What do you think?
Rate this book
A Blake Dictionary: The Ideas and Symbols of William Blake
Organizes information on the places, people, and allusions found in Blake's writings into a concise reference work
573 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
26 people are currently reading
499 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 12, 2007
Obviously I didn't read this cover to cover. It's a dictionary, a listing of references and terms and characters and ideas in Blake's work. Endlessly necessary for any serious reading and study of Blake.
March 8, 2017
An incredibly helpful guide to Blake, context surrounding his work, and even the most esoteric of references. I would have been lost without it.
reference
August 24, 2012An invaluable guide for reading William Blake.
"The MUNDANE EGG is this three-dimensional world of time and space, in which fallen Man incubates until he hatches and re-enters Eternity. Man's consciousness has shrunk: the greater part of the four Zoas remain outside his ken. The Egg stretches 'from Zenith to Nadir in midst of Chaos' (Milton 34:34). The lower half of the Egg (mostly in Urizon) is the Limit of Opacity, or Satan, whose flames ascend beyond his sphere towards the upper half of the Egg (mostly in Urthona), which is the Limit of Contraction, or Adam (Milton 19:15; Jerusalem 59:10).
"Los creates the Egg as a protection. 'We form the Mundane Egg, that [for:] Spectres [the unborn:] coming by fury or amity, all is the same, & every one remains in his own energy' (Milton 25:42)." (287-288)
"VISION is the perception of the human in all things. All nature is a projection of ourselves. 'As a man is, So he Sees.' Each person sees the universe in his own way.... No two painters could possibly paint the same landscape identically. 'All that we See is Vision' (Laoc, K 776). However, it is seen 'not with but through the eye.' The psychological term is empathy; it is the direct contrary of Ruskin's unfortunate theory of the Pathetic Fallacy.
"Blake's visions were not supernatural: they were intensifications of normal experience....
"Blake distinguished four degrees of Vision.... Single vision is not properly 'vision' at all: it is seeing with the physical eye only the facts before it.... Twofold vision is seeing 'through' the eye: it is the perception of the human values in all things.... Threefold vision... is the creative state, where thought appears in emotional form. Fourfold vision ... is the mystical ecstasy..." (436-437)
"The MUNDANE EGG is this three-dimensional world of time and space, in which fallen Man incubates until he hatches and re-enters Eternity. Man's consciousness has shrunk: the greater part of the four Zoas remain outside his ken. The Egg stretches 'from Zenith to Nadir in midst of Chaos' (Milton 34:34). The lower half of the Egg (mostly in Urizon) is the Limit of Opacity, or Satan, whose flames ascend beyond his sphere towards the upper half of the Egg (mostly in Urthona), which is the Limit of Contraction, or Adam (Milton 19:15; Jerusalem 59:10).
"Los creates the Egg as a protection. 'We form the Mundane Egg, that [for:] Spectres [the unborn:] coming by fury or amity, all is the same, & every one remains in his own energy' (Milton 25:42)." (287-288)
"VISION is the perception of the human in all things. All nature is a projection of ourselves. 'As a man is, So he Sees.' Each person sees the universe in his own way.... No two painters could possibly paint the same landscape identically. 'All that we See is Vision' (Laoc, K 776). However, it is seen 'not with but through the eye.' The psychological term is empathy; it is the direct contrary of Ruskin's unfortunate theory of the Pathetic Fallacy.
"Blake's visions were not supernatural: they were intensifications of normal experience....
"Blake distinguished four degrees of Vision.... Single vision is not properly 'vision' at all: it is seeing with the physical eye only the facts before it.... Twofold vision is seeing 'through' the eye: it is the perception of the human values in all things.... Threefold vision... is the creative state, where thought appears in emotional form. Fourfold vision ... is the mystical ecstasy..." (436-437)
October 20, 2019
If you want to appreciate the symbolic density of Blake, this dictionary is extremely useful.
November 17, 2022
Love this reference book - amazing resource for writers
January 23, 2021
Very useful for the grad seminar I took on Blake, about 2 centuries ago.
desk-reference
July 2, 2022Acquired unknown year (1999 or earlier)
The Word, Montreal, Quebec
The Word, Montreal, Quebec
January 11, 2011
A great companion for the prophetic poems
August 6, 2020
An amazing dictionary for those who wants to discover life experience and cultural circumstance in England. This book represents Blake poems and its theme and symbolism in depth.
August 27, 2009
If you're into Blake, as I am, this is a valuable addition to your reference library.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews