The phrase “Take the highway to the end of the night” is not found in Auguries of Innocence by William Blake, but if you’re asking for a Blakean interpretation of this modern phrase (which is famously used in The Doors’ song “End of the Night”, and possibly inspired by Blake), we can explore its deeper symbolic meaning through the lens of Blake’s themes and imagery in Auguries of Innocence.
Interpreting the Phrase in the Spirit of William Blake:
“Take the highway to the end of the night” could be interpreted as:
A journey along a path of experience, suffering, or even rebellion — through darkness — in search of spiritual insight, innocence, or transcendence.
Blakean Themes That Connect:
In Auguries of Innocence, Blake presents the world as full of paradoxes — where good and evil, innocence and experience, are entangled. He believes that to truly perceive the divine, one must confront both the beauty and cruelty of the world. Here’s how the phrase connects:
- “Highway”: In Blake’s symbolic language, this could represent the path of experience or life’s journey, especially a path that is taken by choice and full of consequence — much like Blake’s concept of “Energy” from The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, which he sees as essential to progress.
- “To the end of the night”: Night often symbolizes darkness, ignorance, suffering, or the unconscious in Blake’s imagery — but also the gateway to revelation. Taking the highway to the end of the night suggests willingly confronting these forces to reach a kind of visionary awakening.
Blake writes in Auguries:
“Man was made for Joy & Woe / And when this we rightly know / Thro the World we safely go”
This line emphasizes that to reach spiritual or moral clarity, one must undergo both joy and woe — just as taking a journey into darkness (the night) may lead to transformation or vision.
Summary of Meaning (Blakean Interpretation):
“Take the highway to the end of the night” could be seen as a call to embrace the full spectrum of human experience, even its darkest parts, in order to attain visionary insight or spiritual awakening — much like Blake’s own poetic vision, which fuses innocence with experience to reveal the divine in all things.
If you’re drawing a comparison between The Doors and Blake, it’s worth noting that Jim Morrison was heavily influenced by Blake and often blended surreal, mystical, and symbolic elements in his lyrics — very much in the Blakean tradition.