WILLIAM BLAKE Flashcards
(28 cards)
When and where was William Blake born?
On 28 November 1757 in Soho, London.
How was Blake educated?
He briefly attended school and was mainly educated at home by his mother.
What inspired Blake deeply throughout his life?
The Bible and his early spiritual visions.
What was Blake’s first artistic training?
He became an apprentice to an engraver.
What sparked his love for Gothic Art?
Making drawings of tombs and monuments in Westminster Abbey.
What was Blake’s first publication?
Poetical Sketches (1783), a collection of poems with his own illustrations.
What was Blake’s visionary religious style?
Highly unorthodox, combining mythology, symbolism, and spiritual insight.
What happened to Blake’s career after 1809?
He fell into poverty, obscurity, and paranoia, engraving few plates.
When did Blake die, and how was he viewed then?
He died on 12 August 1827, largely unappreciated and forgotten.
When did Blake receive posthumous recognition?
From the second half of the 19th century onwards.
What is The Marriage of Heaven and Hell about?
It presents a unified vision of the cosmos, combining the material and the divine, inspired by Dante and Milton.
What are Blake’s two main poetic collections?
Songs of Innocence (1789) and Songs of Experience (1793), combined in 1794.
What is the central theme of Songs of Innocence and Experience?
The contrast between the innocent, pastoral world of childhood and the corrupt, repressive adult world.
Which two poems best represent these opposing forces?
The Lamb (innocence) and The Tyger (experience/darkness).
What key idea about human nature does Blake express in his poetry?
That humans contain complementary opposites (love/hate, reason/energy), necessary for progress.
What are some features of Blake’s poetic style?
Simple and direct language, careful rhythm, and strong symbolism.
What literary forms influenced his poems?
Ballads, nursery rhymes, and hymns.
What universal symbols does Blake often use?
Natural elements like the lamb, the tiger, light, and darkness.
How does Blake view the role of the poet?
As a visionary figure with divine imagination, like God and children.
What does imagination represent for Blake?
A divine faculty that reveals the true essence of reality.
How did Blake feel about reason and sensory experience?
He rejected them, believing truth comes only through imagination.
What was Blake’s opinion of the State and Church?
He was critical, seeing them as repressive forces aligned with reason.
What social issues did Blake condemn?
Industrialisation, child labour, prostitution, and slavery.
How did Blake view man’s inner duality?
Not as a contradiction, but as necessary opposites (order vs chaos, purity vs corruption).
