Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
44th out of 973 books
—
1,005 voters
The Complete Poetry and Prose
Since its first publication in 1965, this editionhas been widely hailed as the best available textof Blake's poetry and prose. Now revised, ifincludes up-to-date work on variants, chronology ofpoems and critical commentary by Harold Bloom.
An"Approved Edition" of the Center for ScholarlyEditions of the Modern Language Association....more
An"Approved Edition" of the Center for ScholarlyEditions of the Modern Language Association....more
Paperback, 1024 pages
Published
March 5th 1997
by Anchor
(first published December 31st 1966)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Blake was a printer and published his own poems—many illustrated. In fact scholars debate which pantheon to place him: artist or poet. Because of the labor intensive and time consuming manner in which type was set my hand, Blake’s poetry is extremely economic. It is this conservation of words expressing such an abundance of ideas that makes his writing profoundly simple. That combined with the fact he had visions and was probably insane makes for great poetry.
"Hear the voice of the Bard!
Who Pres...more
"Hear the voice of the Bard!
Who Pres...more
I borrowed The Complete Poetry & Prose of William Blake through the Arrowhead interlibrary loan system, which serves northeast Minnesota. I must return it by Feb 4, 2013. Literally, it is a very heavy book in paperback. You could prop up an end of a bookshelf with it, or use it as a doorstop.
I like it so much, I may buy a copy. I knew Blake composed beautiful work. I knew little about how radical he was for his time. He created most of his work during the period from 1784 until his death in...more
I like it so much, I may buy a copy. I knew Blake composed beautiful work. I knew little about how radical he was for his time. He created most of his work during the period from 1784 until his death in...more
I laid me down upon a bank,
Where Love lay sleeping;
I heard among the rushes dank
Weeping, weeping.
Then I went to the heath and the wild,
To the thistles and thorns of the waste;
And they told me how they were beguiled,
Driven out, and compelled to the chaste.
I went to the Garden of Love,
And saw what I never had seen;
A Chapel was built in the midst,
Where I used to play on the green.
And the gates of this Chapel were shut
And "Thou shalt not," writ over the door;
So I turned to the Garden of Love
That so...more
Where Love lay sleeping;
I heard among the rushes dank
Weeping, weeping.
Then I went to the heath and the wild,
To the thistles and thorns of the waste;
And they told me how they were beguiled,
Driven out, and compelled to the chaste.
I went to the Garden of Love,
And saw what I never had seen;
A Chapel was built in the midst,
Where I used to play on the green.
And the gates of this Chapel were shut
And "Thou shalt not," writ over the door;
So I turned to the Garden of Love
That so...more
Nov 30, 2008
James
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Any lover of Blake.
Shelves:
blake,
english-romantics
Erdman's edition of the complete poetry and prose is now the standard edition of Blake's complete works and is the edition referenced by the Blake concordance online (as well as being available online, but Bloom's commentary is not). It is superior editorially to Keynes's edition, but the organization of Keynes's edition always made more sense to me, being more strictly chronological. Furthermore, the Erdman edition heavily edits The Four Zoas to make it a coherent text, so I recommend direct st...more
Aug 24, 2012
Mary Overton
added it
the apocalypse, from The Four Zoas: Night the Ninth:
"... rivn link from link the bursting Universe explodes
"All things reversed flew from their centers rattling bones
"To bones Join, shaking convulsd the shivering clay breathes
"Each speck of dust to the Earths center nestles round & round
"In pangs of an Eternal Birth in torment & awe & fear
"All spirits deceasd let loose from reptile prisons come in shoals
"Wild furies from the tygers brain & from the lions Eyes
"And from the ox &...more
"... rivn link from link the bursting Universe explodes
"All things reversed flew from their centers rattling bones
"To bones Join, shaking convulsd the shivering clay breathes
"Each speck of dust to the Earths center nestles round & round
"In pangs of an Eternal Birth in torment & awe & fear
"All spirits deceasd let loose from reptile prisons come in shoals
"Wild furies from the tygers brain & from the lions Eyes
"And from the ox &...more
When I first saw William Blake's paintings I thought they were naive, in bad taste, and so child-like as to elude serious consideration. But somehow over the years I have gotten into them to the point where I might even put a post-card version of "Urizen creating Adam" on a living room bulletin board and in doing so invoke the oft verbalized consternation of my Blake-hating wife. The trouble with the mass-market prints of Blake though are that all the original darkness has to get brightened and...more
Like other Romantic poets, Blake’s themes include nature and the imagination. His originality is in the mythic system he creates and employs in his major “prophetic” works (The Four Zoas, Milton and Jerusalem The Emanation Of The Giant Albion, for example; Northrop Frye’s book Fearful Symmetry: A Study of William Blake is a study of development of this mythic system). Songs of Innocence And of Experience are more accessible to readers reading Blake for the first time (but they, too, have their a...more
I reconnect on so many levels when I read Blake. Let me quote from the Song of Los:
Times rolled o'er all the sons of Har, time after time
Orc on Mount Atlas howld, chain'd down with the Chain of Jealousy
Then Oothon hovered over Judah & Jerusalem
And Jesus heard her voice (a man of sorrows) he received
A Gospel from wretched Theotormon."
All things change, decay, and are reborn. That is only a part of Blake's message.
Highly Recomended!
Times rolled o'er all the sons of Har, time after time
Orc on Mount Atlas howld, chain'd down with the Chain of Jealousy
Then Oothon hovered over Judah & Jerusalem
And Jesus heard her voice (a man of sorrows) he received
A Gospel from wretched Theotormon."
All things change, decay, and are reborn. That is only a part of Blake's message.
Highly Recomended!
William Blake became one of the most highly regarded writers and painters during his time--after his death. He was opinionated and luckily he was afforded the opportunity to express views that others were persecuted for expressing during that time in history. To fully understand his work, study his life and the societal norms of the day. Otherwise you can't fully appreciate the beauty of his ideas.
Growing up I hated poetry, but Blake was the one that changed that. I found Blake's rhymes pleasing to the ear and I could understand how poetry could convey more than simple prose alone. What I enjoy most about Blake's poetry is when he creates poems in opposition to each other, such as in the Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience.
Blake is arguably the best poet of the Romantic era. However, I doubt I would have tackled him by myself-- I have a profound understanding of him only due to an amazing professor (who had a major man-crush on Blake, by the way, so my opinion of Blake is probably biased as well).
Aug 05, 2011
Larry Ratcliffe
added it
...the only book I have ever stolen...and it was from a library in college! Man what a nutcase. I didn't understand a word but I thought he must have been one wild guy. Later I found out he was.
I haven't read ALL of it, but I've read most of the poetry and a few of the shorter prose pieces. I'm a fan of Blake's. His poetry is amazing.
Often, I enjoy Blake. His more inspired work is really great. However, he was a printer, and in this volume you shall find the many hundreds of pages he wrote, which he does not appear to have edited. So, I recommend a more concise volume, because reading this one is often laborious. One can only read so many poems about Rembrandt that use no imagery or flavor.
I have been doing research on William Blake. So this book is going to be very helpful for me.
Beautiful Madness. I love Blake. This book bring his work together nicely.
Even if you don't love every poem, one must love his devotion to a vision.
MY favorite poet - he sees a world beyond the surface of our vision!
Feb 16, 2011
Cait
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Shelves:
m-a-reading-list,
classics,
ecological-literature,
fantastical,
favorites,
poetry,
political,
religious
Unstable, Destructive, and of course, Sublime. Always a Blake Fan.
Succinct and profound. As Aaron Tindall would say, a heavy weight.
William Blake's writing is still relevant and says so much.
William Blake has got to be my favorite poet. Read 'Songs of Innocence' to your kids and read 'Songs of Experience' for yourself.
This guy was a genius. And he was probably insane.
This guy was a genius. And he was probably insane.
Of course, I didn't read the WHOLE thing.
Truly one of my favorite reads.
Nov 28, 2009
Francine
added it
I still know some of these by heart.
Wonderfully twisted!
At what point does someone get to put a 900 page collection of Blake on their READ shelf? I'm calling it, with the concession that OF COURSE I have not read the entire thing. The 5 stars is awarded to the editors, principally based on the merit of the annotations and intro. It would be odd and churlish to award Blake some number or other of stars.
Unfortunately, Norton restricted the editors in this edition to a purely editorial function. That is too bad, since they are good scholars and have a lot to say about Blake from their side; sometimes opinionated but always lively. I suggest reading the new criticism in this edition but going back to the old edition for the fuller footnotes.
What can I say? Blake is the uncrowned master of interactive poetry, with a mind and energy to examine all things happenin in his times. A visionary with a smile, with an open wink to the devil, witha deep knoledge of the material, sexual and poetic world.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The | 2 | 15 | Sep 03, 2012 03:08am | |
| Black Maven: The Complete Poetry & Prose of William Blake | 1 | 2 | Aug 17, 2011 09:50am |
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 h...more
More about William Blake...
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 h...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“The fool who persists in his folly will become wise.”
—
11 people liked it
“Can I see another's woe,
And not be in sorrow too?
Can I see another's grief,
And not seek for kind relief?
Can I see a falling tear,
And not feel my sorrow's share?
Can a father see his child
Weep, nor be with sorrow filled?
Can a mother sit and hear
An infant groan, an infant fear?
No, no! never can it be!
Never, never can it be!”
—
8 people liked it
More quotes…
And not be in sorrow too?
Can I see another's grief,
And not seek for kind relief?
Can I see a falling tear,
And not feel my sorrow's share?
Can a father see his child
Weep, nor be with sorrow filled?
Can a mother sit and hear
An infant groan, an infant fear?
No, no! never can it be!
Never, never can it be!”
