William Blake's Writings 2 Vols

by William Blake, Professor of English G E Bentley Jr Jr (Editor)

1820 pages, Hardcover

First published February 22, 1979

About the author

William Blake (November 28, 1757 - August 12, 1827) 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

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

While a tour de force of visual art, poetry and prose, Blake’s writings leave me bewildered. I'm not much for religious mysticism and strange mythologies. Born thousand years earlier, Blake would have been a prophet. While there is no doubt about his passion and creativity, to me, in the 21st century, his works do not have a great appeal. There is an audience for this, but it’s not me.

America *** – This is Blake’s mythological telling of the American Revolution and the defeat of the British (aka Albion’s Angel) by Orc, a kind of god of rebellion (not a whale). Blake’s engraved works are their own wonders. I'm surprised, though, by how divorced the etchings are from the narrative. The etchings really do not depicts what's happening in the poem.