Poems

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.

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.

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!

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 time as 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?/

I don't know upon what planet this poet was born, but it certainly wasn't earth. Blake is the ultimate Gnostic, the ascendent correspondent, the bringer of truth from regions we have no knowledge of. The core of his philosophy can be summed up in his assertion in "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell:" Thus men forgot that All deities reside in the human breast...Isaiah answer'd. I saw no God, nor heard any, in a finite organical perception; but my senses discover'd the infinite in every thing, and as I was then perswaded, & remain confirm'd; that the voice of honest indignation is the voice of God." Blake is the poet of true revolution, true Romanticism and true spirit. This is the definitive volume of his life-work, without, it is true, the illustrations that augmented his genius. Yet there is no real necessity for etchings here, as the genius of his poetry will etch its own image in your mind if you are receptive to his universal symbolism. Blake was the first truly modern poet, prefiguring Mallarme, D.H. Lawrence, Baudelaire, in particular. He was also a great mythologyzer, the precursor of Campbell, Frazier, and even Alan Watts in many respects. The Penguin Edition is not illustrated, it's true, but there is so much to be mined here that one can easily lose oneself in the labyrinth of Blake's excavations.Recommended without reservations. A truly paradigm shifting poet and artist. Seek out his illustrative, divinely inspired watercolors, as well. A true visionary, if there ever was one!!BEK