The Everlasting Gospel and Other Poems

by William Blake, Sasha Newborn (Editor)

An edition of Blake's poems concerning his beliefs that were not published in his lifetime. His wit and characteristic outspokenness show his combination of skepticism and firm conviction. These pieces were drawn from his notebooks, some of which are fragments, and a few seem to overlap, as if he were experimenting with different openings. His unfinished poem titled “The Everlasting Gospel” gives an enduring message, and presents a humanist document with few parallels.

Genres: Poetry, Religion

68 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1818

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

[James Magrini]

What the %$#@?

I know that I’m going to take heat for this review, but I must be honest…

Pros:

The now-famous line: “If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.” ~ A Memorable Fancy
Proverbs of Hell contains a poetic distillation of both Nietzsche and Feuerbach on the origins of religion and the “priestly” cast – indicating the control religion exercises on humanity, or as Blake has it, “the vulgar.”

Cons:

The Book of Revelation is more comprehensible than most of the poems in this collection. Seriously, these poems are so arcane and cryptic that they appear to have been penned by an insane person. I needed to read Emily S. Hamblen’s essay, “William Blake and the Everlasting Gospel” to bring together an interpretation that made some semblance of sense.

Dr. James M. Magrini
Former: Philosophy/College of Dupage
NCIS

[Sasha Newborn]

Revealing. Provocative -- well, isn't Blake always so? Glad this seemed to be free of Swedenborgianisms.

[luxintenebris]

still makes my head hurt. Incredible.