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Thou fair-hair'd angel of the evening, Now, whilst the sun rests on the mountains, light Thy bright torch of love; thy radiant crown Put on, and smile upon our evening bed! Smile on our loves, and while thou drawest the Blue curtains of the sky, scatter thy silver dew. ... Read more

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PREFACE "JERUSALEM," the longest and the most splendid of the Prophetical J Books engraved by William Blake, was first published in the form of one hundred pages of text and illustrations, dated from South Molton Street, 1804, though this date represents rather the beginning than the conclusion of its composition. It has been twice reproduced in facsimile, once separately, and once (much reduced), in the three volume edition of" Blake's works by Messrs. Ellis and Yeais in 1893, but it has never hitherto been printed in ordinary type; and those who have tried to study the Prophetical Books will realize the need for such a text if reading and reference are to be possible without the inordinate strain and fatigue involved in the use of a facsimile. It is only when the complete works of Blake are readily accessible and legible that we may hope that the greatest of English mystics will be adequately studied and appreciated; and if this is to be, the divorce of the poem from its illustr

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology.

Forgotten Books' Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve the original format of each page whilst digitally enhancing the difficult to read text. Read books online for free at www.forgottenbooks.org ... Read more

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This volume examines William Blake's achievement by discussing and displaying 50 works from the Paul Mellon collection at the Yale Center for British Art. It is the catalogue for an exhibition of Blake's work celebrating the Center's 20th anniversary from April to early July 1997. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

a hidden gem, not your mainstream tarot deck
I collect Tarot cards and use several for fortune readings and I cannot compliment on this deck enough. The symbolism is very intuitive making interpretation more precise and accurate. I sometimes use other decks but when I really want to read into the mind/reasoning/hidden motive or to get deeper understanding of a reading from other decks, the William Blake Tarot is the one to use.

An Inspired Deck
I can't say enough great things about this deck.It is a revolutionary consideration of Blake's work, taking it out of the purely academic and intellectual level and placing it squarely where Blake's passion lay--the imaginal realm.I ordered this directly from the author, since it is not easy to obtain. Wonderful artwork, thoughtful interpretations.An amazing and transformative way to approach one of the West's great mystics. ... Read more

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William Blake (1757-1827) is recognized today as one of England's great artists and poets, but in his own time he was known principally as a professional engraver. The book illustrations he executed after designs by other artists form a significant part of his graphic productions. These prints are fully described and reproduced for the first time in this authoritative catalog providing new information on the preliminary drawings, and the relationships between Blake's prints and the texts they accompany. The 295 illustrations include all Blake's copy prints published in books and a generous selection of the preliminary drawings from which he worked. ... Read more

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A look at the life and accomplishments of the former prime minister presents essays by twenty-nine renowned contributors that examine all phases of Churchill's life--from his youth in the aristocracy to his career in Parliament. ... Read more

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KING OF THEM ALL
A GREAT BOOK ON CHURCHILL. many essays most by top notch experts . exept for chapter one by mr cannadine whichis a disasterr most other essays are well documentedand informative.. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

simply indispensable
my edition is an older paperback (small) that is falling apart...but it is priceless and certainly worth the effort in getting it.

i used to favor the precise meandering of bloom's friend, derrida....but bloom has staying power and this book really set the stage.

An Indispensable Classic
Serious students of Blake would do well to start here. Lucid, informed and methodical, Bloom's "Blake's Apocalypse" leaves no page unturned amid his exhaustive investigation into the influences, ideas and hopes that comprise Blake's vast and complicated "poetic argument." Though Bloom's erudition can sometimes undermine his clarity, the book glows with the confident understanding and purpose he built his name on. Delving into Blake's main influences -- Milton, the Bible and the ancient Greeks -- Bloom focuses much of his time on Blake's epics while making the good point that these greater works are often neglected in favor of the more managable and straightforward "Songs of Innocence and Experience." "Blake's Apocalypse" is an endless resource comparable to those other masterpieces of Blake scholarship: Frye's "Fearful Symmetry" and Erdman's "Prophet Against Empire." I've been relying on it for months now and can't imagine any session with Blake's mind being complete without it.

A necessity in every sense
Some facts about Harold Bloom. He taught himself to read English (hisfamily spoke Yiddish at home) at the age of 3 or 4. He has a photographicmemory for text, and has more or less the whole canon of English poetrycommitted to memory.

Now granted, these facts don't guarantee genius bythemselves, but Bloom has something extra to add to those other traits--animaginative hunger and an enormous love for poetry and what it can do forthe individual, sensitive reader.

Admittedly, this analysis of Blake owesquite a bit to Northrop Frye's "Fearful Symmetry," but there aremany new insights that make this book worth much more than its price.Whatever one may think about Bloom's later literary analyses, his earlywork has, undeniably, the stamp of genius. ... Read more

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THIS 22 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: On the Minor Prophecies of William Blake, by Emily S. Hamblen. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 1564595439. ... Read more

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Contents of this set
This set includes the Dover color facsimiles of Songs of Innocence, Songs of Experience, and The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.

Illustrations are a Must Have!
The full page colored illustrations included in this set are essential to your understanding of Blake's poetry. These illustrations were engraved by Blake himself to accompany each of his poems, and they really let you see the deeper meaning in much of his poetry. I would recommend these books to anyone who would like to take a deeper look into Blake's mind. Blake meant for his poetry and art to be viewed together, and many collections of Blake's poems these days do not include this thought provoking art.

Essential Blake
This is a GREAT set. I was amazed and well-pleased. Blake is essential for thinkers...and this is just a slight sample of his talent. I'd recommend it for those who love to think and to learn. Very heady--good food!

Tikya!
ari ... Read more

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Sung closely examines William Blake's extant engraved copper plates, a previously under-used resource, and arrives at a new interpretation of his working process. Thirty-nine engraved copper plates survive, including twenty-two for illustrations for the Book of Job. Sung argues that hammer marks to the reverse of the plates point to high levels of repoussage, suggesting that Blake revised and corrected his work more than was previously thought. This belies the Romantic ideal that the acts of conception and execution are simultaneous in the creative process. ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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"Reader's Guides" provide a comprehensive starting point for any advanced student, giving an overview of the context, criticism and influence of key works. Each guide also offers students fresh critical insights and provides a practical introduction to close reading and to analysing literary language and form. They provide up-to-date, authoritative but accessible guides to the most commonly studied classic texts. William Blake is a romantic poet who remains popular today, in part because his exceptional insight into psychological, political and social issues remains powerfully relevant. The "Reader's Guide" begins by introducing Blake's major themes including religious, political and social issues and then moves on to reading key works, including "Songs of Innocence and Experience" and "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell". It offers an invaluable introduction to reading Blake's poetry and includes sections on its contexts, language and style, critical reception and adaptation and influence and finally, an annotated guide to further reading. ... Read more

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Literary Criticism. An important addition to alternative criticism of William Blake, this compelling work will be essential to Blake's contemporary readers. "...THE DIALECTIC OF VISION: A CONTRARYREADING OF BLAKE'S JERUSALEM completes a trilogy of books, published by Station Hill Press and now by Station Hill Arts/ Barrytown, Ltd., on Blake's final prophetic works. The series includes Mark Bracher's BEING FORM'D: THINKING THROUGH BLAKE'S MILTON (1985) and Donald Ault'sRE-VISIONING WILLIAM BLAKE'S THE FOUR ZOAS (1987)."THE DIALECTIC OF VISON -- by far the most radical of these three works, [is] certainly one of the most unorthodox books ever written on Blake ..." - Donald Ault. "In brief, Dortort has written the only book that does justice to the ultimate poem of Blake's career, giving us new tools for Blakean and general scholarship in the process. - Molly Anne Rothenberg, Toulane Univjersity, author of RETHINKING BLAKE'S TEXTUALITY.Includes 14 black and white plates. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

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 came across this and a few other books with a different view.

This masterful book about Blake's last major poem Jerusalem deserves a more in-depth review than can be provided here. Jerusalem has long been considered almost intractably difficult to understand. At the time Dortort wrote this book in the late 90s, interpretation fell mainly into two positions; the poem was narratively incoherent (e.g. Morton Paley) or contrarily it reflected the grudging acceptance by Blake of a conventionally pious way of interpreting political and personal conflicts (e.g. Northop Frye and adherents). The author should be commended for doing what generations of Blake critics were unwilling to do, namely, analyze each line and try to assign it to a given event or speaker in the narrative and relate it to prior corresponding material before trying to figure out what Jerusalem meant. Dortort relies entirely on the text as presented and does not resort to using external events or concepts to provide a meta-explanation or hidden key. Instead he identifies three "perspective frameworks" present in the workwhich he names Albion , Los, and the Saviour respectively. These three frameworks have a variety of subsidiary names or "characters". In addition there is an implicit narrator who advances the point of view of the Saviour either covertly or explicitly and sometimes clumsily. In contrast to a typical narrator in a work of fiction, this narrator (perhaps intentionally on the part of Blake) seems to be unable to maintain consistent control over the text material and its presentation. Periodically, discordant information comes to the surface that undermines the narrator's version of events and which the narrator tries to suppress or reinterpret.

Rather than restate what was stated in the book, this is what I came away with. There are very few unique events, physical actions or discrete characters in the poem. The conflicts expressed by the main charaxters are really different ways of interpreting or characterizing the same events with the point of dominating the other perspectives not of enlightening them. The two events that seem primary are first, the conflict over the female emanation "Jerusalem" between the "characters" or states called Albion (loosely speaking Humanity/England) and Luvah (loosely speaking Physical and Sexual Energy/France) and second, the jealousy of Los (artistic creation/ possibly Blake as writer) over Enitharmon (the world of space and time/possibly Blake's wife or women in general) and her detachment and liaisons with other "characters". Strangely enough these two events are usually discussed in veiled or cryptic allusions in the poem and only rarely come to the fore. The bulk of Jerusalem is composed of whatI would (anachronistically) term psychological or propaganda warfare between the perspectives but mainly by the Saviour (and Luvah) group against Albion. The Saviour group acts as a sort of frontman for the aggressive but mostly ineffectual Luvah lurking in the background. Thus Albion is forced to contend with the verbal admonishments and attacks of the more positive and noble Saviour and the "Lamb of God" even though these serve mainly the cause of his opponent Luvah. The description of this psychological warfare is actually chilling since it so closely approximates the techniques and procedures of propaganda warfare developed and used by governments, media and advocacy groups in the 20th century up to the present. The conclusion of the poem is magnificent but also quite ambiguous in its meaning and affiliation to a given perspective when read carefully.

The Best Book on Blake in Years
I'll make this short and sweet: this book is the most important contribution to Blake Studies since Donald Ault's monumental "Narrative Unbound" was published in 1987.Dortort is so good itdefies belief.

Socks No More!
I have read many so-called "authoritative" works about Blake, but this one knocked my socks off!I can't wait until the word gets out on what Dortort is proposing here. It's definitely worth the time investmentto get to what Dortort is proposing here. Any serious Blake lovers shouldcheck it out. ... Read more