MOUNTAIN

Jacob's Dream

British Museum

We return to Northrop Frye's last major work Words With Power: Being a Second Study of "The Bible and Literature."  Part 2 of his book Frye devotes the four chapters to four metaphoric topics : the Mountain, the Garden, the Cave and the Furnace. The Garden was my first post on these topics; the second is the Mountain.  

The image at the top of this page titled Jacob's Dream shows a spiral stairway between two levels of existence which we identify as earth and heaven. Jacob sleeps and dreams of a ladder between himself asleep on earth, and heaven above him in the sky. Angels of God traverse in both directions connecting heaven and earth.

Blake uses the term ladder only four times in his poetry but he uses mountain 224 times in his writings: poems, letters, and annotations. From this we may assume that mountain was an important symbol to Blake. Frey sees the symbol mountain to represent "a cluster of images" including ladders, towers, temples, winding of spiral stairs, "all with the symbolic sense of connecting with a higher a higher state of existence from the ordinary one."

This passage is from a poem enclosed in a letter which Blake wrote to Anna Flaxman in gratitude for her help with his and Catherine's move to Felpham. Notice the words Heaven, Ladder, Angels, descends, Turret, spiral, Ascend - all words that Frye associates with the symbol mountain. Blake's enthuiasm for the move to Felphem led him to feel transformed to a higher plane of existence.

Letters, To Mrs Anna Flaxman, 14 Sepr 1800 (E 709) 

"Away to Sweet Felpham for Heaven is there The Ladder of Angels descends thro the air On the Turret its spiral does softly descend Thro' the village then winds at My Cot it does end You stand in the village & look up to heaven The precious stones glitter on flights seventy seven And My Brother is there & My Friend & Thine Descend & Ascend with the Bread & the Wine"

From Page 151 of Words with Power:

"To the imagination, the universe has always presented the appearance of a middle world, with a second world above it and a third one below it. We may say with some qualifications, that images of ascent are connected with the intensification of consciousness, and images of descent with the reinforcing of it by other forms of awareness, such as fantasy or dream. The most common forces of ascent are ladders, mountains, towers, and trees; of descent, caves or dives into water." 

Genesis 28

[10] And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran.
[11] And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.
[12] And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
[13] And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
[14] And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

"The ladder of the dream was a ladder from heaven rather than to it; it was not a human construction but an image of the divine will to reach man." (Page 152)

In this letter Blake cites the book of Ezra as an early influence on his spiritual development:

Letters,  to Flaxman, (E 707)

"Now my lot in the Heavens is this; Milton lovd me in childhood & shewd me his face Ezra came with Isaiah the Prophet,"

A passage in Ezra points out the loving care that that God has for his creation. The connection between God and man is indicated to be in the direction of a providential God to mankind.

4Ezra.8

[47] For you come far short of being able to love my creation more than I love it. But you have often compared yourself to the unrighteous. Never do so!
[48] But even in this respect you will be praiseworthy before the Most High,
[49] because you have humbled yourself, as is becoming for you, and have not deemed yourself to be among the righteous in order to receive the greatest glory.
[50] For many miseries will affect those who inhabit the world in the last times, because they have walked in great pride.
[51] But think of your own case, and inquire concerning the glory of those who are like yourself,
[52] because it is for you that paradise is opened, the tree of life is planted, the age to come is prepared, plenty is provided, a city is built, rest is appointed, goodness is established and wisdom perfected beforehand.

In this passage from the Four Zoas, Urizen the Zoa of reason has been forced into the unconscious or the 'deep dens of Urthona' as a result of refusing to allow his energies to be dedicated to the service of his Lord or the unified wholeness. His mountains symbolize where his thinking took place, and his sons represent the wisdom originating in his brain. Blake insinuates that the loss of his reasoning function had changed Urizen's perception and left him without joy or discernment.

Four Zoas, Night V, Page 63,(E 343) 

"The Woes of Urizen shut up in the deep dens of Urthona

Ah how shall Urizen the King submit to this dark mansion
Ah how is this! Once on the heights I stretchd my throne sublime 
The mountains of Urizen once of silver where the sons of wisdom dwelt
And on whose tops the Virgins sang are rocks of Desolation

My fountains once the haunt of Swans now breed the scaly tortoise
The houses of my harpers are become a haunt of crows
The gardens of wisdom are become a field of horrid graves        
And on the bones I drop my tears & water them in vain

PAGE 64 
Once how I walked from my palace in gardens of delight
The sons of wisdom stood around the harpers followd with harps
Nine virgins clothd in light composd the song to their immortal voices
And at my banquets of new wine my head was crownd with joy

Then in my ivory pavilions I slumberd in the noon 
And walked in the silent night among sweet smelling flowers
Till on my silver bed I slept & sweet dreams round me hoverd
But now my land is darkend & my wise men are departed

My songs are turned to cries of Lamentation 
Heard on my Mountains & deep sighs under my palace roofs         
Because the Steeds of Urizen once swifter than the light
Were kept back from my Lord & from his chariot of mercies"