Page 269 - DENG405_BRITISH_POETRY

British Poetry

Notes

In 1789, Blake published Songs of Innocence and The Book of Thel, which displayed
the range of his talents, for one was a collection of short and witty rhymed stanzas
and the other a lengthy epic “prophetic book.” This year also saw the beginning
to the French Revolution, which further widened the cleavage in English society.

The next ten years (1790-1800) were arguably the most peaceful and successful times for the Blake
couple. It was during this period that Blake completed iconic works like Songs of Experience, The
Marriage of Heaven and Hell, America: A Prophecy, Europe: A Prophecy, Visions of the Daughters
of Albion, The Song of Los, and The Book of Urizen, all of which discernibly demonstrate Blake’s
support of the Revolution.
As the French Revolution disintegrated into a war for national power and lost sight of its original
mission of liberating idealism, Blake began to question his faith in humanity and in the revolutionary
spirit. In 1800, the Blakes moved to a cottage in Felpham, on the coast of Sussex, next door to William
Hayley, a long-time Blake companion. It was during this time that Blake completed most of the
work on Vala, another one of his epic prophecies.
In 1803, William Blake reentered the world of religious doctrine, calling himself a re-born “soldier
of Christ” in a letter to a friend. It is then that Blake began his work on his final epic prophecy,
Jerusalem. Blake soon returned to London, where a series of events began a downward spiral into
wretchedness and despair for William Blake. First, Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of France
in 1804, removing any hope for the revolutionary spirit that Blake once promoted. Second, a series
of Blake’s illustrations were stolen and plagiarized by engraver and publisher Robert Cromek, which
outraged Blake and broke him financially. In a final effort for Blake to gain fame and earn the
respect from his contemporaries he deserved, he summoned friends Henry Crabb Robinson and
Charles Lamb to finance an exhibition of his life works. Unfortunately, few were interested, and the
exhibition even caused the well-respected periodical, The Examiner, to denounce the work as nothing
more than art of “an unfortunate lunatic.”
In Blake’s final years of poverty and despair, he completed two of his most famous and respected
religious works, Jerusalem and Milton. In 1818, William Blake began to be recognized by a new
group of poets and artists for the revolutionary genius that he was. Among one of his highest
enthusiasts was John Linnell, who summoned Blake to provide detailed illustrations to both the
Book of Job and Dante’s Divine Comedy. William Blake died suddenly on August 12, 1827, before
either of the works was completed.

26.2 William Blake: Songs of Innocence

26.2.1 The Lamb

“The Lamb” is a poem by William Blake, published in Songs of Innocence in 1789. Like
many of Blake’s works, the poem is about Christianity.

Like the other Songs of Innocence and Experience, The Lamb was intended to be sung; William
Blake’s original melody is now lost. It was made into a song by Vaughan Williams. It was also set to
music by Sir John Tavener, who explained, “The Lamb came to me fully grown and was written in
an afternoon and dedicated to my nephew Simon for his 3rd birthday.” American poet Allen Ginsberg
set the poem to music, along with several other of Blake’s poems.

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