William Blake’s poetry and Olga Tokarczuk’s Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead Essay Guide
Today, we’ll be looking at William Blake’s poetry and Olga Tokarczuk’s novel Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead (2018) in the updated HSC Syllabus. Below is an unpacking of the new syllabus description for HSC Module A and how we can compare the two texts.
Students explore the ways in which the comparative study of texts can reveal resonances and dissonances within and between texts. Students identify, interpret, analyse and evaluate the textual features, conventions, contexts, values and purposes of TWO prescribed texts. By comparing TWO texts, students understand how authors are influenced by other texts, contexts and values, and how these shape meaning. Through their comparative study, they explore common or disparate issues, values, assumptions or perspectives, and the ways these are depicted. By responding imaginatively, interpretively and critically to the comparative study, students explore and evaluate individual and common textual features, concepts, ideas and values.
Important things to note:
- comparative study of texts can reveal resonances and dissonances between and within texts
- analyse and evaluate the textual features, conventions, contexts, values and purposes of texts
- common or disparate issues, values, assumptions or perspectives
- individual and common textual features, concepts, ideas and values
Main ideas between the two texts:
Links between To Morning and Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead: Blake exalts the spiritually invigorating qualities of nature that elevates the human spirit in the corporeal world. Tokarczuk adopts an ecocentric lens and presents animal and human lives of equal significance. Her narrator immerses into the purity of nature and laments at the harsh exploitation of it by industry and hunters. While Blake’s poem presents an emotive and idealistic celebration of nature’s spiritual rejuvenation, Tokarczuk presents nature as vulnerable against human exploitation yet also cautions its retaliation against humanity.
Links between The Sick Rose and Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead: Blake cautions against the erosion of beauty and innocence due to social pressures to repress passion, in turn making it a clandestine affair that corrupts human connection. Tokarczuk mirrors Blake’s urging for the need to express emotions that are traditionally disapproved of by organised religion eg sexual desire in Blake’s poetry and Wrath in Tokarczuk’s novel. In Blake’s poem, it presents the corruption that results from suppressing human passion while in Tokarczuk’s novel, the narrator’s advocacy for justice for animal rights are repeatedly suppressed by institutions, leading to her corrupted actions of murder.
Links between The Tyger Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead: Tokarczuk echoes Blake’s exaltation of animals. However, while Blake presents the Tyger as formidable and threatening, Tokarczuk presents animals as subjugated by the threat of humanity in 20th century Poland where weaponry and industry is more sophisticated.
Links between The Human Abstract and Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead: Resonating with Balke’s critique of religiously sanctioned moral values, Tokarczuk exposes the hypocrisy of the church who validates the brutal culling of animals and privileging the importance of human life above all other creatures. Tokarczuk also critiques the lack of human compassion within a modern society which prioritises economic and industrial progress over animal welfare. Additionally, Tokarczuk presents the marginalisation of the poor and female gender (the narrator’s marginalisation by the male dominated police) which mirrors Blake’s critiques of social inequity.
Links between A Poison Tree and Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead: Blake cautions how religiously sanctioned behaviours of harmony and peace repress the expression of negative emotions, leading to drastic consequences. Tokarczuk mirrors the neighbourly animosity in Blake’s poem through the narrator’s hatred towards Big Foot. However, she displays compassion towards his death. Yet, her continual complaints about her other neighbours who poach animals remain repressed by social institutions, leading her to ultimately murder them. She uses her unique moral code of protecting animals to justify her immorality, mirroring the persona in Blake’s poem.
Links between Proverbs of Hell and Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead: Both Blake and Tokarczuk emphasise the need to pursue human agency to gain intellectual enrichment, undermining socially sanctioned conduct. Both urge audiences to maintain personal conviction to determine their unique version of the truth. While Blake presents spiritual transcendence, Tokarczuk uses astrology to shape her understanding of the world.
Links between The Book of Urizen and Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead: While Blake cautions against using pure, reductionist logic to control the natural realm, Tokarczuk reflects her secular lens by promoting the use of astrology and personal observations to understanding her world. However, both texts ultimately warn of nature’s retaliation against human intervention or exploitation of the natural world.
Curious to learn more? At JP English, we provide Year 12 students with detailed notes on the prescribed text’s main ideas, context, links to the rubric and form, sample exam questions along with sample essay paragraphs written by state rankers. Additionally, Year 12 lessons are strictly text based and range between 3-6 students so that each student gets detailed support for their school assessments. School assessment help is provided both during class time and outside of class time through our free online marking service. We regularly update our materials so you get the latest exam tips based on our years of experience helping HSC students excel.