The
Complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake by William Blake, et al
Since its first publication in 1965, this edition has been widely hailed
as the best available text of Blake's poetry and prose. Now revised, if
includes up-to-date work on variants, chronology of poems and critical
commentary by Harold Bloom.
An "Approved Edition" of the Center for Scholarly Editions of the Modern
Language Association. The Publisher (Paperback)
Fearful
Symmetry by Northrop Frye
"To say it is a magnificent, extraordinary book is to praise it as
it should be praised, but in doing so one gives little idea of the huge
scope of the book and of its fiery understanding . Several great poets
have written of Blake, but this book, I believe, is the first to show the
full magnitude of Blake's mind, its vast creative thought." -- Edith
Sitwell, 'The Spectator' Paperback - 472 pages (April 1, 1969)
Princeton Univ Pr; ISBN: 0691012911
William
Blake by Peter Ackroyd, Robin Hamlyn, Marilyn Butler, Michael Phillips
One day in the late 1760s, when William Blake was a little boy enrolled
in a London drawing school, a strange thing happened as he walked across
Peckham Rye. He saw "a tree filled with angels, bright angelic wings bespangling
every bough like stars." These spirits, and a host of other creatures that
peopled his fervent imagination, would later be immortalized in the engravings
and poems he printed on his own press, which have placed him in the first
rank of British artists and literary figures. And so it is surprising that
this fine book--impeccable in every respect, from the detailed yet easy-to-follow
notes on individual prints, drawings, and paintings to the quality and
thoughtful presentation of the 250 reproductions--wasn't published sooner.
It accompanies "William Blake," the largest-ever exhibition of the artist's
works, which originated at the Tate Britain and is at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York through May 27, 2001.
Essays by biographer and novelist Peter Ackroyd and Romantic poetry
specialist Marilyn Butler set the stage for the haunting images of powerful,
accursed, and spectral figures on succeeding pages. The four sections of
the book address key aspects of Blake's art. The first one focuses on the
influence of Gothic style and spiritualism on his style. The second deals
with Blake's life during the 1790s in the South London village of Lambeth,
where he harnessed his printmaking innovations to radical political views.
It is intriguing to learn how even Blake's new, typically contrary method
of etching in relief was a metaphor for his belief in divinely inspired
innate ideas. The third section discusses the odd characters that peopled
Blake's works, and the fourth surveys his major illuminated books (including
Songs of Innocence and Experience), which he created, in his words, "under
the direction of Messengers from Heaven, Daily & Nightly." --Cathy
Curtis - Amazon.com Hardcover from Harry N Abrams
Book Published: 01 March, 2001
The
Stranger from Paradise : A Biography of William Blake by G.E. Bentley Jr.
Book Description: This fascinating and generously illustrated biography of William Blake,
the great English artist, poet, and mystic, encompasses virtually everything
that is known of his life and times. Often invoking the words of Blake’s
own contemporaries, G. E. Bentley describes the struggles of Blake’s youth,
his gradual embrace of the power of the spirit and visionary art and literature,
and the serenity he achieved in his old age.
(Hardcover)
William Blake (Twayne's English Authors Series, 202) by Victor N. Paananen
(Hardcover - March 1996)
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