Product Description
This edition contains a facsimile of each page of Blake'soriginal illustrated mauscript with the text in a clear modern font on the facing page. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

"The Great Divorce"
"The Great Divorce" wasn't Lewis's "response" to Blake.Even Lewis was smart enough to admit that he wasn't anywhere near Blake's level.Read his introduction to that book again.

It's not about the bible
The other reviewers are missing the point.Blake did not believe in the Christian ideology enought to want to contradict the bible.He believed that god is a construction of the human imagination, the Poetic Genius (read "All Relgions are One" and "There is no Natural Religion").To speak in terms of religiosity, he had to use Christian terminology (Ezekial, Isiah, Satan...) because the language of religion was created this way, and Blake was forced to speak in those terms before developing his own language system.The bible contradicts itself; Blake's writing and thinking transcend that superficial level.

contradiction
As far as the ideas in this book contradicting the bible; that particular opinion is completely wrong.The only way one could think so is to have missed the fact that the entire book is a viciously ironic and satirical commentary on those who would claim to represent Christianity while in actuality profaning it.Only the "angels"miss this fact.And as far as C.S. Lewis is concerned, he is as weak when reading Blake as he is when reading Milton.

The Bible is not the definitive authority on quality.
I fail to see how whether or not this book is contradictory to the bible is any indictation of whether it is good or not.

Contradicing the bible
Many of the ideas in this book are very contradicting to the bible. Read C.S. Lewis' responce to this book "The Great Divorce". ... Read more

Product Description
The Oxford Poetry Library series offers compact and fully annotated editions of some of the most important and best-loved English poets. Drawing on the acclaimed texts of the Oxford Authors series, these collections provide a generous selection of the verse of figures as diverse as Andrew Marvell and William Blake, John Keats and Thomas Hardy. Ideal for anyone interested in the eloquently wrought observations and thoughts of some of the English language's greatest writers, The Oxford Poetry Library should find a welcome place on the bookshelves of all lovers of literature.
Beginning his career as an engraver, it was not until his thirties that William Blake distinguished himself as a poet. This new edition of Blake's verse, presented in hronological order, encompasses Blake's entire career, from is early Poetical Sketches and There is No Natural eligion through his best known work Songs of Innocence, part of his beautiful series of poetry in lyric and blank verse, to his later works Jerusalem and The Everlasting Gospel. Representing the full range of Blake's accomplishements as a poet, this outstanding volume highlights the extraordinarily diverse achievements of his remarkable poetic oeuvre. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

What immortal hand or eye
The prophetic Blake of Zoas, Jerusalem , and the other long -poems has always escaped me.
The Blake of the short memorable lyrics , of the 'Songs of Innocence and Experience' reverberates in my mind.
The Blake of proverb always strikes a strong note.
All the radical ideology ,and the fervor of an upturner of worlds , the solitary angry social critic too has not meant that much to me.
But 'Little Lamb who made thee/Dost thou know who made thee?/
and Tyger/Tyger/ Burning bright in the forest of the night/ these fascinate as only real poetry does.
Little Lamb who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee?

Perhaps The First Modern Poet.
Contained in this collection are most if not all of Blake's most essential works,including "The Marriage Of Heaven & Hell";the two songs,"Auguries Of Innocence"; etc..In the creative fertility ofthis great poet came some of the greatest lines ever written in the Englishlanguage,or any language for that matter.His conjuring of visions perhapsis the first written document of modern poetry,heralding what is to come. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the most accessible introduction available to one of the greatest British artists. The art of William Blake unites visionary simplicity with profound complexity of thought. In this illuminating new study, illustrated throughout in colour, Raymond Lister provides an engaging and lucid approach to Blake's paintings, fully alive to their infinite power of suggestion and refreshingly unfettered by polemic. The biographical introduction, making extensive use of Blake's writings and of contemporary accounts of him, traces the vicissitudes of this absolutely individual artist's life; his very human nature is revealed, no less than his boundless creative energies. The seventy-five colour plates represent the whole span of Blake's working life and all the major areas of his art: his biblical pictures, his allegorical subjects and his illuminated books, which he wrote, engraved and decorated himself. The detailed commentary to each plate explores as much of his symbolism as is readily comprehensible, and explains his often idiosyncratic techniques. ... Read more

Product Description
1808. The poem by William Blake, together with stunning etchings based on Blake's original hand-painted illustrations, and Blake's descriptions of the designs: "By the arrangement here made, the regular progression of Man, from his first descent into the Vale of Death, to his last admission into Life eternal, is exhibited." ... Read more

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With essays by Gerald E Bentley Jr, Robert N Essick, Shelley M Bennett, and Morton D Paley. A group of young artists, now known as 'The Blake Followers', gathered around William Blake in the last years of his life. Of the four essays in this collection, two deal broadly with biographical information concerning the Blake Followers and their relations with Blake; the other two focus on specific problems of technique and literary interpretation. Together they give an indication of the nature and range of this fascinating group of artists. The essays are based on papers given at a 1982 Huntington Library symposium. ... Read more

Product Description
One of the great English Romantic poets, William Blake (1757-1827) was an artist, poet, mystic and visionary. His work ranges from the deceptively simple and lyrical Songs of Innocence and their counterpoint Experience - which juxtapose poems such as ‘The Lamb’ and ‘The Tyger’, and ‘The Blossom’ and ‘The Sick Rose’ - to highly elaborate, apocalyptic works, such as The Four Zoas, Milton and Jerusalem. Throughout his life Blake drew on a rich heritage of philosophy, religion and myth, to create a poetic worlds illuminated by his spiritual and revolutionary beliefs that have fascinated, intrigued and enchanted readers for generations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

An Unattractive Edition of Great Literature
Like the other reviewers here, I love Blake's poetry. From the short poems to the long, I think they're all great and among the best things ever printed in English.

The Penguin edition, however, is full of editorial markings that make many of the poems, especially the long poems, virtually unreadable. Almost every page of beautiful poems like "America" is marred by extra text in italics and brackets, which are supposed to be variants from different versions of the poems. I could see putting these sorts of things in footnotes or endnotes, but they are actually right there in the text itself! You'll be given a stanza of a poem, and then the same stanza in brackets or italics with only minor variations. This often leaves you wondering which lines you should be reading and which you should be skipping, which occasionally detracts from the poetic experience, or at the very least forces your eye to be darting all over the page. I've never seen this in another Penguin book; I don't know what went wrong here.

That said, if you're looking for a scholarly edition of Blake, this might be the thing for you. But I'm not a Blake scholar. Like the other reviewers here, and like most readers of Penguin Classics, I'm looking for something I can read for enjoyment. Some of the editor's decisions have made enjoyment difficult.

the heights and depths of human experience
Immerse yourself in the long poems, such as Vala, Milton, and Jerusalem, for the closest thing in literary form to a psychedelic trip, the heights and depths of being a living human being. Blake integrates Heaven and Hell, Good and Evil, the Soul and the Body. Then memorize some of the shorter poems from Songs of Innocence and of Experience for a treasure that you can carry with you anywhere and take for comfort and awe as needed.

Masterful
William Blake is probably my favorite poet.The Songs of Innocence and Experierence are lauded in every school but it is the lesser known writings that are what made him a Master of the Letter.The proverbs of Heaven and Hell for instance won't come up in conversation or at the University, but they will reside within your heart when the brisk winds of fortune and misfortune hit hard in each day, anew.

"The eagle never lost so much time as when he submitted to lean of the crow."

His beauty spreads out like spilt ink and while he is known as a poet he also wrote about politics and metaphyics.The book "The Complete Works of William Blake" is great to have around but weighs about as much as a eight normal length books, so along with any of his other collections, a portable book is good to keep, unless you can memorize "The Augeries of Innocence" completely.

Unparalleled visionary power
Though I firmly support the general consensus that Shakespeare is our greatest poet--the more one reads, the more this becomes apparent--I am equally firm in stating that there has been no greater visionary poet than Blake, not even Milton.

William Blake lived and wrote almost entirely ignored during his time, regarded, if at all, as an eccentric painter. This speaks not to the quality of his works; it speaks to how ahead of his time he was. Nobody knew what to make of him, and I must confess that even now it is difficult to cement his place.

One can say for certain, however, that he is one of the greatest poets; aside from the Bard, Keats (whom I adore), and Milton, he has no companions in this uppermost echelon. Reading Blake is sometimes overwhelming. The power of his vision and the vivacity of his language sometimes overpower the faculties, and makes one nearly break down into tears. His poetry is beautiful; it is complex; it is at times incomparably deep and more powerful in force of language than perhaps any other, even Shakespeare's.

Many restrict their reading of Blake to his accessible and delightful lyrics SONGS OF INNOCENCE AND OF EXPERIENCE (which must be read side-by-side to fully appreciate what he is doing!), but to do so is to bind oneself in a nutshell. Read THE MARRIAGE OF HEAVEN AND HELL, as an introduction into his vast vision. Go on to read THE BOOK OF URIZEN, MILTON, JERUSALEM, etc., but take it slowly. Blake is one of the most difficult poets; he is infinitely complex. He creates his own, metamorphosing mythology, which parallels Biblical mythology and that of Milton, and expounds it throughout his poems. To fully appreciate them, one must not only read, but also study his works. I highly recommend doing so--William Blake is infinitely rewarding.

A note: The Penguin edition reviewed here is good, but, if possible, try to acquire an illustrated copy of Blake's work. Blake wrote most of his great poems in the style of illuminated manuscripts (he is actually the precursor of the graphic novel genre), and his illustrations are profound and beautiful. It seems to be increasingly difficult to acquire his illustrations in book form, so if you cannot, at least view them at blakearchive.org. They are magnificent!

What immortal hand or eye ?
It is the shorter poetry of Blake, that of the 'Songs of Innocence' and 'The Songs of Experience' that lives for me, and I suspect for most others. Though Northrop Frye the master literary critic saw in Blake's longer poems a key to reading the whole universe of Literature, I strongly suspect those long- lined abstraction filled 'visions'are outside the interest and staying power of most readers.
Blake was one of the great aphoristic poets, and along with the mystical visionary lines, there came lines like lightning sudden flashes of the mind which strike us strongly and remain with us.
Here is one of the most well- known Blakean lyrics
:
And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England's mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England's pleasant pastures seen?

And did the Countenance Divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among these dark satanic mills?

Bring me my bow of burning gold!
Bring me my arrows of desire!
Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold!
Bring me my chariot of fire!

I will not cease from mental fight,
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand,
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England's green and pleasant land.

Blake was the lunatic lover one of the great madmen of poetry who according to his wife gave her little timeas he most of the time was 'in Paradise'.
Each reader will going through the Collected Poems stop and select what they find congenial for themselves.
In the Collected Poems of Blake there is very much to stop for, including many of the most memorable lyrics and lines Poetry in English has given the world.

" Little Lamb who made thee, Dost thou know who made thee?"

"Tiger, Tiger, burning bright in the forest of the night/ What immortal hand or eye/ Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?/ ... Read more

Product Description
This anthology contains the masterpiece of W. Blake "Songs of Innocence and of Experience" including over 50 poems. Nicely formatted with capital letters, page break and interactive toc!

In this collection of poems, Blake contrasts Songs of Innocence, in which he shows how the human spirit blossoms when allowed its own free movement with Songs of Experience, in which he shows how the human spirit withers after it has been suppressed and forced to conform to rules, and doctrines.

... Read more

Product Description
Among Blake’s finest works: 21 watercolors interpreting the great biblical book and its theme of unmerited suffering. Also presented here are 11 additional watercolors, plus 28 black-and-white illustrations, including 21 extraordinary engravings based on the watercolors. All reproduced from a rare, limited facsimile edition published by The Pierpont Morgan Library. New introductory essay. Total of 60 illustrations.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Great Inexpensive source for dramatic Biblical images. Buy it
`Blake's Illustrations for the Book of Job' by the great 18th century illustrator and poet, William Blake, is a superior source of inexpensive copies of these works, which the publisher characterizes as `among the artist's greatest achievements'.
The best feature of the volume, aside from its reasonable price, is the size of the illustrations. As long as one is willing to stress the spine of the book a bit, it is very easy to make excellent scans of the illustrations. And, if one needs especially high quality scans of the large color reproductions, you can cut out the page(s) to insure that they lay flat on the scanning bed with no shadow creeping in along the edges. Since the list price of the book is less than $10, it is virtually no hardship to buy two copies of the book to have one intact on your shelves while the second copy gives up its pages for your presentations.
For those unfamiliar with Blake's work, it's important to know that he did not one, but at least two full series of illustrations, both of which are in this volume. The first is a series of 21 black and white engravings, with borders including English and Hebrew writings relevant to the scene depicted. The second is a series of 21 larger color engravings, the Linnell set, made by manually applying watercolor to the black line image made by an engraving reproduction. Supplementing the color engravings are two additional sets (not of the full set of 21) called the Butts Set and the New Zealand set. There are some small variations in coloring and in line detail between the parallel images in the New Zealand set compared to the Linnell set reproductions. One advantage of the New Zealand set is that they are smaller, so they may be less difficult to scan and embed in a document.
Blake's Job illustrations are a terrific find for those who wish to do a Bible study of the Book of Job, as it reinforces the sense that this is one of the most powerfully written pieces of literature in the whole of Judeo-Christian scriptures.

Beautiful!
This book of Blake's illustrations -- both color and detail black & white -- of his interpretation of the Book of Job is such a beautiful treasure.

Hevenly Images
Blake's Illustrations for the Book of Job makes me want to take a Bible study course, just to learn as much as I can about the compelling sketches so beautifully printed on the pages of this eye-catching book.Each lovely oversized page of this book depicts a Scripture episode found the Biblical Book of Job, all of them worth meditating on.I am particularly impressed by the images Blake paints of God, who appears consistently benevolent even in the face of Satan. This book creates fascinating imagery, painted by a man whose life was, apparently, somewhat fixated on this particular subject. Blake painted these images sometime in the early 19th century, but they are still contemporary and memorable.I really love this book for its artistic interest and as a subject for an art history course.

A book that changed my life
I was shown a copy of this book 25 years ago. Blake's art transformed my world. I have been a student of Blake ever since. I still go back to this book often. This book, in a few pages, gave me an entry into Blake's system. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Classic poetry for a modern age
A beautifully illustrated collection of poems by English poet and mystic William Blake... The subject matter (and the didactic tone) may seem remote to many modern readers, and secular-minded parents may wish to steer clear of the constant talk of angels, creators and shepherds, but for those wishing to immerse their children into the English canon, it would be hard to imagine a better introduction to Blake's work than this.The soft-textured artwork recalls Blake's own fantastical visual style, with its wild celebration of nature, and perfectly compliments the text.Although some of the loftier verses may be hard to crack, many poems are easily understood, including the well-known "The Tyger" ("Tyger, tyger, burning bright...") and "The Nurse."Part of an excellent series of introductory poetry sets. (ReadThatAgain) ... Read more

Product Description
The soulful mysticism of Blake—captured in a definitive new collection of his finest verse

Writer and religious rebel, William Blake sowed the seeds of Romanticism in his innovative poems concerning faith and the vision that inspired him throughout his remarkable life. Whether describing his own spirituality, the innocence of youth, or the corruption caused by mankind, his writings depict a world in which spirits dominate and the mind is the gateway to Heaven. Presenting many of Blake’s major works in their complete texts, alongside extensive passages from such poems as "Jerusalem" and "The Gates of Paradise," this collection spans his entire poetic life, from the exquisite lyrics of Poetic Sketches to Songs of Innocence and Experience—a compelling exploration of good and evil. Together, they illuminate a self-made realm that has fascinated artists and poets as diverse as Wordsworth, Coleridge, Yeats, and Ginsberg. This is the perfect introduction to Blake’s unforgettable poetry. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Blake poems not complete w/o the images. Add A Blake Dictionary and Blake, Jung and the Collective Unconscious to understand him
Add "A Blake Dictionary" and "Blake, Jung and the Collective Unconscious" by June Singer to understand him.
He is a year's study. And I am at it. Fascinating. lynn scott ... Read more

Product Description
Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free.This is an OCR edition with typos.Excerpt from book:AN IMITATION OF SPENSER.Apollo, that through heaven wide Q. 3catter"st the rays of light, and truth hisbeams, £In lucent words my darkling voices dight, AAnd wash my earthly mind in thy clear streams, That wisdom may descend in fairy dreams. I All while the jocund Hours in thy train 2Scatter their fancies at thy poet's feet; iAnd, when thou yield'st to Night thy wide domain, Let rays of truth enlight his sleeping brain. For brutish Pan in vain might thee assay With tinkling sounds to dash thy nervous verse, Sound wthout sense ; yet in his rude affray (For Ignorance is folly's leasing nurse, And love of Folly needs none other's curse) Midas the praise hath gained of lengthened ears, For which himself might deem him ne'er the worseTo sit in council with his modern peers,And judge of tinkling rhymes and elegances terse.And them, Mercurius, that with winged bow Dost mount aloff into the yielding sky, And through heaven's halls thy airy flight dostthrow,Entering with holy feet to where on high Jove weighs the counsel of futurity ; Then laden with eternal fate, dost go Down, like a fallen star, from Autumn sky, And o'er the surface of the silent deep dost fly : If thou arrivest at the sandy shoreWhere nought but envious hissing adders dwell, Thy golden rod thrown on the dusty floor,Can charm to harmony with potent spell ;Such is sweet Eloquence, that does dispel Envy and Hate that thirst for human gore ;And cause in sweet society to dwellVile savage minds that lurk in lonely cell.O Mercury, assist my labouring senseThat round thedrcle of the world would fly, As the wingetyeagla)scorns the towery fence Of Alpine mttSround his high aery,And searches through the corners of the sky, Sports in... ... Read more

Product Description
At the dawn of the 19th century, Blake created this imaginative series of 116 watercolors to illustrate 13 poems by Thomas Gray. Including such popular poems as "Elegy in a Country Churchyard" and "Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat," these rarely exhibited treasures remained exclusively in the hands of collectors for close to 175 years. This is the first inexpensive, full-color reproduction, with the complete text of the poems.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

With all 116 plates originally in the Trianon Press edition
Blake created his series of 116 watercolors at the turn of the century to illustrate 13 poems by Thomas Gray: this reproduces his watercolors in an affordable edition, allowing a much wider audience access to his works. Blake's Watercolours For The Poems Of Thomas Gray republishes all 116 plates originally in the Trianon Press edition. ... Read more

Product Description
The core of William Blake's vision, his greatness as one of the British Romantics, is most fully expressed in his Illuminated Books, masterworks of art and text intertwined and mutually enriching. Made possible by recent advances in printing and reproduction technology, the publication of new editions of Jerusalem and Songs of Innocence and of Experience in 1991 was a major publishing event. Now these two volumes are followed by The Early Illuminated Books and Milton, A Poem. The books in both volumes are reproduced from the best available copies of Blake's originals and in faithfulness and accuracy match the acclaimed standards set by Jerusalem and Songs. These two volumes are uniform in format and binding with the first two volumes.

The Early Illuminated Books comprises All Religions Are One and There Is No Natural Religion; Thel; Marriage of Heaven and Hell; and Visions of the Daughters of Albion. Milton, A Poem, second only to Jerusalem in extent and ambition, is accompanied by Laocoön, The Ghost of Abel, and On Homer's Poetry. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Five beautiful works from 1788 - 1793
This beautifully produced volume contains five of Blake's early works in relief etching (his illuminated books from 1788 to 1793 save "The Songs of Innocence" from 1789 - published in volume 2 in this series).They are the early tract like "All Religions Are One" and "There Is No Natural Religion", then the fable of "Thel", the magnificent "Marriage of Heaven and Hell" (one of Blake's most popular works), and the beautiful "Visions of the Daughters of Albion".

This volume really four books bound in one.The tracts are treated as one book, then each of the others individually.Each sub-volume has its own introduction and commentary and each plate is given its own page and most have the text on the left page with the plate on the right.

There are also alternative plates provided for additional study.

As with all the volumes in this series, the production values are high, as is the scholarship.A volume you can be proud to have on your shelf.

A must have!
I recommend that any fan of William Blake buy this volume and the other 5 in the series. The books are beautiful, large, and handsomely bound. Each book is reproduced in full color, using a six-color printing process rather than the standard four. The pages are heavy, opaque and have a gorgous lustre indicating very high quality paper. The text of each book accompanies the color reproductions in standard typeface with very competent commentary to boot.

A must have!
I recommend that any fan of William Blake buy this volume and the other 5 in the series. The books are beautiful, large, and handsomely bound. Each book is reproduced in full color, using a six-color printing process rather than the standard four. The pages are heavy, opaque and have a gorgous lustre indicating very high quality paper. The text of each book accompanies the color reproductions in standard typeface with very competent commentary to boot. ... Read more

Product Description

Published in 1947, Fearful Symmetry was Northrop Frye's first book and the product of over a decade of intense labour. Drawing readers into the imaginative world of William Blake, Frye succeeded in making Blake's voice and vision intelligible to the wider public. Distinguished by its range of reference, elegance of expression, comprehensiveness of coverage, coherence of argument, and sympathy to its subject, Fearful Symmetry was immediately recognized as a landmark of Blake criticism. Fifty years later, it is still recognized as having ensured the acceptance of Blake as a canonical poet by permanently dispelling the widespread notion that he was the mad creator of an incomprehensible private symbolism.

For this new edition, the text has been revised and corrected in accordance with the principles of the Collected Works of Northrop Frye series. Frye's original annotation has been supplemented with references to currently standard editions of Blake and others, and many new notes have been provided, identifying quotations, allusions, and cultural references. An introduction by Ian Singer provides biographical and critical context for the book, an overview of its contents, and an account of its reception.

Customer Reviews (6)

frye and beyond
Some time ago I reread Northrop Frye's Fearful Symmetry before having another read through of the poems of William Blake including the longer poems The Four Zoas, Milton and Jerusalem. Despite my appreciation of Frye's book I was struck by the disconnect between many of Frye's well-expressed and coherent ideas and the poems themselves. I noticed also that Frye barely quoted from any of the poems or analyzed any passage specifically. At that point I started to look around for other texts which offered a different viewpoint from Frye to see if my dissatisfaction was justified or not. The more I read the alternative views the more convinced I became that Frye's account was seriously deficient. I do not think he is entirely wrong or that there is nothing of value in his book. However, I strongly recommend that readers interested in Blake's poetry read alternative views. The ones I have found most useful and interesting include the current book listed here as well as the following:The Four Zoas (Photographic Facsimile (Magno & Erdman), Narrative Unbound (Donald Ault),The Dialectic of Vision (Fred Dortort),Dark Figures in the Desired Country (Gerda Norvig),The Traveler in the Evening (Morton Paley), Rethinking Blake's Textuality (Molly Rothenberg),Blake's Critique of Transcendence (Peter Otto) and some of the articles in Blake's Sublime Allegory (Curran & Wittreich Eds.) I might note that after doing all this reading of the poems and about Blake I am convinced that the unpublished The Four Zoas is the central and most significant poem Blake wrote and that both Milton and Jerusalem suffer in comparison with it. The problem that Blake may have realized with the Four Zoas was that it could never be published in its authentic form due to the graphic (for the time) psychosexual content of the illustrations (the subtitle of the poem is The Torments of Love and Jealousy).

searchlight
I have a much clearer sense of Blake's writings now that I've read this book.I took a long time in finishing it, reading some major poems by W.B. at the same time.This is really an exciting book; it brings to life a whole universe - that lived in the poet's imagination.Blake is alive today (in the spirit of his artistic creations) I am convinced.William Blake had a great gift for describing aspects of real life in a way that was inspired by the Bible, and some other imaginative or visionary artists and poets; he was also highly opinionated.It's impressive how wellFrye understood Blake's gift, and his personal life, which also makes a strand of this effort, which is a literary effort in it's own right.Anyone with an interest in Blake ought to read this book.It's a tool that allows one to approach Blake's creations of writing and visual artistry with an active (as well as open) mind.

Essential for Blake fans
Northrop Frye manages to convey in sweeping master strokes the brilliance of William Blakes poetry and unlocks the mysteries of Blakes symbols.More importantly, Frye engages the reader in learning a new way to look at literature in general and open up his eyes to a deeper world.

The tygers of wrath are wiser than the horses of instruction
This punch statement belongs to William Blake .
Enthusiasm , passion and a huge sense of commitment describe the enormous effort behind these admirable lines written by Frye
Every major poet demands from his critic a combination of direction and perspective , of intensive and extensive reading . Cosmology is literary art but there are two kinds : the first designed to understand the world and the other designed to transform it into the human desire .
The part one The argument
1. The case against Locke
2. The rising God
3. Beyond Good and evil
4. A literalist of the imagination
5. The word within the word
Part two The development of the symbolism
6. Tradition and experiment
7. The thief of fire
8. The refiner in fire
9. The nightmare with her ninefold
Part threeThe final synthesis
10. Comus Agonistes
11. The city of God
12. The burden of the valley of Vision
Fearfulsymmetry was written during the Second World Two and the principal reason which persuades me to recommend you this wise essay is the fact you can draw a line in the story which starts with Homero , Dante , Michelangelo,Blake and Beethoven and obtain a powerful conclusion about the enormous significance of this admirable thinker.
Beware the fact the unforgettable conductor Wilhelm Fürtwangler whose father was an intimate friend of Hans Schliemann liked to visit Rome and Florence to watch over and over the Michelangelo sculptures and paintings ; this fact allows meto onclude the underground road between the Florentine genius and theBonn genius .
An indispensable book in your library.

Judging the book by its cover . . .
One disadvantage of browsing online bookstores is that you can't simply skim the cover blurbs; sometimes you just have to settle for the opinions of strangers like me. So it may be helpful to read the quotes on the back cover of my copy of 'Fearful Symmetry.'

"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'

"According as we agree or disagree with Mr. Frye's contention we shall decide finally on the supremacy of his book. In following the structure of Blake's total vision and relating it to the thought of his age he has triumphantly carried out a task which, given the giant shape of the material, cannot help being immense. His cadences, by sheer explanatory devotion, approach the sonorities of Blake's own." -- 'Times Literary Supplement'

"Frye conducts his ambitious study with unflagging energy, great enthusiasm, and immense erudition." -- 'Poetry'

"An intelligent and beautifully written critical interpretation of the poetry and symbolic thought of William Blake..." -- 'New Yorker'

My opinion: Northrop Frye's literary criticism manages to shift the ground underfoot in the same rare way Blake's poetry does. Frye was the first to crack Blake's code, remove from him the labels of Mystic and Nutcase, and reveal him as a poet who systematically recreates the world. Frye taught Blake to Jesuits, Communist organizers, deans of women, and angry young poets. He was continually pleased to encounter doctors, housewives, clergymen, teachers, blue-collar workers, and shopkeepers, all with a great and deep appreciation of Blake.

Frye's deep appreciation and admiration for Blake comes through on every page, six times over. I reread this book about every five years, each time coming away seeing the world upside down, inside out, and worth renovating. ... Read more

Product Description
The idea of the gift, in contrast to concepts of commercial exchange or the exercise of self-interest at the expense of social ties, is integral to the ways in which William Blake thought about his art, and the production and dissemination of his work. Sarah Haggarty offers a sophisticated and thorough account of the idea of the gift in Blake's writing and designs, examining both the theoretical implications of the term, and the way it plays out in specific textual and visual contexts within Blake's works. Elegantly written, thoughtful and closely argued, this book explores particular passages with great dexterity and in a style that enables the reader to participate in the experience of discovering the significance of 'the gift' for understanding Blake's work. ... Read more

Product Description
Superb reproduction of 1797 publication of four sections of Edward Young’s popular poem Night Thoughts, illustrated with 43 designs by William Blake. Images of angels, spirits, poets, sensuous women, Life, Death, Reason and Truth swirl about Young’s text, adding to its meaning and revealing much of Blake’s own vision. Plate-by-plate commentaries by Professors Robert Essick and Jenijoy La Belle. Introduction. Bibliography. 43 illustrations.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Unjustly forgotten
This is the reprint of the edition published in 1797, with engravings of William Blake. The poem itself, enormously popular in the 18th century, is now shrouded in obscurity, and it stays in print only due to Blake's illustrations. But despite of its unpopularity, I found it quite enjoyable. It is best read in one sitting, without interrupting the constant flow of ideas and thoughts. It is a meditation, at once introspective and all-encompassing, a contemplation of Death, Time, Friendship, and Immortality of man. Granted, it does tend to drag on too much in the last chapter, but the first ones are so good they're worthy of being memorized. Blake's engravings, surrounding the text as a frame, capture the essense of the poem and at the same time enhance it, adding to it even more depth. The poem's abstract concepts take shape, making some passages more memorable. (This edition includes a commentary on the pictures' symbolism.) The book is worth getting for the engravings alone; it is a work of art in every sense of the word. ... Read more

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Does the Devil lie at the heart of the creative process? In The Devil as Muse, Fred Parker offers an entirely fresh reflection on the age-old question, echoing William Blake's famous statement: the true poet is of the Devil's party.

Expertly examining three literary interpretations of the Devil and his influence upon the artist -- Milton's Satan in Paradise Lost, the Mephistopheles of Goethe's Faust, and the one who offers daimonic creativity in Thomas Mann's Doctor Faustus -- Parker unveils a radical tension between the ethical and the aesthetic. While the Devil is the artist's necessary collaborator and liberating muse, from an ethical standpoint the price paid for such creativity is nothing less damnable than the Faustian pact -- and the artist who is creative in that way is seen as accursed, alienated, morally disturbing. In their own different ways, Parker shows, Blake, Byron, and Mann all reflect and acknowledge that tension in their work, and model ways to resolve it through their writing.

Linking these literary conceptions with scholarship on the genesis of the historical conception of the Devil and recent work on the role of 'otherness'; in creativity, Parker insightfully suggests how creative literature can feel its way back along the processes -- both theological and psychological -- that lie behind such constructions of the Adversary. ... Read more

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