Blake, William - Life and works (5)

William Blake

Blake was born in London and showed artistic talent from a young age. He was largely self-taught and developed a unique artistic style.

Poetry and Art: He is known for his innovative poetry and his integration of his poetry with his artwork. His works often explored themes of spirituality, innocence, and experience.

Some of his most famous works include "Songs of Innocence and Experience," "The Tyger," and "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell."

Religious and Mystical Themes: Blake had a deep interest in religion and spirituality.

His works often contain mystical and religious elements, and he was critical of conventional religion
Although not widely recognized during his lifetime, Blake's works gained prominence in the 20th century and have had a significant influence on literature and art.

Two opposite states of the human soul. Songs of Experience were designed to be clearly read together by Blake as he has not released separate prints during his lifetime. The world of innocence is apparently not threatening and is fearless, full of joy and happiness. From the outside, it looks like a heavenly garden full of lambs and childlike figures, both symbols of Christ. This, on the contrary, often happens in Songs of Experience, which shows subjects similar to Songs of Innocence, but from a different perspective.

Blake's philosophy of contrasts. They coexist in the same person or situation and Blake does not try to overcome their conflicts. For Blake, this dialectical tension or opposition is essential.

Imagination for Blake. Blake did not believe in human rationality. Blake, on the contrary, believes in them as the only source of true knowledge and denies the truth of sensory experience. Later, like Wordsworth and Coleridge, he thought that imagination allows man to see beyond physical reality, the inner mind actually builds the outer world that man sees.

The child as an object of poetry. Blake is the first to write a children's poem that occupies so much romantic poetry. Thanks to the clear visionary quality of the poem, the story of the chimney sweep is a bright dream and a realistic image. However, the poem shows no trace of sentimentality or explicit social criticism.

Life and works. William Blake was born in London in 1757 to a lower-class family of 10 years of age, was sent to an art school and then apprenticed to an engraver, wrote to the new Royal Academy of Art in 1778 and in 1782 created an edition - the seller's Shon Blake poetry. Blake developed a complete vision of the world in a complex mythology. Blake chose to accept poverty and darkness instead of compromising his artistic vision.

A revolutionary artist. He reacts violently against any form of control over the individual. Many of Blake's poems, such as The Chimney Sweep, are a criticism of the suffering of the poor and oppressed. He openly attacked national institutions such as the Church of England and the monarchy.

Blake's style. Blake's poetry is difficult because of his use of complex symbols. The use of symbols came naturally to Blake, who believed that the physical world could be read like the book of God.