Complete Writings with Variant Readings

by William Blake, Geoffrey L. Keynes (Editor)

Reprinted lithographically in Great Britain at UP Oxford by Vivian Ridler, edited by Geoffrey Keynes

Genres: Poetry, Literature

960 pages, Paperback

Published December 31, 1966

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

[Anthony Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's hard to think of another poet who has had so much influence on modern speculative fiction. Lyrical brilliance combined with a boundless imagination and, as you'll discover from his correspondence and more ribald verse, a profound sense of humour. However, it's in Blake's contemplations of the spiritual and metaphysical that most fellow fantasists will find greatest inspiration: 'To see a world in a grain of sand...' Try beating that one.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

And was Jerusalem builded here
Among these dark satanic mills?

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good edition of the works of Blake with useful annotations. Deserves more attention and use than it gets.

[?0?0?0 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blake fans need this, of course.