culture crisis on a desire for a common culture? A.Hall and Handle According to Barnett and Allen (2000), the following form of culture has been largely ignored from the study of the relationship between popular culture and social class A. Music B. New media C. Film D. Fashion The study by Barnett and Allen (2000) compares A. The members of different ethnic and racial groups in terms of their film-viewing B. Members of the upper-middle class and members of the lower- raciest middle class in terms of their filigreeing practices C. Men and women in terms of their film-viewing practices D. III of the above The study by Barnett and Allen (2000) finds that members of the upper-middle class A. Eave viewed more films of all types than lower-middle class members B. Have viewed more art films than the lower-middle class members C. Have viewed more films on videocassette than members of the lower-middle class D. III of the above Katz-Egger (1999) finds that one of th e main determinants of leisure-time patterns and music preferences is A. Race B. Education C. Gender D. Class According to Katz-Egger (1999), various studies show African Americans and white Americans participate in the arts at similar rates and that the effects of race on highbrow culture participation are weaker than A. Ender B. Income C. Place of residence Lopes (2006) argues that comic books have been A. Considered an important form of popular culture in the U. S. B. Have been stigmatize as a form of culture since their introduction in mid-sass C. Have been considered a form of high culture outside the U. S. D. None of the above According to Lopes (2006), low status and stigma are related but differ in distinct says as social phenomena, in such a way that a popular cultural form A. Could have low status but not be stigmatize (e. G. Country music) B. Could have low status and be stigmatize (e. . Rap music) C. That has low status results more negative social effects than a cultura l form that has been stigmatize D. Only A and B Lopes (2006), argues that stigma, as far as a cultural form is concerned, A. Can attach to various social objects, including both forms and practitioners B. Can be global or more specific to genres, styles or social roles C. Stigma usually implies potential harm or pathology . 0 points 1 D. Only B and 24 Answer Key: D 24 Question 20 of 2025 Mikhail (1997) claims that the Museum of Modern Art's activities on behalf of animation A. Ere insufficient B. Illuminate larger questions about cultural value C. Carefully balanced an elitist disdain for mass culture against belief that popular entertainment should be preserved and disseminated as art 1. 0 Points According to Mikhail (1997), art museums fulfill the following role(s) A. Preserve precious objects B. Educate the public C. Set standards by which objects are considered â€Å"art† Question 1 of 20 1. 0 Points Altimeter's key contribution to the study of popular culture was focused on theories related to: A. Mass culture B. Base/Superstructure relationships C.Hegemony D. Ideology In popular culture studies, ‘organic intellectuals' refer to: B. Collectives C. Superstructure D. Youth A. Longitudinal Which approach to the study of popular culture sees popular culture as the negotiation between dominant and subordinate cultures, a language marked by both resistance and incorporation? A. Cultural B. Culture and Civilization Tradition C. Frankfurt School D. Hegemony Which approach to the study of popular culture sees popular culture as a threat to social standards, debilitating the working class, and maintaining social authority?

How does William Blake use symbolism to comment on society in Songs of Experience?

William Blake was a revolutionary philosopher and a poet who felt compelled to write about the injustice of the eighteenth century. Blake was a social critic of the Romantic Period, yet his criticism is still relevant to today's society. Blake encountered many hardships in his life, including an arrest for making slanderous statements about the king and country. All of the events that Blake endured in his life had a great influence on his writing. When Blake wrote the Songs of Innocence, his vision of his audience might have been a little blurred. The audience that Blake's writings were influenced by what were wealthy â€Å"soul murderers†, who bought young children from their poor parents for the purpose of enslaving them. They forced young children to perform jobs that were inapt and dangerous for humans to implement. An audience, therefore, have to take into consideration the mental state of the speaker created by Blake. In William Blake's â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper† in Songs of Experience. The story is told by a little boy. In this particular poem, the speaker is â€Å"a little black thing among the snow†. The little boy is black because he is covered in soot from the chimney that he is forced to clean, but how are readers to know this unless we are familiar with the term â€Å"Innocence†? Later in this poem of â€Å"Experience† the little boy talks about smiling â€Å"among the winter's snow†, giving the reader the impression of a white, snow-capped environment. The image we get from reading â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper† in Songs of Experience is that of a small, lost and abandoned, maybe an African-American child lying in the snow crying because his parents went to the church to pray for what they want, which is not him. This image does is not precise to the thoughts of William Blake and what he is trying to put across, but this poem is in ‘Songs of Experience', so Blake expects the reader to have read some of the poems in ‘Songs of Innocence', and to understand that when he says a â€Å"little black thing†, he is not referring to the racial background of the child. And when he talks about â€Å"thy father and mother†, Blake is not referring to a happily married couple. He is implying that society, religion, and the government share responsibility in the persecution and destruction of children. The ironic thing about this, however, is that a reader who does not understand Blake's intentions can still enjoy this poem. There are many types of irony that Blake uses in his writing. In â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper†, for example, the little boy cries, â€Å"And because I am happy, & dance and sing†. It is somewhat obvious that Blake's speaker is being cynical and says the opposite of what he actually wants us to believe. By reading the rest of the poem, it is easy to perceive that the senses of joy and happiness do not subsist in the boy's life. The main themes of Blake's poem â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper† deal with four general areas of human existence: the nature of humanity, the nature of society, the nature of human-kind's relationship with the world, and the nature of our ethical responsibilities. Blake wrote â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper†, with the intentions to proclaim his belief that everybody had a particular role in the community. The family one was born into determined what he or she would do for the rest of his/her life, no matter what aspirations or dreams he/she might have. This is the category the speaker of the poem falls into. He is a â€Å"Chimney Sweeper†. He was forced into this job without a choice, and so he says, â€Å"They think they have done me no injury†. Many people wonder, who are â€Å"they†? â€Å"They† are the same people who influenced Blake's writing in the first place. In The Songs of Innocence, there is another poem called â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper† which is a complete anonym to the poem analysed previously. Although the two poems are different, they are both constructed from the same viewpoints. One is presentable to immature readers because it has more characterization. Characterization is the author's presentation and development of characters. To understand the characterization in The Songs of Experience, one has to be able to understand â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper† in The Songs of Innocence. The only characterization is that of the little boy and his disapproval of his life and his unhappiness. Though the poem is short, it would still do the speaker an injustice to say that his character is simple, especially when it is extremely prevalent that Blake's attitude toward his speaker is supportive. When considering a particular idea, event, or even a setting of William Blake's poems, it is imperative to notice his choice of words when he describes the little boy. He gives the reader the impression that maybe he himself was somewhat of a deprived child. Blake is not straightforward in expressing his stance, but it is clear what he implies from the emphasized manifestations that he creates when he talks about the little boy â€Å"Crying † ‘weep,'weep,† in notes of woe! † In the examination of this poem, innocence, faith, and lack of self-worth are the predominant themes of the poem. By studying these themes, a very accurate picture of the speaker and learning about innocence and experience is gained. Unlike other poems, which illustrate innocence as something to be treasured, this poem illustrates a sad innocence that is better grown out of. In William Blake's songs of Innocence and Experience, the gentle Lamb and the fierce Tiger contrasts between the innocence of youth and the experience of age. Blake makes it clear that the poem ‘The Lamb' point of view is from that of a child, when he says â€Å"I a child and thou a lamb. Whereas the poem ‘The Tyger' was written from the perspective of a more experienced person who had seen all of the evil in the world. Blake questions the creator of the lamb and he compares the lambs' characteristics to its creator. In ‘The Lamb,' William Blake explains that God can be like a child, meek and innocent, â€Å"He is meek, and he is mild/ He became a little child. † When one thinks of a child they see someone who is meek, pure, and unclear of the world. So a child is like a lamb someone who stands for purity. In this poem Blake is explaining that God considered himself to be like a lamb, innocent and meek when he says, † He is called by thy name, / For he calls himself a Lamb†. A person would never know that God has different faces until one really comes to understand by their own ideas on a personal level who God is and what he is capable of doing. In ‘The Tyger,' William Blake explains that there is more that meets the eye when one examines the creator and his creation, the tiger. All throughout the poem Blake questions the creator of the tiger to determine if the creator is demonic or godlike. Blake asks â€Å"Did he who made the Lamb make thee? † Blake questions whether the same person that created the gentle lamb could be capable of making such a vicious beast, the tiger? Blake has no answer for this question; it is left up to the reader to decide. Blake relates the tiger's environment to one during the Industrial Revolution when he says, â€Å"What the hammer? What the chain? / In what furnace was thy brain? â€Å". This symbolizes what Blake's childhood was like to him and how society treated different people. It asks God why he made evil people as well as good people in the world, why make a society that could so easily go corrupt and sinful? This is one of Blake's trains of thought between the poems ‘The Tyger' and ‘The Lamb' The one thing that makes Blake's work slightly different and more original is that most of his poems are centered around his faith in God. Blake was a man of creativity, one that was widely misunderstood by society. To make poems about the faces of God is truly wonderful to people who share his beliefs. He demonstrates to the world that as a writer he personally understands some of the faces of the God he believes in. In these faces of God, Blake made some fascinating revelations on what society was becoming to be. He related these revelations by subtly making comments, and remarking on the faults of society in most of his poems, mainly from ‘Songs of Experience. ‘ The foundation for a lot of Blake's poems was society and the things he found appalling in it. For example, in his reflection of â€Å"London,† William Blake laments the poverty faced by the lower class of modern, industrialised London, and he can find no note of consolation or hope for their future. Blake uses this theme to dramatically depict the conditions in which the oppressed lower class is forced to live; he develops the theme through the use of sounds, symbolism, and an ironic twist of words in the last line that expresses Blake's ultimate belief in the hopelessness of the situation. The poem is dominated by a rigid meter that mirrors the rigidity and the helpless situation of the lives of the poor and the oppressive class system. The first stanza begins with Blake describing someone who sounds most likely to be himself walking through the â€Å"charter'd† streets of the city near the â€Å"charter'd† Thames. Every aspect of the city has been sanctioned and organized by the ruling class for example, seeing expressions of weakness and woe on the faces of all the people he meets. The streets and the river make up a network that has been laid out and chartered by the wealthy class to control the poor. The poet walks among the poor, participating in the drudgery of their daily lives; he feels their misery as they endlessly struggle to survive as pawns of the class system of the harsh society. In the second stanza Blake describes how in every voice of every person he perceives their â€Å"mind-forg'd manacles. The people are trapped, prisoners of the rigid class system that has been â€Å"forg'd† in the minds of the elite class, whose members have taken measures to prevent their wealth from ever reaching the poverty-stricken horde. This and all later stanzas focus on the sounds that Blake hears, particularly the cries of the poor, as he walks through the city. The third stanza marks a change in tone to a more abstract, symbolic depiction of a â€Å"black'ning Church† being â€Å"appalled† by the â€Å"Chimney-sweeper's cry,† and the sigh of a â€Å"hapless Soldier† running in â€Å"blood down Palace walls. The Church is depicted as being allied with the insensitive elite class: the pleas of the chimney-sweeper, who is blackened with the soot of oppression and doomed to die young of lung disease, are spurned by the Church-the supposed source of pity and relief to the suffering-and in the process the Church â€Å"blackens† itself. The institution has become hypocritical because, while it still preaches pity, it fails to offer any remedy to the oppression of the poor. The soldier, who should be a symbol of the strength and glory of England, is nothing more than another poverty-stricken human, and so the depiction of his sigh running in blood down palace walls symbolizes that the beauty and glory of England, the palace, is marred and made grotesque by the oppression of the soldier class. The fourth and final stanza returns to a slightly more concrete depiction of what â€Å"most thro' midnight streets [he] hear[s]†: the â€Å"youthful Harlot's curse† not only â€Å"blasts the new born infant's tear,† but also â€Å"blights with plagues the Marriage hearse. The unusual, poignant combination of â€Å"marriage† with â€Å"hearse† brings the mood of hopelessness to a peak; as a result of sexually transmitted diseases, marriage and sex are now connected with death, not life. In â€Å"London† Blake's walk itself is chartered and deliberate, and the rhythm of the poem is as oppressive and inactive as the class system whose oppression it describes. Each stanza is further organized by a rigid rhyming structure-the rhyming words at the end of each line end in many r's, w's, and some that bend the sound of the vowels and give the words a heavy, plaintive, woeful, tone. For example: â€Å"How the Chimney-sweeper's cry/ Every black'ning Church appalls;/ And the hapless Soldier's sigh/ Runs in blood down Palace walls. † Intermixed with these plaintive sounds are words with sharp consonants and short syllables that seem to convey Blake's spite for the horrible unjust system currently in society, for example, â€Å"Every black'ning Church appalls† and † . . . blights with plagues the Marriage hearse. † Not only is Blake saddened by the London scene, he is angry and spiteful that the elite class maintains it in an organised way designed to retain the wealth for the wealthy. Therefore Blake's ultimate purpose for the poem is to protest the organised, chartered system of keeping the poor in a hopeless struggle for survival. Blake wrote â€Å"London† two hundred years ago, to protest the oppressive class system of the city he lived in, and yet his message is very easy to understand today. The fact is that there are many places in the world today where the poor are treated in much the same way as the people of London two hundred years ago. It is not a small-scale phenomenon-hundreds of millions of poverty-stricken people continue to struggle through the trials of daily survival, and their suffering weighs heavily on our consciences. This reveals that in this way society hasn't changed a considerable amount compared to when Blake wrote ‘London' although nowadays other issues of which Blake frowned upon have been improved. William Blake was a profoundly stirring poet, whose works were very much shaped by current events. He was, in large part, responsible for bringing about the Romantic Movement in poetry and was also able to achieve remarkable results with the simplest means. Blake's research and introspection into the human mind and soul has resulted in his being called the â€Å"Columbus of the psyche†, and because no language existed at the time to describe what he discovered on his voyages, he created his own mythology to describe what he found there. He was an accomplished poet, painter, and engraver. Many of the works written by Blake reflect his feelings and attitude to the world in which he lived. Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience (1794) is tales in the form of poems of the innocent, pastoral world of childhood against an adult world of corruption and repression. Such poems as â€Å"The Lamb† represent a meek virtue, whereas poems like â€Å"The Tyger† exhibit opposing, darker forces. Thus the collection as a whole explores the value and limitations of two different perspectives on society in the world. Many of the poems fall into pairs, so that the same situation or problem is seen through the lens of innocence first and then experience. Blake does not identify himself wholly with either view; most of the poems are dramatic, meaning, in the voice of a speaker other than the poet himself. Blake stands outside innocence and experience, in a distanced position from which he hopes to be able to recognize and correct the mythical untruths of both. In particular, he pits himself against dictatorial authority, restrictive morality, sexual repression, and institutionalised religion; his great insight is into the way these separate modes of control work together to smother what is most holy in human beings in society. The Songs of Innocence dramatize the naive hopes and fears that inform the lives of children and trace their transformation as the child grows into adulthood. Some of the poems are written from the perspective of children, while others are about children as seen from an adult perspective. Many of the poems draw attention to the positive aspects of natural human understanding prior to the corruption and distortion of experience. Others take a more critical stance toward innocent purity: for example, while Blake draws, touching portraits of the emotional power of rudimentary Christian values, he also exposes over the heads as it were of the innocent, Christianity's capacity for promoting injustice and cruelty. The Songs of Experience works by parallels and contrasts to lament the ways in which the harsh experiences of adult life destroy what is good in innocence, while also articulating the weaknesses of the innocent perspective (â€Å"The Tyger,† for example, attempts to account for real, negative forces in the universe, which innocence such as in ‘The Lamb' fails to confront). These latter poems treat sexual morality in terms of the repressive effects of jealousy, shame, and secrecy, all of which corrupt the ingenuousness of innocent love. With regard to religion, they are less concerned with the character of individual faith than with the institution of the Church, its role in politics, and its effects on society and the individual mind. Experience thus adds a layer to innocence that darkens its hopeful vision while compensating for some of its ignorant blindness. The style of the Songs of Innocence and Experience is simple and direct, but the language and the rhythms are painstakingly crafted, and the ideas they explore are often deceptively complex. Many of the poems are narrative in style; others, like â€Å"The Sick Rose† and â€Å"The Divine Image,† make their arguments through various types of symbolism or by means of abstract concepts. Some of Blake's favourite rhetorical techniques are personification and the reworking of Biblical symbolism and language. Blake frequently employs the familiar meters of ballads, nursery rhymes, and hymns, applying them to his own, often unorthodox conceptions. This combination of tradition and the unfamiliar, with Blake's perpetual interest in reconsidering and reframing the assumptions of human thought and social behaviour depict that Blake's philosophical thoughts have always questioned the ways of society of his time and the future, in many ways his thoughts extracted from his work were indeed correct and by using symbolism in words, metaphors, sounds, enjambments and narrators plus several other ways has commented on society through his personal point of view, he used religion, people's classes, people's occupations, other living beings and indications of emotions to get his ideas across, whether in agreement or not. Most of William Blake's poems especially in ‘Songs of Experience' are disagreeing with the ways of society and the rules.

Definition of Wilmot Proviso

The Wilmot Proviso was a brief amendment to a piece of legislation introduced by an obscure member of Congress that set off a firestorm of controversy over the issue of slavery in the late 1840s. The wording inserted into a finance bill in the House of Representatives would have repercussions that helped bring about the Compromise of 1850, the emergence of the short-lived Free Soil Party, and the eventual founding of the Republican Party. The language in the amendment only amounted to a sentence. Yet it would have had profound implications if approved, as it would have prohibited slavery in territories acquired from Mexico following the Mexican War. The amendment was not successful, as it was never approved by the U.S. Senate. However, the debate over the Wilmot Proviso kept the issue of whether slavery could exist in new territories in front of the public for years. It hardened sectional animosities between North and South, and ultimately helped put the country on the road to the Civil War. Origin of the Wilmot Proviso A clash of army patrols along the border in Texas sparked the Mexican War in the spring of 1846. That summer the U.S. Congress was debating a bill that would provide $30,000 to begin negotiations with Mexico and an additional $2 million for the president to use at his discretion to try to find a peaceful solution to the crisis. It was assumed President James K. Polk might be able to use the money to avert the war by simply buying land from Mexico. On August 8, 1846, a freshman congressman from Pennsylvania, David Wilmot, after consulting with other northern congressmen, proposed an amendment to the appropriations bill that would ensure slavery could not exist in any territory which might be acquired from Mexico. The text of the Wilmot Proviso was one sentence of fewer than 75 words: Provided, That as an express and fundamental condition to the acquisition of any territory from the Republic of Mexico by the United States, by virtue of any treaty which may be negotiated between them, and to the use by the Executive of the moneys herein appropriated, neither Slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist in any part of said Territory, except for crime, whereof the party shall be first duly convicted. The House of Representatives debated the language in the Wilmot Proviso. The amendment passed and was added to the bill. The bill would have gone on to the Senate, but the Senate adjourned before it could be considered. When a new Congress convened, the House again approved the bill. Among those voting for it was Abraham Lincoln, who was serving his one term in Congress. This time Wilmots amendment, added to a spending bill, moved on to the Senate, where a firestorm broke out. Battles Over the Wilmot Proviso Southerners were deeply offended by the House of Representatives adopting the Wilmot Proviso, and newspapers in the South wrote editorials denouncing it. Some state legislatures passed resolutions denouncing it. Southerners considered it an insult to their way of life. It also raised Constitutional questions. Did the federal government possess the power to restrict slavery in new territories? The powerful senator from South Carolina, John C. Calhoun, who had challenged federal power years earlier in the Nullification Crisis, made forceful arguments on behalf of the slave states. Calhoun’s legal reasoning was that slavery was legal under the Constitution, and slaves were property, and the Constitution protected property rights. Therefore settlers from the South, if they moved to the West, should be able to bring their own property, even if the property happened to be slaves. In the North, the Wilmot Proviso became a rallying cry. Newspapers printed editorials praising it, and speeches were given in support of it. Continuing Effects of the Wilmot Proviso The increasingly bitter debate over whether slavery would be allowed to exist in the West continued through the late 1840s. For several years the Wilmot Proviso would be added to bills passed by the House of Representatives, but the Senate always refused to pass any legislation containing the language about slavery. The stubborn revivals of Wilmots amendment served a purpose as it kept the issue of slavery alive in Congress and thus before the American people. The issue of slavery in the territories acquired during the Mexican War was finally addressed early in 1850 in a series of Senate debates, which featured the legendary figures Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, and Daniel Webster. A set of new bills, which would become known as the Compromise of 1850, was thought to have provided a solution. The issue, however, did not die completely. One response to the Wilmot Proviso was the concept of â€Å"popular sovereignty,† which was first proposed by a Michigan senator, Lewis Cass, in 1848. The idea that settlers in the state would decide the issue became a constant theme for Senator Stephen Douglas in the 1850s. In the 1848 president, the Free Soil party formed and embraced the Wilmot Proviso. The new party nominated a former president, Martin Van Buren, as its candidate. Van Buren lost the election, but it demonstrated that debates about restricting slavery would not fade away. The language introduced by Wilmot continued to influence anti-slavery sentiment which developed in the 1850s and helped lead to the creation of the Republican Party. And ultimately the debate over slavery could not be solved in the halls of Congress and was only settled by the Civil War.