The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-08-08
The "AwfuI Chaos" Of BlRke's
.'PrOphrtic Books"

At his worst "the reduct.o ad alb
surdum Of romantic theory at his
best the rich blossom of romantic
practice" was the poet of FREDERICK
r.. PIEHcE's Selections From the SUm-
boiicai Poems Of William Blake yale
University Press). Both Blakcs APP
pear in these selections. Prof. Pierce
d%eprecates the criticism of those en-
thusiastic Blakesters who regard the
poets "Irophetic Books as great in
their entirety; they may sniT AT this
as "A beginners gradus ad ParnaSslm.
ON the other hand those who find the
beauties Of Blake confined to isolated
passages may welcome the collocated
extracts as Something roughly APP
proNimating an organic whole as far
as the refractory material" makes
such coordination possible. Unjust as
such n treatment would be to most
poets. II consorts well with the charac-
ter Of Bake and his verses. The sieve
Of common Judgment has done no
in letting through the later
symbolism and keeping the earlier
composed lyrics.
Poets have the plscine habit Of
going in schools. Hlake was one OF
the few poetry producing 'isolatsj'
minds. His only literary associate
was William lIayley, perhaps the
most incompetent critic and overrated
poetaster of his time" lie had lived
six decades before Wordsworth and
Colcridge found him out. And he was
not only without those associations
which at nee inspire and direct the
development of authorship; h was
born with an inherent inability Ia
learn by experience how the universe
| seemed TO other men" His PRO
phetic Books" took color from Swe-
denborg and Boehme, The poet may
as DIR, Pierce believes. have regarded
himself as a mere amanuensis die
tated to by heavenly voices. or he
may not. At any rate. il il in that
capacity that he chose to present him
self. THE Book OF Urizcn," The
Book of Albania" and the rest of the
earlier part of the series are Of less
than 800 lines each; "Nala," Milton
and Jerusalem are symbolic" epics
The common myth is of ~personifed
conflicting forces in human nature.
Blake as n philosopher was of the
Berkleyan breed; mind is the reality
matter its dream. The brain is his
poetic arena. Titan passions contend
in 1t. Four Xoas. mental kings, are
the spirits of intellect, emotion. sensu.
BUSINESS and energy, imaginative in.
: sight Is represented by a beautiful
podlike figure. around them move
in the Yale professors warmly ap.
preciative analysis. such IA confus,
ing swarm of lesser figures as could bt
paralleled only from Brahman COS,
mogony," 1t is IA good comparison
1t would have been indeed IA wonder,
full mind that could have created
such a world of characters. But mys,
ties swim in II common medium,
To some we'll balanced minds tn,
poems of Blake seem morbid raw,
inGs," but the author resolves then
into Il scmblanCc of logic, Not ;
very profitable reduction; simply tina
nan is supcrman only when his force
are in perfect balance. Weaknesses o
character derive from the tyrannica
dominance of one force in the com
pick. So old and still common ;
phraSeology as mistake of the head
not of the heart" and So old IL nov
abandoned Il view of human natur,
as that Of the Jonsorian "humors'
commend Blakc'S ganity here com
pleto. And If his dcrivatory teachings
defiance Of law, advocacy of free love
Pierce, u standard literature il