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William Blake
(b. Nov. 28, 1757, London--d. Aug. 12, 1827, London)
(b. Nov. 28, 1757, London d. Aug. 12, 1827, London)
English poet, painter, engraver; one of the earliest and greatest
figures of
Romanticism.
The most famous of Blake's lyrical poems is
Auguries of Innocence, with
its memorable opening stanza:
To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.
[Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1994]
"I do not behold the outward creation... it is
a hindrance and not action." Thus William Blake painter, engraver, and
poet explained why his work was filled with religious visions rather than
with subjects from everyday life. Few people in his time realized that Blake
expressed these visions with a talent that approached genius. He lived in
near poverty and died unrecognized. Today, however, Blake is acclaimed one of
England's great figures of art and literature and one of the most inspired
and original painters of his time.
Blake was born on Nov. 28, 1757, in London. His father ran a hosiery shop.
William, the third of five children, went to school only long enough to learn
to read and write, and then he worked in the shop until he was 14. When he
saw the boy's talent for drawing, Blake's father apprenticed him to an
engraver.
At 25 Blake married Catherine Boucher. He taught her to read and write and
to help him in his work. They had no children. They worked together to
produce an edition of Blake's poems and drawings, called
Songs of Innocence.
Blake engraved both words and pictures on copper printing plates.
Catherine made the printing impressions, hand-colored the pictures, and bound
the books. The books sold slowly, for a few shillings each. Today a single
copy is worth many thousands of dollars.
Blake's fame as an artist and engraver rests largely on a set of 21
copperplate etchings to illustrate the Book of Job in the Old Testament.
However, he did much work for which other artists and engravers got the
credit. Blake was a poor businessman, and he preferred to work on subjects of
his own choice rather than on those that publishers assigned him.
A follower of Emanuel Swedenborg, who offered a gentle and mystic
interpretation of Christianity, Blake wrote poetry that largely reflects
Swedenborgian views.
Songs of Innocence
(1789) shows life as it seems to
innocent children.
Songs of Experience
(1794) tells of a mature person's
realization of pain and terror in the universe. This book contains his famous
Tiger! Tiger! Burning Bright'.
Milton (1804-08) and
Jerusalem (1804-20)
are longer and more obscure works. Blake died on Aug. 12, 1827.
Contributors:
Mark Harden and
Carol Gerten-Jackson.
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