num_pages: 45
description: According to Wikipedia: William Blake (28 November 1757-12 August 1827) was an English poet painter and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age. His prophetic poetry has been said to form what is in proportion to its merits the least read body of poetry in the English language. His visual artistry has led one British art journalist to proclaim him far and away the greatest artist Britain has ever produced. Although he only once journeyed farther than a day's walk outside London during his lifetime he produced a diverse and symbolically rich corpus which embraced the imagination as the body of God or Human existence itself. Considered mad by contemporaries for his idiosyncratic views Blake is held in high regard by later critics for his expressiveness and creativity and for the philosophical and mystical undercurrents within his work. His paintings and poetry have been characterized as part of both the Romantic movement and Pre-Romantic for its large appearance in the 18th century. Reverent of the Bible but hostile to the Church of England Blake was influenced by the ideals and ambitions of the French and American revolutions as well as by such thinkers as Jakob Bhme and Emanuel Swedenborg.
language: English
title: Poems of William Blake
publisher: None