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The Complete Poetry and Prose
Since its first publication in 1965, this edition has been widely hailed as the best available text of Blake's poetry and prose. Now revised, if includes up-to-date work on variants, chronology of poems and critical commentary by Harold Bloom.
An "Approved Edition" of the Center for Scholarly Editions of the Modern Language Association.
An "Approved Edition" of the Center for Scholarly Editions of the Modern Language Association.
Paperback, 1024 pages
Published
March 5th 1997
by Anchor
(first published January 1st 1981)
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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 ...more
"Hear the voice of ...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
An...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
An...more
James
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
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 ...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 bri...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 thei...more
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).
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.
I have been doing research on William Blake. So this book is going to be very helpful for me.
Unstable, Destructive, and of course, Sublime. Always a Blake Fan.
Succinct and profound. As Aaron Tindall would say, a heavy weight.
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.
Jan
marked it as to-read
Suggested by erudite Harold Bloom
Francine
added it
I still know some of these by heart.
Wonderfully twisted!
James
added it
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.
I really wish I could understand Blake. I took a class on his works in college and out of a whole quarter of reading, I only felt I could unravel a few poems. I'm disappointed in myself for this so that's the only reason I don't like this book.
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Krystal
added it
Read and reading... I flip through this book like I used to flip through the pages of the NIV, looking for my favorite passages and the ones I need at the time.
Brushing up on Blake, been awhile!
William Blake works best when being cleverly quoted by Aldous Huxley. There's an awful lot of chaff in this mighty tome.
wish i wouldn't have bought this book considering how much is available on the blake archive.
Joseph
is currently reading it
Will be my bathroom reading for a long time to come. What better place to ponder Blake?
[Poetical Sketches:]
...
[An Island on the Man:]
...
[Tiriel:]
...
...
[An Island on the Man:]
...
[Tiriel:]
...
Michael
marked it as to-read
I really should finally take the plunge and properly read Mr. Blake.
blake is a true poet this should be in everyones collection
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| Black Maven: The Complete Poetry & Prose of William Blake | 1 | 1 | Aug 17, 2011 09:50am | |
| The | 1 | 9 | Sep 13, 2008 09:47pm |
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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 moder...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 moder...more
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“The fool who persists in his folly will become wise.”
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