Blake, William

Blake, William
(1757-1827)
   London-born poet, painter and engraver who had a childhood vision of angels and the prophet Ezekiel. It was possibly this early experience that led him in later life to join the Swedenborgian New Church. He wrote and illuminated many books. In 1791 he designed and engraved six plates to Original Stories for Children, by Mary Wollstonecraft, and some to Elements of Morality translated by her from the German. His poem "Everlasting Gospel" attacks the traditional views of Jesus. At his death it was generally held that he was gifted but insane. A bust was erected to him in Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey in 1957 (see also, Young, Edward). His main books of poems or songs are: Poetical Sketches, 1783. Songs of Innocence, 1789. Songs of Experience, 1794. His poem "Jerusalem" (1804), set to music by Sir Hubert Parry (1848-1918), is better known than his children's hymn "Little Lamb, Who Made Thee?" Some of his other poems: "America: A Prophecy," "Auguries of Innocence," "The Book of Thel," "Gnomic Verses," "An Island in the Moon," "Songs of Experience," "All Religions Are One," "An Ancient Proverb."
   Sources: Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, 2006. English Poetry: Author Search. Chadwyck-Healey Ltd., 1995 (http://www.lib.utexas.edu:8080/search/epoetry/author.html). The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org). The Complete Poems of William Blake. Alicia Ostriker, ed. Penguin Books, 1977. The National Portrait Gallery (www.npg.org.uk). The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 7th ed. Vol. 2, M.H. Abrams, ed. W.W. Norton, 2000. The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 6th edition. Margaret Drabble, ed. Oxford University Press, 2000. Westminster Abbey Official Guide (no date).

British and Irish poets. A biographical dictionary. . 2015.

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  • BLAKE, WILLIAM° — (1757–1827), English poet and engraver. One of the great figures of the English romantic movement, Blake described his poems as prophecies, declaring that his model was the Bible, which he termed the great code of art. The works of Homer and Ovid …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Blake,William — Blake, William. 1757 1827. British poet and artist whose paintings and poetic works, such as Songs of Innocence (1789) and The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (c. 1790), have a mystical, visionary quality. * * * …   Universalium

  • Blake, William — born Nov. 28, 1757, London, Eng. died Aug. 12, 1827, London English poet, painter, engraver, and visionary. Though he did not attend school, he was trained as an engraver at the Royal Academy and opened a print shop in London in 1784. He… …   Universalium

  • Blake, William — (1757–1827)    Artist and Poet.    Blake was trained in London as an engraver. He was the author of a series of volumes of poetry, all of which were illustrated by himself. These included the Songs of Innocence, the Marriage of Heaven and Hell,… …   Who’s Who in Christianity

  • Blake, William — (1757 1827)    A British poet, painter, and printmaker who from childhood onwards experienced * dreams and *visions depicting *apparitions and metaphysical scenes. At the age of4, he claimed to have seen the face of God put his head to the window …   Dictionary of Hallucinations

  • Blake, William — (1757 1827)    Poet and painter, b. in London, was from earliest youth a seer of visions and a dreamer of dreams, seeing Ezekiel sitting under a green bough, and a tree full of angels at Peckham, and such he remained to the end of his days. His… …   Short biographical dictionary of English literature

  • Blake, William Hume — (1809 1870)    Born in Ireland. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and emigrated to Canada in his youth. During the Rebellion in 1837, paymaster of the Royal Foresters. Called to the bar of Upper Canada, 1838. A member of the Legislative… …   The makers of Canada

  • Blake, William — (11/28/1757 London 8/12/1827 London) (England)    Painter, printmaker, poet, and mystic. A major figure in the art of the 18th and 19th century. Much of his work consisted of visionary religious images. Most famous for illustrating the works of… …   Dictionary of erotic artists: painters, sculptors, printmakers, graphic designers and illustrators

  • Blake, William — ► (1757 1827) Pintor, grabador y poeta británico. Es uno de los poetas más representativos del prerromanticismo. Obras: Cantos de inocencia (1789) y Cantos de experiencia (1794). * * * (28 nov. 1757, Londres, Inglaterra–12 ago. 1827, Londres).… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • BLAKE, WILLIAM —    poet, painter, and engraver, born in London, where, with rare intervals, he spent his life a mystic from his very boyhood; apprenticed to an engraver, whom he assisted with his drawings; started on original lines of his own as illustrator of… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

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