In his Illuminated Books, William Blake combined text and imagery on a single page in a way that had not been done since the Middle Ages. For Blake...
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Aug 02, 2010
Maguxy
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Estos poemas son la mejor forma de ejemplificar que con lo simple se llega a todos lados: vocabulario sencillo, frases cortas... todo eso para que llegara a un numero mayor de lectores, aunque en su epoca, cuando Blake publico por primera vez "Songs of innocence" lo tomaron por un libro para niños, de simple que le parecia a todo el mundo, ademas de las ilustraciones que traia, hechas por el mismo Blake.
Pero su intencion no era aleccionar a los niños en los comportamientos More...
Pero su intencion no era aleccionar a los niños en los comportamientos More...
Aug 27, 2009
Elaine
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The heaviest paperback I own. It's a large book with plates of all of Blake's books and etchings. I found it wonderful with the explanations in the Damon Dictionary and Erdman's plate by plate analysis. Although Erdman is also a complete work, the plates are not in color as they are here, and the plates are far smaller. I find myself comparing the two, plate by plate. All of these Blake books are of the sort that one never really finishes. One studies a plate or more at one time, then puts it
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Jul 20, 2010
From the Foreword: "The present volume is the latest product of The William Blake Trust's commitment to the publication of Blake's Illuminated books.... While ... fulfilling its responsibility to scholars, the Trust has been keenly aware that the pages of the Illuminated books offer delights for the eye and excitement to the imagination that are independent of full understanding of textual and visual significances. To make such satisfactions open to the widest possible public the Trust has
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Oct 20, 2007
Antiabecedarian
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PRETTY pictures. And wonderful pictures. And awful pictures. I mean that in the clearest origin of the words: awe full and wonder full, ok? For my personal study of how I am not able to draw, or perhaps might alter what I have done already, like a touchstone, since it's impossible to imitate; therefore infallible. The first hippie. I wouldn't read Blake unless I had to for a grade. I could look at the pictures all day, though, till the pastel and tortured teenage notebook aspects start t
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Jan 23, 2009
Allison
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Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience are absolutely fantastic, but absolutely need to be read in context with their illustrations. Blake engraved every one of his poems and the text is continually interacting and engaging with its engravings. Interestingly, Blake was wholly irrelevant during the Romantic period and sold only a handful of copies of his work. It is only in recent history that scholars have included Blake in the romantic literary canon, where he is now impossible to ignore.
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May 22, 2009
Angie
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A delectable book in terms of design and illustration. Blake still had the need of drawing from his poem's scenes. His was a case like that of Rossetti, who also paint and wrote on a same theme. I still wonder which thing was first. I agree with some comentaries, that this is not exactly a book to approach Blake's poetry, there are other books for that purpose.
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Jun 02, 2011
Omri
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I've got a copy of this amazing edition and I'm mesmerized by the beautiful beautiful production. This is definitely a must for every Blake fan! The album size paper allows you to enjoy both the artwork and the written-work of this complicated and symbolic writer, in a way which redefines the concept of poetry reading. Wonderful book.
May 28, 2009
Chris
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To really understand Blake you have to read it with the original illuminations. Get your hands on the largest format you can find. I visited the NYC Library almost everyday for almost a year as they turned one page a day of an original. Great poetry, great art.
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Jan 06, 2010
Blake's prose coupled with the illuminations offered her are spine chilling and often angelic. A veritable bible for the soul...If you are not already prone to madness. A must have for your library. And if your not into poetry...WHEEE...cool pictures!
Jul 29, 2009
Auntjenny
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Do you know where The Doors got their name from? Or from where Aldous Huxley stole his title The Doors of Perception? Willy Blake! In middle school, we sang "The Tyger" and "The Lamb" in choral...and "The Tyger" especially stuck with me. I love it. So in college, when I learned more about Blake, I fell in love all over again and ended up writing my thesis about him.
Jul 22, 2011
Michelle
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I had no idea how essential his original illuminations are to Blake's poems until I saw this book. Don't read Blake without them.
Dec 22, 2010
Your skin like dawn
Mine like musk
One paints the beginning
of a certain end.
The other, the end of a
sure beginning.
Mine like musk
One paints the beginning
of a certain end.
The other, the end of a
sure beginning.
Jun 05, 2008
Sean
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Blake is insane, that's for sure. He leaps back and forth over the line of genius/madman like no one else. The illuminated books are intense. Reading his works in his own handwriting coupled with his illustrations gives them a great and unique power. He creates an entire mythical world in these works, much of which is tricky to wrap one's brain around, but I enjoyed trying.
Dec 16, 2009
Cody
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"Lo! to the vault of paved heaven, with sorrow fraught thy notes are driven, they strike the ear of night, make weep the eyes of day, they make mad roaring winds, and with tempests play." The combination of Blake's vivid, manic poems and watercolors is a multimedia extravaganza. Gesamtkunstwerk 4-ever!
Dec 16, 2009
Melissa
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O Rose, thou art sick!
The invisible worm
That flies in the night,
In the howling storm,
Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy:
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.
One of my favorite poems in the world. What would life be without the Romantics? I shudder to think.
The invisible worm
That flies in the night,
In the howling storm,
Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy:
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.
One of my favorite poems in the world. What would life be without the Romantics? I shudder to think.
Dec 17, 2009
Jessica
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Blake isn't my favorite Romantic, but this is a stunningly beautiful collection of his illuminated manuscripts. It's definitely worth a look if you're interested, and worth owning if you're a Romantic(ist)-type person.
Oct 26, 2008
Michael
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This one's not exactly reviewable as it's more of a reference book. I wanted to get an idea of what Blake's work was all about - he really was a man out of his own time as far as his religious views went.
Nov 17, 2008
PD
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IF you want to read Blake, by all means read the illuminated versions. And then keep Erdman's text on hand for difficult to read passages, the glossary and annotations.
Feb 12, 2012
Feb 11, 2012
