_Nebuchadnezzar and the Creation of Dissedence _
By: James Martin
The artist of the piece to be examined, "Nebuchadnezzar", painted in 1795, is
the Romantic poet, author, artist and theorist William Blake. I viewed the
piece on Monday 27 September 1999 at the Tate Gallery in Westminster. The
piece is a colour print finished in ink pen and watercolour on paper. (See
Figure 1) The subject of the piece is King Nebauchadnezzar, ruler of the
Babylonian empire from 605 to 562 B.C. The narrative behind the image is that
of partly historical and partly mythological backround. The king is a factual
person, but the image which Blake depicts is from a story of Nebauchadnezzar's
dream and the allegorical interpretations of historical events in the Old
Testament's Book of Daniel to illustrate the power of GodThe story of King
Nebauchadnezzar which the print depicts is that of one of the King's dreams.
The powerful Machiavellian king dreamed one night of a great tree growing from
the earth. The tree produced abundant amounts of fruit and it grew until its
top reached heaven. A celestial being appeared in the King's dream and ordered
him to cut the tree down, leaving only its roots bound in iron and bronze in
the grass. The same being then decreed that the King's mind be changed from a
man's to a beast's Because the King did not understand his dream, he called
on the prophet Daniel to explain it. Daniel told him that Nebuchadnezzar was
the strong tree in his dream. He interpreted the dream as being a decree from
God that the mighty King who ruled without care for anyone but himself would
be condemened to dwell with the beasts so that he would recognize God's
superior power. When the King continued his evil ways and failed to show
compassion for those he oppressed, the dream came true. Nebauchadnezzar now
found himself eating grass as oxen do. He was drenched with the dew of heaven,
and his hair grew into eagles' feathers and his nails turned into birds'
talons.
Word Count: 336
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