America: A Prophecy

by William Blake, G.E. Bentley Jr. (Introduction)

William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age. His prophetic poetry has been said to form "what is in proportion to its merits the least read body of poetry in the English language". His visual artistry has led one contemporary art critic to proclaim him "far and away the greatest artist Britain has ever produced". Although he lived in London his entire life except for three years spent in Felpham he produced a diverse and symbolically rich corpus, which embraced the imagination as "the body of God", or "Human existence itself".Considered mad by contemporaries for his idiosyncratic views, Blake is held in high regard by later critics for his expressiveness and creativity, and for the philosophical and mystical undercurrents within his work. His paintings and poetry have been characterised as part of both the Romantic movement and "Pre-Romantic", for its large appearance in the 18th century. Reverent of the Bible but hostile to the Church of England - indeed, to all forms of organised religion - Blake was influenced by the ideals and ambitions of the French and American revolutions, as well as by such thinkers as Jakob Böhme and Emanuel Swedenborg.Despite these known influences, the singularity of Blake's work makes him difficult to classify. The 19th century scholar William Rossetti characterised Blake as a "glorious luminary," and as "a man not forestalled by predecessors, nor to be classed with contemporaries, nor to be replaced by known or readily surmisable successors".

Genres: Poetry, 18th Century, Religion, School

21 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1793

About the author

William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake's work is today considered seminal and significant in the history of both poetry and the visual arts.

Blake's prophetic poetry has been said to form "what is in proportion to its merits the least read body of poetry in the language". His visual artistry has led one modern critic to proclaim him "far and away the greatest artist Britain has ever produced." Although he only once travelled any further than a day's walk outside London over the course of his life, his creative vision engendered a diverse and symbolically rich corpus, which embraced 'imagination' as "the body of God", or "Human existence itself".

Once considered mad for his idiosyncratic views, Blake is highly regarded today for his expressiveness and creativity, and the philosophical and mystical currents that underlie his work. His work has been characterized as part of the Romantic movement, or even "Pre-Romantic", for its largely having appeared in the 18th century. Reverent of the Bible but hostile to the established Church, Blake was influenced by the ideals and ambitions of the French and American revolutions, as well as by such thinkers as Emanuel Swedenborg.

Despite these known influences, the originality and singularity of Blake's work make it difficult to classify. One 19th century scholar characterised Blake as a "glorious luminary", "a man not forestalled by predecessors, nor to be classed with contemporaries, nor to be replaced by known or readily surmisable successors."

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another prophetic work from Blake, this time couching the then hoped for American civil war in terms of a Biblical battle with the Antichrist. The illustrative plates for this book are gorgeous, particularly the frontispiece.

The plagues creep on the burning winds driven by flames of Orc,
And by the fierce Americans rushing together in the night
Driven o’er the Guardians of Ireland and Scotland and Wales
They spotted with plagues forsook the frontiers & their banners seard
With fires of hell, deform their ancient heavens with shame & woe…’

My next book: Crystal, the Small Miracle

[Jacky Chan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imaginative, mythical history of the American Revolution written by someone who appears high on drugs: I raced through this with joy & please give me some of what Blake was having.

[sajad · Rating 5 out of 5]

The morning comes, the night decays, the watchmen leave their stations;
The grave is burst, the spices shed, the linen wrapped up;
The bones of death, the covering clay, the sinews shrunk and dried
Reviving shake, inspiring move, breathing, awakening,
Spring like redeemed captives when their bonds and bars are burst.
Let the slave grinding at the mill run out into the field;
Let him look up into the heavens and laugh in the bright air;
Let the enchained soul shut up in darkness and in sighing,
Whose face has never seen a smile in thirty weary years,
Rise and look out--his chains are loose, his dungeon doors are open.
And let his wife and children return from the oppressor’s scourge-They look behind at every step and believe it is a dream,
Singing, "The sun has left his blackness, and has found a fresher morning,
And the fair moon rejoices in the clear and cloudless night;
For Empire is no more, and now the lion and wolf shall cease."

[Andy Febrico Bintoro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another mysticism in the form of prophecy. The text was full of metaphor in which we understand very little about it.

[J. Alfred · Rating 3 out of 5]

C.S. Lewis begins the preface to his The Great Divorce like this: “Blake wrote the Marriage of Heaven and Hell. If I have written of their Divorce, this is not because I think myself a fit antagonist for so great a genius, nor even because I feel at all sure that I know what he meant.” I quote Lewis because I feel that if he doesn’t always understand a writer, my own ignorance as regards that writer is therefore less contemptible. As regards Blake’s Prophecies, I am utterly confounded. There's some cool stuff in here about Jesus?

[Ⰰⱃⰿⰰⱀⰴ Ⱆⰾⰴⰵⱃⰻⰽⱁ Ⱅⰵⱄⰾⰰ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Konzor
Zagreb, 2001.
Izabrao i preveo: Luko Paljetak
Unutar tvrdih korica "Vrhovi svjetske književnosti".
Kratak epsko-lirski spjev. Od svih spjevova koje do sad pročitah od Blakea ovaj je ponajviše epski. Naracija dominira nad pjesničkim slikama, s time da pjesničke slike ne gube na živopisnosti.
Jezik Williama Blakea je paradigmatski primjer aktualizacije jezika. Snaga romantizma dobiva nuklearnu energiju u ekspresiji osjećaja. Mrtvilo realizma i trulež suvremenog tržisnog realizma sa svom kopiladi žanrovske književnosti ne može dosegnuti kvalitetu jezika Williama Blakea! Da je nakon romantičarskih genija poput Blakea došao mimetično-libtarski crv poput Flauberta; svjedočanstvo je degeneracije naše kulture i naše civilizacije. Da je nakon gejzira Blakea došla kaljuža Flaubert...
No, tekstovi romantizma uvijek ostaju. Sjaj tame se ne može isprati škrabuljenjem realista i dekonstruktivista.
Sadržajno ovaj spjev, Blake ga je nazvao "viđenje", progovara prije svega o pobjedi romantičarskog doba nad klasicističkim. Paljetak gubi iz vida taj dublju sloj, Luko spominje u fusnotama isključivo prvi sloj teksta; pobjedu Sjedinjenih Američkih Država nad Ujedinjenim Kraljevstvom. Ne kužim kako Paljetak ne navodi dublje slojeve značenja.
Blake izravno spominje velikane 1776.; Georgea Washingtona, Benjamina Franklina, Thomasa Painea, lučonoše i poglavešine svog vremena, pobunjenike duha: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrT_L.... Ako ijedna riječ bolje objašnjava romantizam to je pobuna.
Blake dokazuje to svojim "viđenjima". Samo ne radi se o nekoj plitkoj materijalističkoj pobuni, Blake stvara nova božanstva; vatreni bog Orc pobjeđuje boga razuma i dogme, Urizena. Urizen je u biti metafora činjenice da svaka religija slavi Demiurga, Urizen je bog palog svijeta. Orc putem 1776. pali Ameriku i pobjeđuje Urizena i cijeli "Albion", odnosno Englesku.
Pobjeda Orca nad Urizenom je pobjeda osjećaja i stvaralaštva nad razumom i dogmom. To je pobjeda romantizma nad klasicizmom, ono je pobjeda stvaranja nad oponašanjem. To je pobjeda slobodarskog kršćanstva romantizma nad totalitarizmom prosvjetiteljstva racionalizma i klasicizma.
Pročitajte ovo!
Hasta luego!

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the French Resolution, this poem too treats history with a dash of mythological belvedere. But now Blake focuses less on the diurnal events. He is invested more on the spiritual implication of the American revolt in this poem. The plot is as follows: Washington and his friends grumble of oppression and are threatened by a furious Albion’s angel (spirit of Repression). At this moment Orc (revolution) detonates from the mid-Atlantic, defies England and promises human liberation. The angel sounds war, but the 13 colonies refuse to obey and the 13 governors are destitute. The angel sends spiritual troops armed with plagues. But the plagues shudder upon England. Urizen, the tyrant-god arbitrates and freezes the action for 12 years. However, it is promised that the light of revolt will reach France and set Europe ablaze. This is one of the most representative and pictorial poems of Blake.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blake's got some imagination. I'm not sure what to make of this, but I don't think anybody else in the world, at any time, could have written it, so that ought to count for something.