Comprehension

I. Answer these questions in one or two words.

Q1. When do people pray to Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love?
Answer: In their distress.

Q2. What do people return to the ‘virtues of delight’?
Answer: Thankfulness.

Q3. Who is God for us?
Answer: Our father dear.

Q4. Which of the virtues has a human face?
Answer: Pity.

Q5. Who is seen as God’s child and care?
Answer: Man.

II. Answer these questions in a few words.

Q1. What do people do in distress?
Answer: They pray to Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love.

Q2. What does the term ‘virtues of delight’ refer to?
Answer: It refers to Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love.

Q3. Name the different human forms represented by ‘virtues of delight’?
Answer: Human heart, human face, human form divine, and human dress.

Q4. What kind of man prays to the ‘human form divine’?
Answer: “Every man, of every clime,” who is in distress.

Q5. Where does God dwell?
Answer: God dwells where “Mercy, Love, and Pity dwell”.

III. Answer these questions briefly.

Q1. What human form must all man love?
Answer: All men must love the “human form divine” that embodies the virtues of Mercy, Love, Pity, and Peace, regardless of whether they are “heathen, Turk, or Jew”.

Q2. How do the qualities of Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love embody both God and Man?
Answer: According to the poem, God is the very essence of these four virtues. Man is also an embodiment of them, as Mercy has a human heart, Pity a human face, Love a human form, and Peace a human dress.

Q3. What is the significance of the expression ‘In heathen, Turk, or Jew’?
Answer: This expression is significant because it emphasizes the universal message of the poem. It means that the virtues of Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love are not limited to any single religion but are present in all people, regardless of their faith.

IV. Answer these questions in detail.

Q1. Bring out the central idea of the poem ‘The Divine Image’ by William Blake.
Answer: The central idea of “The Divine Image” is that the divine virtues of Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love are inherent in both God and humanity. Blake argues that God is the source of these virtues, and because they are found in all human beings, people should love and respect each other universally, without regard for religious or cultural differences. When people pray to God, they are in essence praying to the “human form divine”. The poem suggests that to love humanity is to love God, as “where Mercy, Love, and Pity dwell / There God is dwelling too”.

Q2. How does the poem ‘The Divine Image’ by William Blake illustrate the Biblical adage “God created man in his own image”?
Answer: The poem illustrates the biblical adage by showing that the abstract qualities of God are given a human form. It gives God a “human heart,” a “human face,” a “human form divine,” and a “human dress”. By embodying the virtues of Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love in this way, Blake suggests that God’s image is reflected in the compassionate and loving nature of humanity. The poem emphasizes that when we show these virtues, we are acting in God’s image, making the human form a sacred representation of the divine.