keen observation of, 124
lettering and, 25, 27, 105
marginalization during Blake’s lifetime of, 93
Michelangelo as hero of, 115
nudity portrayals and (see nakedness)
obscurity of, 37, 93
oil print process and, 126–27
outline emphasis of, 34
personification and, 40–45, 42
posthumous destruction of, 209, 269
“reading” of, 3
reproductions of, 5, 6
as scandalous, 18
small scale of, 50–51, 51
techniques of, 25, 176, 238–39
unique style of, 32–33
verbal sources of, 41
watercolor use and, 34, 105, 132, 195, 249
works: Albion Rose, 98–+99, 100, 101, 108, 125, 256 (color plate 11)
The Ancient of Days, 237, 238–39, 247, 267 (color plate 36)
Beatrice Addressing Dante from the Car, 225–228 (color plate 34)
“Deaths Door,” 266–67, 268
Democritus engraving after Rubens, 14, 15, 16
Elohim Creating Adam 246–47 (color plate 38)
Ezekiel’s Vision, 158, 159, 227
Father Thames, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46
The Grave illustration, 19, 93, 266–67, 268
Hyperion, 132 (color plate 19)
Job’s Nightmare, 249, 250, 251, 252, 270
Last Judgment, 146, 261
Newton print, 125, 126–27 (color plate 18)
Night Thoughts on Life, Death, and Immortality, 16, 17, 18, 25, 93, 253
Pity, 44, 45, 46
Satan Watching Adam and Eve, 204–6 (color plate 31)
self-portrait, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24 (color plate 24)
Sense Runs Wild, 16, 17, 18
sketch of wife, Catherine, 19, 20
A Sunshine Holiday, 46–49, 57, 131, 141, 213 (color plate 2)
The Spiritual Form of Nelson Guiding Leviathan, 37
The Spiritual Form of Pitt Guiding Behemoth, 37
“Traveller hasteth in the Evening, The,” 266, 267. See also emblem book; illuminated books
Bloom, Harold, 5, 74, 78, 92
“anxiety of influence” concept, 165
Blossom, The (Blake), 57–60, 94 (color plate 5)
Blunt, Anthony, 257
Boehme, Jacob, 8, 124
Book of Los (Blake):170, 173–76 (color plates 21, 22). See also Los
Book of Urizen (Blake), 118, 170, 173–76, 206–7, 237–40, 244
copies of, 242 (color plates 21, 22, 32)
title page, 239, 241, 242. See also Urizen
borderline personality, 187–88
Boreas (Basire), 247, 248
botany, 56–57. See also flowers
Botticelli, Sandro, Birth of Venus, 229
Bowlahoola (stomach), 189
Britain. See England
British Library, 127
British Museum, 98
Britton, Ronald, 187–88
Broad Street (London), 7, 89, 258
Bromion (Oothon’s rapist) 199–200, 202, 203 (color plate 30)
Bronowski, Jacob, 118
Brooks, Cleanth, 44
brothels, 92
brotherhood, 97, 217
Brothers, Richard, 97
Bruder, Helen, 201, 217
Bunhill Fields Burial Ground, 270
Bunyan, John, Pilgrim’s Progress, 132, 264
Burke, Edmund, 89, 99, 102
Burney, Charles, 94
butterfly symbol, 47, 99, 213, 229
Butterworth, Jez, Jerusalem (play), 148
Butts, Thomas, 195–96, 249, 260
Blake correspondence with, 134, 136, 141, 177, 179, 255, 256
Blake verse to, 130–31
Byron, Lord, 94, 197
Caesar, Julius, 190
Cain (biblical), 105
Calvinism, 165, 225
Cambridge University, 9
Cameron, David, 148
Canaanites, 236
Candide (Voltaire), 238
Canterbury, archbishop of, 104
capitalism, 89, 118
Carlyle, Thomas, 269
Cary, Joyce, 270
Castaway, The (Cowper), 135
Catholic Church, 37, 99, 121, 224–26, 246, 269
veneration of Mary, 225
chapel door symbol, 209
Chariots of Fire (film), 148
chariot symbol, 148, 226, 227
Charity, representation of, 226
charity schools, 62, 87, 151, 153
Charles I, king of England, 83, 96
Charles II, king of England, 97
chastity, 91
Chatham naval arsenal, 13–14
cherubs, 44–45, 58, 70
childbirth, 70–71, 217
allegory of, 58
mortality and, 212, 213
Virgin Mary and, 225, 236
children: Blake’s sympathy for, 51, 53, 153, 245
book of emblems for, 213, 214, 215
didactic books for, 52–53
early deaths of, 59
harsh treatment of, 51–52, 62–66, 71, 85, 87, 88, 151, 153, 245
serpent symbol and, 115, 116
Songs of Innocence for, 50–66
speech rhythms of, 56
traditional symbol of, 51
Chimney Sweeper, The (Songs of Experience) (Blake), 67, 85, 86, 87, 94
Chimney Sweeper, The (Songs of Innocence) (Blake), 63–66, 67, 85, 253, 264
review of, 93–94 (color plate 6)
Chimney Sweeper’s Friend and Climbing Boy’s Album, The (reformist treatise), 93
Christ. See Jesus
Christian belief, 83, 141, 146, 153, 192
Blake’s personal mythology and, 1
Blake’s view of, 56, 225, 226, 236
Calvinism and, 165, 225
Church Triumphant and, 226 (see also Catholic Church)
classical model for, 156
Dissenters and, 9, 270
forgiveness of sins and, 225
four Evangelists and, 158
harsh treatment of children and, 51–52
Satan and, 249
virgin birth and, 225, 236. See also New Testament
Church of England, 9, 91, 93, 153, 194, 236
cinema, 143
Clarissa (Richardson), 75, 76
Clark, Kenneth, 117
classical mythology, 56, 105, 153, 156, 169, 229
climbing vine symbol, 51
Clod and the Pebble, The (Blake), 77–78, 79, 110, 201
Coal Hole Tavern (London), 258
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 9, 197, 269
Blake and, 56, 94, 142–43, 231, 232, 264
Frost at Midnight, 231–32
Kubla Khan, 231
Lyrical Ballads, 94
coloring, 137–38
color plates, 310–13
Connolly, Tristanne, 5, 218, 229
consciousness, 203, 235
Constable, John, 124
constants, universal, 270
copper-plate etching, 4, 13, 13, 50, 128, 136, 172
Blake process of, 10–12, 24–27, 32
Blake skill at, 12
direct application of paint and, 176
expense of copper and, 50
inhalation of dust from, 266
reproductions from, 31
surviving Blake fragment of, 26–27, 28, 29. See also engraving
Corinthians, Epistle to, 77
Correggio, Antonio da, 33
counterculture (1960s), 1, 26, 115, 136
Cowper, William, 135, 136, 184
The Castaway, 135
Light Shining Out of Darkness (hymn), 135
Lines Written during a Period of Insanity, 135
The Poplar Field, 55
creation, 81, 83–85, 123, 169, 243, 246
blacksmith and, 169, 172–75, 183, 184–85, 194 (color plate 25)
Blake concept of, 169, 175, 176, 218, 237–38
> Genesis portrayal of, 81, 176, 218, 237–38, 242, 246–47 (color plate 38)
motherhood and, 212–13, 216
Neoplatonism and, 175
creativity. See artistic creativity
crescent moon, 190, 191, 192
criminal justice system, 92
Cromek, Robert, 267
Cromwell, Oliver, 146–47
Crucifixion, 62, 105, 188, 255, 256 (color plate 39)
Cruel Og, 150
Cumberland, George, 12, 25, 128–29, 133, 261, 266
Thoughts on Outline, 33
Cunningham, Alan, 50, 251
cycle of life, 47, 48, 99, 141, 192, 206, 213, 214, 214, 215, 217, 221, 228–29, 247, 252. See also mortality
damnation, 83, 135, 136, 225
dance of death, 99, 101, 256
Daniel, Book of, 237
Dante Alighieri: Divine Comedy, 224–29
Inferno, 47
Purgatorio, 225–26
“dark Satanic mills,” meaning of, 147
Darwin, Erasmus, 199, 202–3
Loves of the Plants, 56–57
Daughters of Albion, 198–204. See also Visions of the Daughters of Albion
death, 59, 67, 192, 216, 253
dance of, 99, 101, 156
meaning for Blake of, 98, 266, 269. See also cycle of life; mortality
“Death’s Door” (Blake), 266–67, 268
Dedalus, Stephen (fictional), 172, 177
deism, 120–21
deities, 49, 156, 169, 190
Blake’s view of, 235
Jerusalem and, 183
monotheism and, 48, 49 (see also God)
of nature, 153, 183, 189, 209, 221, 225
river gods, 43
demiurge, 175, 246, 247, 251
Democritus, 121, 122
Blake engraving after
Rubens painting of, 14, 15, 16
depression, 19, 133, 134, 184, 251
Descriptive Catalogue (Blake), 37
Devil. See Satan
Deville, James, 262
diaphanous garments, 39, 48, 53, 168, 227
Dictionary ( Johnson), 44
Dissenters, 9, 270
divine: avatars of, 246
everyday incarnation of, 234
humanity of, 234, 235
intuition of, 227
symbolism of, 245–47
unifying principle of, 243
Divine Comedy (Dante): Blake illustrations, 224–29
Divine Image, The (Blake), 87
divorce, 91
Donne, John, “Get with child a mandrake root,” 214
“Don’t Tread on Me” flag, 114
Doors (rock group), 26
Doors of Perception, The (Huxley), 26
double (doppelgänger), 183–84
dragon, 222, 223, 224
dreams, 162, 185
Druids, 114, 189–90, 192, 193, 256
Dürer, Albrecht, 158, 249
Dutch paintings, 35, 137, 138
Eartham (England), 130
earthworm symbol, 76, 99, 105, 214, 215, 216, 222, 223, 224, 246, 251 (color plate 37)
Eaves, Morris, 32–33, 242
Echoing Green, The (Blake), 55–56
Eden, 48, 70, 83, 204–6, 246
Blake myth and, 141–42, 217
Eternity and, 237
expulsion from, 73, 105, 217
forbidden fruit and, 70, 112, 208–11, 238. See also Adam and Eve
Egypt, 47, 102–3, 123, 192
eidetic vision, 39
Einstein, Albert, 122
Elijah (prophet), 146, 162
Eliot, T. S., 91, 270
Elisha (prophet), 146
Elohim (name for God), 246–47, 251
Elohim Creating Adam (Blake color print), 246–47 (color plate 38)
emanations:160–62, 172, 183, 184, 190, 191, 192, 195, 218–9 (color plate 100)
critical interpretations of, 218
as female element of psyche, 160
female will and, 218–24
Milton’s sixfold; names of, 160
strife and ruptures between Zoas and, 183, 219–21
two distinct camps of, 221–22. See also Enion; Enitharmon; Jerusalem; Vala
emblem book (Blake), 213–16, 214, 215, 251, 252
reissue under new title, 252, 266. See also For Children; For the Sexes
emotions, 155, 156
empiricism, 35, 36, 122, 124, 141
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 81
Endgame (Beckett), 270
energy, 101, 181
England: Albion as poetic name for, 98, 111, 141, 192
art collections and, 14
Blake critique of, 93, 192
children’s plight and, 62–66
established church of (see Church of England); Jerusalem lyric and, 145–48, 167
political protest and, 89, 92, 96, 97, 99
political repression and, 117, 192
poverty and, 245
Puritan power and, 97
revolution and, 13, 96, 97, 106, 107, 108, 118, 146–47
triumphalism and, 148
wars of, 13–14, 37, 117, 118, 134, 147–48. See also Felpham; London
engraving, 10–18
Blake apprenticeship in, 10, 16, 64, 89, 99, 258
Blake Book of Job illustrations and, 249
Blake’s career disappointments and, 1, 267
Blake’s commercial style of, 16
Blake’s lettering process, 25, 27
Blake variances and, 31–33
cross-hatching technique of, 12, 14, 112
process of, 10–12, 11, 172
three-dimensional depth effect, 14. See also copper-plate etching; printing
Enion (Tharmas’s emanation), 160–62, 221
Enitharmon (Urthona’s emanation), 160–61, 179, 184, 190, 191, 192, 195, 221 (color plates, 32, 100)
jealousy and, 204, 206–7
women blamed for war and, 222
Enlightenment, 48, 120–23
Ephesians, Epistle to the, 243, 251–52
epic, 143
Epiphanius, Saint, 209
Erdman, David, 5, 6, 57–59, 228, 229
Essay on the Principle of Population (Malthus), 245
Essick, Robert, 11, 19, 176, 187, 228, 239
etching process. See copper-plate etching
Eternal Now, 124, 174, 242
Eternals, 142, 173, 174, 188–89, 211, 213
Eternity, 5, 140, 147, 172–74, 176, 185–89, 190, 198, 206, 227, 228, 231, 232, 237
apocalypse and, 185–86, 187
Blake’s younger brother as alter ego in, 168
Blake’s belief in living spirit and, 3, 266
Blake’s identification with, 161, 162, 165, 168, 233, 255, 270
cycle of life and, 252
difference from traditional heaven of, 141
Eden and, 48, 141, 237
Eternal Now and, 242
Generation and, 213
interior apocalypse and, 213
living in moment and, 270
Milton and, 162, 165, 168, 177, 180
prophecy and, 163, 181
renunciation of sexuality and, 220, 255
time and, 124–25, 174, 194, 219, 270
Zoas’ interaction in, 155, 157, 160, 161, 162, 172, 242
Eternity (Blake unpublished poem), 3, 198
Eton College, 41
Euclid, 125
Europe: A Prophecy, 67, 114, 115, 117, 118, 140, 192
copies (color plates 15, 17, 36)
frontispiece: Ancient of Days, 237 (color plate 36)
on stolen joys, 208
title page (color plate 15)
Evangelists, symbols of, 158. See also specific gospels
Eve. See Adam and Eve
Everlasting Gospel, The (Blake), 97, 235, 236
evil, 183–84
Examiner (publication), 37, 260
Excursion (Wordsworth), 231, 264
existence, 60, 98, 101, 119
, 164, 173, 185, 206, 212, 217
emanation’s separate, 218
escape from mortal, 146
Hell and, 201
perception of, 198
ultimate questions about, 2, 236
Exodus, Book of, 123
Experience, 66, 67–95, 118–19
Blake myth and, 141
Blake’s poetry representing, 188, 221
innocence as irreconcilable with, 77
memories of gardens and, 73. See also Songs of Experience
Ezekiel (prophet), 88, 110, 163
chariot of, 158
vision of, 157–60, 159, 226, 246
“Ezekiel saw the wheel” (spiritual), 158
Ezekiel’s vision (Blake), 158, 159, 227
Ezra (prophet), 8
Fables in Monosyllables, by Mrs. Teachwell, to Which Are Added Morals, in Dialogues, between Mothers and Children, 53
Fall, 203, 204
Blake myth and, 142, 237–38
Milton’s account of, 162
shame and, 70, 217, 220
fallen angels, 83, 252
“fatal tree,” 151
fathers, 40, 63, 64, 70, 71, 73, 137
Blake’s problem with, 212, 256–57
God as, 112, 217, 243, 247
jealousy and, 206, 207
Prodigal Son parable and, 209, 257. See also patriarchy
Father Thames, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47
feet, 167
Felpham (Sussex, England), 128–36, 155, 162–64, 177, 179, 195, 219
Blake cottage at, 129
Blake’s conception of Milton at, 162, 164, 167, 229–30
Blakes’ move to, 128–36
Blakes’ return to London (1803) from, 136, 258
Blake’s sedition charges/acquittal at, 133–34, 135, 258, 260
Catherine Blake’s illnesses at, 179–80
female archetypes, 217–18
female genitalia, 17, 18, 199, 209, 210, 219, 224
female ideal, 203
female jealousy, 220
female liberation, 198, 201
female rehabilitation, 228
female sexuality, 209, 210, 211–12
Blake’s view of, 212, 217–18
free love and, 198–208, 212
harlot image and, 91, 92, 221, 253
maternal role vs., 228
mutual satisfaction and, 196–97
rape and, 106, 198, 199–200, 203, 253
restrictions on, 91, 92
seduction and, 218
virginity and, 75, 199, 203, 225, 236
female subordination, 165, 208, 212, 218–19
female symbolism, 183, 214, 215, 217
Divine Comedy illustrations, 224–29. See also emanations
Female Will, 218–24
feminism, 57, 198
Ferber, Michael, 89
fire, 110
chariot of, 146
First Book of Urizen, The (Blake), 242
Flaxman, John, 12, 33, 266
Flemish paintings, 34, 137, 138
flowers, 205
sex of, 56, 57
symbolism of, 75, 199
folk tradition, 54, 66
forbidden fruit, 70, 112, 208–11, 238
Eternity's Sunrise: The Imaginative World of William Blake Page 31