The prophetic books of the 18th-century

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

poet and artist

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

are a series of lengthy, interrelated poetic works drawing upon Blake's own personal mythology. They have been described as forming "what is in proportion to its merits the least read body of poetry in the English language". While Blake worked as a commercial illustrator, these books were ones that he produced, with his own engravings, as an extended and largely private project.

Overview

In these works, concluding with the epic ''

Jerusalem The Emanation of the Giant Albion ''Jerusalem'', subtitled ''The Emanation of the Giant Albion'' (1804–1820, with additions made even later), is the last, longest and greatest in scope of the prophetic books written and illustrated by the English poet, artist and engraver W ...

'', he elaborated a personal invented mythology (

mythopoeia Mythopoeia ( grc, , , myth-making), or mythopoesis, is a narrative genre in modern literature and film where an artificial or fictionalized mythology is created by the writer of prose, poetry, or other literary forms. This meaning of the word f ...

). The mythopoeia is largely Biblical in inspiration; apart from that, it has been extensively debated for both its political and religious content. While ''The French Revolution'' from 1791 is not illustrated and is usually excluded from the list of prophetic books, David V. Erdman contends that the separation of this work from the corpus removes a key to the symbolism used by Blake. Another work, ''

Vala, or The Four Zoas ''Vala, or The Four Zoas'' is one of the uncompleted prophetic books by the English poet William Blake, begun in 1797. The eponymous main characters of the book are the Four Zoas (Urthona, Urizen, Luvah and Tharmas), who were created by the fall ...

'' (1797), begun while Blake was residing in Felpham, was abandoned in draft form; of this abandoning by Blake, Northrop Frye has commented that " yone who cares about poetry or painting must see in 'Vala''sunfinished state a major cultural disaster".Frye, Northrop, ''Fearful Symmetry: A Study of William Blake'', 1969, p. 269.

Critical reception

The prophetic books have on occasion been dismissed as lacking in good sense. This position is now rarely held by scholars of English literature, Blake having been one of the major beneficiaries of critical fashion during the twentieth century.

Northrop Frye Herman Northrop Frye (July 14, 1912 – January 23, 1991) was a Canadian literary critic and literary theorist, considered one of the most influential of the 20th century. Frye gained international fame with his first book, '' Fearful Symm ...

and, following him,

Harold Bloom Harold Bloom (July 11, 1930 – October 14, 2019) was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was described as "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking worl ...

have suggested that the difficulty of reading Blake's prophetic works can be overcome, and that the dismissive "mystical" tag applied to them is largely an obfuscation. "

Mystical Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...

" as to the poetic language has been indeed the equivalent of "

visionary A visionary, defined broadly, is one who can envision the future. For some groups, this can involve the supernatural. The visionary state is achieved via meditation, lucid dreams, daydreams, or art. One example is Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th- ...

" applied to the engravings. Blake's prophetic books, having often been dismissed until recent times, have had a tortuous publication history, unlike his

lyric poem Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person. It is not equivalent to song lyrics, though song lyrics are often in the lyric mode, and it is also ''not'' equi ...

s, which have been regarded as more direct and relatively unproblematic.

The continental prophecies

The cycle of

continental prophecies The continental prophecies is a group of illuminated books by William Blake that have been subject of numerous studies due to their recurrent and unorthodox use of political, literary and sexual metaphors. They consist of ''America'', ''Europe'' ...

comprises ''America a Prophecy'' (1793), ''Europe a Prophecy'' (1794) and ''The Song of Los'' (1795), which is made up of sections ''Africa'' and ''Asia''. ''America a Prophecy'' is divided into a ''Preludium'' (which is part of the

Orc An Orc (or Ork) is a fictional humanoid monster like a goblin. Orcs were brought into modern usage by the fantasy writings of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially '' The Lord of the Rings''. In Tolkien's works, Orcs are a brutish, aggressive, ugl ...

myth) and ''A Prophecy'', which has obvious political content devolving from the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

. The first line of ''A Prophecy'' is repeated as the final line of ''Africa''. On the other hand, ''Europe a Prophecy'' has an unnamed introductory section, a ''Preludium'' with Orc and

Enitharmon Enitharmon is a major female character in William Blake's mythology, playing a main part in some of his prophetic books. She is, but not directly, an aspect of the male Urthona, one of the Four Zoas. She is in fact the Emanation of Los, als ...

, and ''A Prophecy'' with connections to the contemporary situation of wartime Europe. The ''Asia'' section of ''The Song of Los'' links onto the end of ''Europe a Prophecy'' (via the word "howl").

The books

*'' Tiriel'' (c. 1789) *''

The Book of Thel ''The Book of Thel'' is a poem by William Blake, dated 1789 and probably composed in the period 1788 to 1790. It is illustrated by his own plates, and compared to his later prophetic books is relatively short and easier to understand. The metre ...

'' (c. 1789) *'' America a Prophecy'' (1793) *''

Europe a Prophecy ''Europe a Prophecy'' is a 1794 prophetic book by the British poet and illustrator William Blake. It is engraved on 18 plates, and survives in just nine known copies. It followed ''America a Prophecy'' of 1793. Background During autumn 1790, ...

'' (1794) *'' Visions of the Daughters of Albion'' (1793) *''

The Book of Urizen ''The Book of Urizen'' is one of the major prophetic books of the English writer William Blake, illustrated by Blake's own plates. It was originally published as ''The First Book of Urizen'' in 1794. Later editions dropped the "First". The book ...

'' (1794) *'' The Book of Ahania'' (1795) *'' The Book of Los'' (1795) *'' The Song of Los'' (1795) *''

'' (begun 1797, unfinished; abandoned ) *'' Milton: A Poem in Two Books'' (1804–1810) *''

'' (1804–1820)

Notes

External links

* {{William Blake, lit *Prophetic books Series of books Art by William Blake