http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/arts_culture/literature/william_blake_visionary Comments for "William Blake: a visionary for our time, Christopher Rowland " en http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/arts_culture/literature/william_blake_visionary#comment-438313 My morning Open-Democracy-break was made the richer thanks to this article. Only I wouldn't describe Songs of Innocence and Experience as "beautiful little poems". Their under half is quite ugly, like Blake's God, and perceptively so... I.C. Wed, 28 Nov 2007 10:09:34 +0000 ianniscarras comment 438313 at http://www.opendemocracy.net http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/arts_culture/literature/william_blake_visionary <p> William Blake, who was born in London on 28 November 1757, was an engraver who lived in obscurity for most of his life, occasionally getting important commissions but more often than not able to secure only a frugal existence for himself and his wife, <a href="http://www.metmuseum.org/special/William_Blake/11.R.htm">Catherine</a>. Yet today, his artistic and poetic works have achieved a central place in British (and especially English) culture. The opening words of one of his longer poems, <em>Milton</em>, have become widely known as <em>Jerusalem </em>and gradually adopted as an unofficial English national anthem. As with so much else in his writings, these verses are full of biblical themes - &quot;chariot of fire&quot; and &quot;building Jerusalem&quot; - which, however, Blake uses in his own way. The <a href="http://www.newi.ac.uk/rdover/blake/jersalem.htm">words</a> stress the importance of people taking responsibility for change and building a better society &quot;in England&#39;s green and pleasant land&quot;. </p>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/arts_culture/literature/william_blake_visionary" class="read-more" title="Read the rest of this posting.">Read the rest of this post...</a><p><a href="http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/arts_culture/literature/william_blake_visionary">read more</a></p> http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/arts_culture/literature/william_blake_visionary#comment arts &amp; culture Christopher Rowland Creative Commons normal literature Tue, 27 Nov 2007 16:34:54 +0000 35151 at http://www.opendemocracy.net