22. The Book of Urizen, copy F, plate 17. Houghton Library, Harvard University.
23. The Song of Los, copy E, plate 4. Reproduced by permission of The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
24. Milton, copy D, plate 47. Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection, Library of Congress. Copyright © 2014 William Blake Archive. Used with permission.
25. Jerusalem, copy E, plate 6. Yale Center for British Art.
26. Jerusalem, copy E, plate 70. Yale Center for British Art.
27. Visions of the Daughters of Albion, copy G, plate 3. Houghton Library, Harvard University.
28. Visions of the Daughters of Albion, copy G, plate 6. Houghton Library, Harvard University.
29. Henry Fuseli, The Nightmare, oil on canvas. Detroit Institute of Arts / Bridgeman Art Library.
30. Visions of the Daughters of Albion, copy G, plate 2. Houghton Library, Harvard University.
31. Satan Watching the Caresses of Adam and Eve. Pen and watercolor. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
32. The Book of Urizen, copy C, plate 18. Yale Center for British Art.
33. Milton, copy C, plate 39. New York Public Library.
34. Beatrice Addressing Dante from the Car. © Tate, London 2014.
35. Jerusalem, copy E, plate 2. Yale Center for British Art.
36. The Ancient of Days: Europe: A Prophecy, copy E, plate 1. Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection, Library of Congress. Copyright © 2014 William Blake Archive. Used with permission.
37. The Book of Urizen, copy F, plate 5. Houghton Library, Harvard University.
38. Elohim Creating Adam. © Tate, London 2014.
39. Jerusalem, copy E, plate 76. Yale Center for British Art.
40. Jerusalem, copy E, plate 99. Yale Center for British Art.
INDEX
Page numbers in italic type indicate images.
Abel (biblical), 105
Abraham (biblical), 189
Abrams, M. H., 231
“Accuser,” Blake’s meaning of, 252–53
Achilles, great shield of, 169
Ackroyd, Peter, 3, 19
Adam and Eve, 70, 71, 83, 195, 204–6 (color plate 31)
creation of, 218, 246–47 (color plate 38)
expulsion from Eden of, 73, 105, 217
innocent sex and, 204–5
original sin and, 70, 217
shame and, 217
temptation of Eve and, 112. See also Fall
Adonis, 56
African slaves, 200
afterlife, 65–66, 91
Blake’s conception of, 67, 141–42, 168, 169, 266. See also Eternity; Heaven; Hell
agnosticism, 49, 238
Ahania (Urizen’s emanation), 160–62, 221
Albion (Blake’s universal humanity), 136, 142, 157, 173, 190, 213, 228, 229
adoration of Jesus and, 256 (color plate 39)
awakening of, 185
collective breakup of, 162, 184
Daughters of Albion and, 198–204
emanation of (see Jerusalem)
liberation of, 186. See also Four Zoas, The; Zoas
Albion (poetic name for England), 98, 111, 141, 192
Albion Rose (Blake color print), 98–99, 100, 101, 108, 125, 256 (color plate 11)
two impressions of, 98
Albion’s Angel, 115, 117
Albion’s Fatal Tree: Crime and Society in Eighteenth-Century England (Hay ed.), 151
Alcuin of York, 143
Allamanda (nervous system), 189
Allegro, L’ (Milton), 46–49
All Religions Are One (Blake pamphlet), 235
Alteration, The (Amis), 37
altered consciousness, 131
America, 199
America: A Prophecy, 26–27, 28, 29, 104–15, 107, 111, 113, 116, 118, 155, 181, 206
addition of four lines (1795) to, 117
anticipation of apocalypse and, 186–87
copy M (color plate 16)
naked male figure and, 109, 266
“Preludium,” 104–5 (color plate 14)
sequel to (see Europe: A Prophecy)
social message of, 140, 163
American Revolution, 13, 106, 108, 118
Amis, Kingsley, The Alteration, 37
ampersands, 6
anacalyptic, 143, 292n8
anapests, 55–56
anatomists, 176
Ancient of Days, The (Blake print), 237, 238–39, 247, 267 (color plate 36)
Ancients (young disciples of Blake), 264
androgyny, 102, 229, 256, 257
anemone, 56, 57
angels, 70, 102, 158, 211
fallen, 83, 252, 253
Anglican Communion. See Church of England
anima (Jungian concept), 218
animal magnetism, 130
animism, 48
antinomians, 97, 101, 102
anti-proverbs, 103
Antiquities of Athens (Basire), 247, 248
apocalypse, 169, 174, 181, 185–88
interior, 213
Apollo (deity), 153
Apollo Belvedere (sculpture), 190
apple tree symbolism, 51, 85
apprenticeships, 10, 12, 27, 63–64, 89, 99, 258
Arcadian past, myth of, 148
archetypes, female, 217–18
Areopagitica (Milton), 98
Armitage, Thomas, 7
Arthur (legendary king), 221, 222
artistic creativity, 155, 169, 172, 175–76
biblical inspiration for, 236
division among opposites and, 139
Golgonooza as city of, 185, 188, 194, 247
Los as source of, 162, 176, 184–85
Asbury: A Temple of the Ancient Druids (Stukeley), 192, 193
atoms, 122
atonement, doctrine of, 217
Audubon’s illustrated books, 26
Auguries of Innocence (Blake), 66, 92–93
Augustine, Saint, 37
Aura (breeze), 229
Avebury ancient temple, 114, 192, 193, 194
Babbage, Charles, 31
Babylon, 89, 150, 153, 229
Babylonian captivity, 157–59
baptism, 56
Barberini Faun (Roman statue), 108
Bard, The (Gray), 290n39
Basire, James, 10, 16, 64, 89, 117, 258
Boreas, 247, 248
bats, 99, 100, 101
Beatrice (Dante’s guide), 225–28
Beatrice Addressing Dante from the Car (Blake), 225–27 (color plate 34)
Beckett, Samuel, Endgame, 270
Belle Dame sans Merci, La (Keats), 221
Bentley, G. E., 3, 14, 19, 158, 195
The Stranger from Paradise, 197
William Blake’s Writings (ed.), 6
Berger, Peter, 5
Bernini, Gian Lorenzo, Teresa in Ecstasy, 203
Beulah (Blake symbol), 48, 141, 188, 201, 206, 211, 232
Bhagavad Gita, 114
Bible, 73, 88, 101, 163–64, 177, 204, 251
approved books of (1789), 248
Blake borrowings of images from, 106, 110, 112, 114, 121, 123, 143, 146, 150, 153
Blake’s counterclockwise reading of, 42, 236
Blake’s critique of, 118, 121, 236, 248
as code of art, 236
creation account and, 169, 176
E and J texts, 246
nineteenth-century scholarship and, 245–46
seventeenth-century radicals and, 96–97. See also New Testament; Old Testament; specific books
Biko, Steve, 91
Bindman, David, 175
bipolar disorder, 133, 134
birth. See childbirth
birth-death cycle. See cycle of life; Generation
Birth of Venus (Botticelli), 229
Blacksmith image, 169, 172, 173–74, 175, 183, 184–85, 194 (color plate 25)
Blacksmith’s Shop, A (Wright painting series), 172
Blair, Robert, The Grave, 19, 93, 266–67, 268
Blake,
Catherine (mother), 7, 9, 180
Blake, Catherine (sister), 8, 128, 179, 180
Blake, Catherine (wife), 9, 27, 104, 195–97, 233
Blake sketch of, 19, 20, 267, 269
Blake’s nickname “Kate” for, 253
as Blake’s printing helpmate, 4, 19, 31, 57, 195
burial site of, 270
childlessness of, 51, 218
courtship and marriage of, 18–19
Felpham move by, 128, 129, 130, 135
Hayley’s praise for, 135
illnesses of, 179–80
London residences of, 151, 261
marital relations of, 19, 195–96, 204–6, 218
Ololon’s descent to united with, 219 (color plate 33)
portraits of Blake and, 262, 264
prettiness of, 18
supportiveness of, 19
visitations of Blake’s
spirit to, 9, 269
widowhood and death (1832) of, 269
Blake, James (brother), 7, 37, 180, 260, 266
Blake, James (father), 7, 8, 9, 137, 179, 180
Blake, John (brother), 7, 8, 179, 180
Blake, Robert (brother), 7–8, 25, 179, 180, 196
as Blake’s alter ego in Eternity, 168–69, 172
Blake, William: androgyny ideal of, 229
antinomians and, 97, 101, 102
apocalyptic breakthrough of, 187–88
apprenticeship to engraver of, 10, 16, 64, 89, 99, 258
artist friends of, 12–13, 13, 20–21, 33, 93, 127, 264, 266, 269
artistic conversion experience (1804) of, 136–38
artistic genius of, 1–2, 270–71
artistic obscurity of, 1, 36–38, 93–95, 142–45, 251
artistic talent and training of, 9–12, 261
background of, 7–9
baptism of, 9
birth of, 7
borderline personality and, 187
burial site of, 270
career disappointments of, 1, 36–38, 128, 260, 267
cast of head of, 262, 263, 264
childlessness of, 52
chronic illnesses of, 264, 266
chronology of, 273–75
composition of tunes by, 54
contemporaries’ misunderstanding of, 251
counterculture of 1960s and, 1, 26, 115, 136
death of (1727), 269
depressions of, 19, 133, 134, 184, 251
desirability of the forbidden and, 208–11
direct communication with dead brother Robert by, 168–69
divided self of, 224
early years of, 7–14
ecstatic experience of, 130–32
Enlightenment thought and, 120–23
epiphany of, 180–81
“Eternal Now” belief of, 124, 219, 232, 233, 266
family demons of, 179, 180
Felpham move of, 128–36, 129, 137, 163
financial problems of, 50, 128, 179–80, 260, 261
first viewing of actual famous paintings by, 137–38
forgiveness of sins and, 225
free love advocacy and, 198–207
gender views of (see gender)
ideal forms belief of, 35–36
images and symbols used by (see symbolism)
imagination of, 270
individuality of vision of, 32–36
innocence conception of, 66
jealousy and, 18, 204–8
lack of recognition during lifetime of, 37, 40, 93–95, 260
later years of, 261–69, 263, 265
life span of, 118
London residences of, 7, 88, 104, 151, 152, 258, 259, 261
madness ascribed to, 2, 93–94, 133–36
marriage of, 18–19, 195–211 (see also Blake, Catherine)
misogyny of, 212, 217–18, 222, 227
moral censure of works of, 269
moral critique by, 91, 145–48
mysticism and, 3, 124, 130–31, 142–43
Neoplatonism and, 65, 125, 142, 160, 168, 175
Newton and, 122–23
notebook of (see Rossetti Manuscript)
patriarchy and, 212, 217, 227, 239
personal mythology of, 4–5 (see also myth, Blake’s)
personal symbols of, 41, 47, 48 (see also symbolism)
personification and, 40–49
physical appearance of, 20–21, 24, 99, 108, 181, 262, 263, 264, 265
physical problems of, 264, 266
politics and, 89, 97–98, 99, 117–19
portraits of, 19–20, 21, 22, 23, 181, 262, 263, 264, 265 (color plate 24)
posthumous burning of works of, 209, 269–70
posthumous recognition of, 1
printing press ownership by, 27–32, 126
Prodigal Son parable and, 209, 257
pronunciation and, 59, 87, 157, 172, 221
prophetic calling of, 154, 163–81
psychological stresses of, 2, 134–35, 136, 187
recurring theme of, 102
religious thinking of, 1–3, 9, 48–49, 56, 59–60, 65, 67, 70, 73, 87, 88, 91–93, 98, 101–3, 112, 120, 121, 132, 133, 135, 137, 140, 153, 158, 160, 165, 169, 190, 217, 225, 234, 235–57
revolution and, 83, 101, 107, 117, 118–19, 140, 146–47
romantic classicism and, 39
sarcastic puns of, 34
schizoid tendencies of, 2, 134–35, 136
sedition trial and acquittal of, 133–34, 135, 258, 260
self-doubt crisis of, 180
self-education of, 8–9
sexuality and, 106, 198–211, 212
social conditions and, 85–93, 150–51, 163
Swedenborg and, 65, 181, 248
Synesthesia and, 88
There Is No Natural Religion pamphlet by, 98
universal truths and, 34–35
view of nature of (see nature)
visions seen by (see visions of Blake)
visits of spirit to wife of, 9, 269
young disciples of, 264. See also Blake poetry; Blake visual art
Blake and Homosexuality (Hobson), 181
Blake and the Idea of the Book (Viscomi), 4, 25
Blake Archive website (blakearchive.org), 4, 5
Blake illuminated books. See illuminated books
Blake myth. See myth, Blake’s
Blake notebook. See Rossetti Manuscript
Blake poetry, 142–48
Albion symbol and (see Albion)
borrowings in, 114
cinematic method of, 143–44
clarity from reading aloud of, 143–45
copper etching production of, 172
dismissal during Blake’s lifetime of, 93–94
extensive revisions of, 80–81
female recurring archetypes and, 217–18
genius of, 270
impersonal subjectivity and, 75–76
Lambeth Books and, 104, 140, 163, 170
later pessimism of, 118–19
limited editions of, 93–94
metrical patterns of, 55–56, 80, 88, 144–45
moral protest and, 89, 145–48
move from political to human tensions of, 118–19
notebooks and (see notebook poems)
obscurity of, 142–45, 261
pastoral images in, 150
punctuation indifference of, 5–6, 121
Revelation and, 143, 155
revisions of, 80–81, 82
rhyme and, 59, 87, 221
sequence variation in, 143
sexuality as central theme of, 74, 196–97
spelling and punctuation of, 5–6
symbols and (see symbolism)
texts of, 5–6
understanding long poems and, 142–45
word pronunciation and, 59, 87, 157, 172, 221
—works: America: A Prophecy, 26–27, 28, 29, 104–12, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 140
Auguries of Innocence, 66, 92–93
The Blossom, 57–59, 94 (color plate 5)
The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Experience), 67, 85, 86, 87, 94
The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Innocence), 63–67, 85, 86, 87, 94, 253, 264 (color plate 6)
The Clod and the Pebble, 77–78, 79, 110, 201
The Divine Image, 87
The Echoing Green, 55–56
Eternity (unpublished), 3, 198
Europe: A Prophecy, 67, 114, 115, 117, 118, 140, 192, 206, 237 (color plates 15, 16, 17)
The Everlasting Gospel, 97, 235, 236
The Garden of Love, 208
Holy Thursday, 93
The Human Abstract, 87
Infant Joy, 54–57, 60, 70, 71, 94 (color plate 4)
Infant Sorrow, 70–71, 72
“I saw a chapel all of gold,” 8–9
Jerusalem, 34, 89, 91, 103, 136, 138, 140
Jerusalem (lyric verse and hymn), 1, 145–48, 154, 167
“The Keys of the Gates,” 213
The Lamb, 59–60, 61, 62, 64, 67, 81
A Little Girl Lost, 71, 73
The Little Vagabond, 93
London, 67, 87–93, 90, 153, 203, 253
Mock on Mock on Voltaire Rousseau, 16, 232
Night, 84
Nurse’s Song, 93
“Oh why was I born with a different face,” 134
On Another’s Sorrow, 62
The Schoolboy, 93
The Sick Rose, 74–76, 94, 201 (color plate 8)
Song of Los, 176 (color plate 23)
Songs of Innocence and Experience, 31, 50, 66, 67–95, 105, 142–43 (see also Songs of Experience; Songs of Innocence)
A Sunshine Holiday, 46–49, 57, 131, 141, 213, 232 (color plate 2)
To My Myrtle, 197
To the Accuser Who Is the God of the World, 252
To Tirzah, 216–17
The Tyger, 1, 4, 5, 67, 78, 90–85, 87, 88, 93, 94, 115, 175, 165 (color plates 9, 10)
Visions of the Daughters of Albion, 57, 106, 140, 198–204, 213, 253 (color plates 27, 28, 30). See also Four Zoas, The; Jerusalem; Marriage of Heaven and Hell, The; Milton
Blake visual art, 1, 3–5, 9, 133, 169, 172
archive of, 4–5
Book of Job illustration, 248–53, 250, 270
color plates (list), 310–13
commercial varied styles of, 16
direct application of paint and, 176
Divine Comedy illustration, 224–29
dynamic symbols and, 114–17, 158
engraving of, 1, 10–18, 267
engraving/etching combination and, 24–25
erotic drawings and, 209, 210
Ezekiel’s vision and, 157–60, 159
failure of public exhibition of, 37, 40, 260
fire depiction and, 110
graphic images of ideas and, 238–39
illuminated books and, 4–6, 38, 93, 104, 105, 118, 133, 195, 260
illustrations for other poets, 1, 16, 17, 18, 19, 25, 40–45, 42, 93, 224–29, 253
images and symbols of, 3–5, 16, 34–35. 39–50, 114, 115, 146, 147
Eternity's Sunrise: The Imaginative World of William Blake Page 30