Blake: The Complete Poems

Blake is undoubtedly one of the greatest lyricists in English poetry, yet his work is often complex and obscure. Many readers will be unfamiliar with the various political, social, religious, artistic, academic and literary issues that dominated Blake’s time. Alongside his involvement in radical politics Blake was fascinated by popular unscientific conjecture about the history of the British people after the Flood. Influenced by contemporary issues and long-forgotten fads, was often infused with an anger that was the product of personal arguments. Consequently, the style of Blake's narrative verse is not always easy to appreciate.

This, the second edition of the acclaimed Blake: The Complete Poems, remains unrivalled for the basic and detailed information it provides for interpreting the poems. The text is clear with a minimum of the 'turned' lines that make Blake's narratives so awkward to read.

This new edition will be illustrated in full colour with some of Blake’s visionary paintings and designs, in order to highlight to readers the full breadth of Blake’s genius. The inclusion of these plates sets this volume apart from all other editions.

CONTENTS

List of Illustrations vii

Acknowledgements viii

Note by the General Editor ix

Preface xi

Chronological Table of the Life and Work of William Blake xv

Abbreviations xxiii

POEMS

1 Poetical Sketches3

2 Poems written in a copy of Poetical Sketches 40

3 Songs from An Islandin the Moon 41

4 All Religions are One and There is No Natural Religion

5 Songs of Innocence 53

6 Tiriel 74

7 Thel 93

8 The Marriage of Heaven and Hell 101

9 The French Revolution 124

10 A Divine Image 143

11 Poems from the Notebook, c. 1791–2 143

12 Visions of the Daughters of Albion 172

13 America187

14 Songs of Experience 208

15 Europe 223

16 The Song of Los 241

17 The First Book of Urizen 248

18 The Book of Ahania 269

19 The Book of Los 278

20 Versus written with illustrations to Gray’s Poems 285

21 Verses written c. 1798–1802 286

22 Vala, or The Four Zoas 287

23 ‘When Klopstock Englanddefied’ 469

24 Poems in letters (1800) 470

25 On the Virginity of the Virgin Mary and Joanna Southcott 474

26 Poems to Mr. & Mrs. Butts 475

27 Notebook drafts, c. 1804 478

28 Milton 487

29 The ‘PickeringManuscript’ 580

30 To Tirzah 594

31 ‘A fairy skip’d’ 595

32 ‘Grown old in love’ 596

33 To the Queen 596

34 Miscellaneous Notebook Verses, c. 1807–9 597

35 Miscellaneous Verses, 1809–12 608

36 Jerusalem, the Emanation of the Giant Albion 623

37 For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise 849

38 The Everlasting Gospel 853

39 The Ghost of Abel 869

Appendix: Doubtful and Spurious Attributions 873

Index of Titles and First Lines 876

Index to Notes 886

Index to Prose Quotations

• Best available scholarly edition of Blake.
• Unrivalled for the basic and detailed information it provides for interpreting the poems. The text is clear with a minimum of the 'turned' lines that make Blake's narratives so awkward to read.
• Illustrated in full colour with some of Blake’s visionary paintings and designs, in order to highlight to readers the full breadth of Blake’s genius. The inclusion of these plates sets this volume apart from all other editions.

W. H. Stevenson is retired Professor of English at Calabar University, Nigeria.

Expert Reviews

"Blake is for strong minds...but not to have read him is to have missed one of the most rewarding experiences in English literature; and this is by far the best book to read him in." Victor Price, BBC

"All in all, the Stevenson text surpasses its predecessors in its lucid comprehensibility and should win a wide number of readers." Times Literary Supplement

Customer Reviews

Your opinions count

Be the first to review this product. Write your review now.