William Blake
Born in London in 1757.
He had humble origins and he remained poor all his life.
He was trained as an engraver when he was a boy. He studied at the Royal Academy of
Arts. As a painter and an engraver he created a new kind of art which emphasised the power
of the imagination.
He made illustrations for the work of John Milton and for the Bible, including a cycle of
drawings inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy and he created the method of “illuminated
printing”, which combined picture and poetic text.
As a political freethinker, he supported the French Revolution: he remained radical
throughout his life.
He was convinced that the artist had a new role, as the guardian of the spirit and
imagination.
His poetry is considered as early Romantic because he rejected neoclassical literary style:
it was based on imagination (which he regarded as even more important than reason).
Blake had a strong sense of religion: in fact, his most important literary influence was the
Bible because it presented a complete vision of the world and its history.
Literary production
● Songs of Innocence
Written before the French revolution, when Blake was enthusiastic about liberal
ideas. The narrator is a shepherd and the poems deal with childhood as the symbol
of innocence, the state of the soul connected with happiness, freedom and
imagination.
●Songs of Experience
Using the figure of the bard, Blake questions the themes of the precious collection. A
pessimistic view of life emerges from these poems. “Experience” is identified with
adulthood and it coexists with “innocence”, providing a different point of view of
reality. Therefore these songs have to be read together.
Imagination and the poet
Blake considers imagination as the means through which a man can know the world: it
allows to “see more, beyond material reality, into the life of things”. God, the child and the
poet are the only ones to share this power of vision.
The poet becomes a sort of prophet who can see deeply into reality, trying to warn men of
the evils of society.
Blake’s interests in social problems
Blake was concered with political and social problems: he supported the abolition of slavery
and the egalitarian principles of the French revolution. He believed in revolution as a
necessary tool to purify man. Yet after his disillusionment he will focus on the
consequences of the Industrial Revolution (exploitation of human beings). For this
reason, in his poems he sympathizes with the victims of industrial society (prostitutes,
soldiers, children)
