William Blake

by William Blake

'To see the world in a grain of sand, and to see heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hands, and eternity in an hour' William Blake

William Blake was a poet and artist. Born in Soho in the eighteenth century, the son of a shopkeeper, he is now acclaimed as a radical left-field artist. Most recently, the Tate held an exhibition of his 'Magnificent ... reveal's Blake's vision at its most vivid and strange' GUARDIAN

Blake's written work was equally vivid. A major poet of the Romantic age, the full range of his poetry includes the joyful and sorrowful, the childlike and complex - and illustrates his original and prophetic vision. Considered mad by contemporaries for his idiosyncratic opinions, he is now revered for the depth of his poetry and art, and the philosophical undercurrents intrinsic to all his creative work.

'If the Sun and Moon should ever doubt, they'd immediately go out'

'The imagination is not a state; it is the human existence itself'

Genres: Poetry

128 pages, Paperback

Published January 10, 2023

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

[Iris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this, especially the Songs of Innocence and Experience. It was much more easily readable than Shelley was, although I would have liked more in-depth notes.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Tyger & The Poison Tree smashing