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Enitharmon
Enitharmon is a major female character in William Blake's mythology, playing a main part in some of his prophetic books. She is, but not directly, an aspect of the male Urthona, one of the Four Zoas. She is in fact the Emanation of Los, also male. There is a complex verbal nexus attached. The Zoa Tharmas has emanation Enion, and Eni-tharm(as)-on is one derivation of her name. That should perhaps be read in the inverse direction though, as a construction of the Tharmas/Enion pair's names. Within Blake's myth, she represents female domination and sexual restraints that limit the artistic imagination. She, with Los, gives birth to various children, including Orc. Background It is possible that the character Enitharmon was based on Blake's wife, Catherine Blake. In a letter from Blake to his friend Thomas Butts, Jr. on 22 November 1802, he claimed that his place at Surrey had "Enitharmon's bower". S. Foster Damon explained the name Enitharmon as a derivation or an elision of (z)enit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Los (Blake)
In the mythological writings of William Blake, Los is the fallen (earthly or human) form of Urthona, one of the four Zoas. He is referred to as the "eternal prophet" and creates the visionary city of Golgonooza. Los is regularly described as a smith, beating with his hammer on a forge, which is metaphorically connected to the beating of the human heart. The bellows of his forge are the human lungs. Los's emanation, Enitharmon, represents spiritual beauty and embodies pity, but at the same time creates the spatial aspect of the fallen world, weaving bodies for men and creating sexual strife through her insistence upon chastity. In the ''Book of Urizen'' (1794), Los and Enitharmon have a child, Orc, who is the embodiment of the spirit of revolution. The name ''Los'' is, by common critical acceptance, an anagram of '' Sol'', the Latin word for "sun". ''Los'' is also the plural form of ''El'', an ancient Hebrew deity. Such innovations are common in many of Blake's prophetic poems. B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enion
In the mythological writings of William Blake, Enion is an Emanation/mate of Tharmas, one of the four Zoas, who were created when Albion, the primordial man, was divided fourfold. She represents sexuality and sexual urges while Tharmas represents sensation. In her fallen aspect, she is a wailing woman that is filled with jealousy. After the Final Judgment, she is reunited with Tharmas and able to experience an idealised sexual union. Character Enion is an Emanation, a female essence that is part of one of the divine Four Zoas. She is connected to Tharmas, who is the western and water based Zoas. He is connected to the senses and to the body, and her aspect is sexual desire. It is possible that her name comes from letters used in Enitharmon's name, with Tharmas being the middle portion of the name and hers representing the rest. Tharmas represents a unity within the spirit, and, when Enion is separated from him, she becomes the image of the earth mother. Enion has the power to genera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orc (Blake)
Orc is a proper name for one of the characters in the complex mythology of William Blake. A fallen figure, Orc is the embodiment of rebellion, and stands opposed to Urizen, the embodiment of tradition. In Blake's illuminated book ''America a Prophecy'', Orc is described by his mythic opponent, "Albion's Angel" as the "Lover of Wild Rebellion, and transgressor of God's Law". He symbolizes the spirit of rebellion and freedom, which provoked the French Revolution. Background The name Orc is possibly an anagram of the word ''cor'' (heart), in that he was stated in Blake's myth to be born of Enitharmon's heart, or ''orca'' (whale) because he sometimes takes the form of a whale. Orcus is also the Latin word for Hell, and Orc is presented as a rebellious, Luciferian character. He was created to serve as Blake's analysis of the revolutions in the United States and France. Character In Blake's myth, Orc is seen as the first child of Los with Enitharmon and sometimes either replaced in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tharmas
In the mythological writings of William Blake, Tharmas is one of the four Zoas, who were created when Albion, the primordial man, was divided fourfold. He represents sensation, and his female counterpart is Enion, who represents sexual urges. He is connected to the God the Father aspect of the Christian Trinity and is the begetter of Los. Tharmas is mostly peaceful, and flees during most of his fights with Urizen. He is depicted in various ways ranging from a youth with wings to an old bearded man. Character Tharmas is both the last Zoas described but also the first in the number. His aspect as a Zoas is Sensation. As connected to the Trinity, Tharmas is seen as God the Father. As a body part, he is the loins with his Emanation/mate Enion representing sexual urges. He is also represented as a shepherd. Tharmas is connected to the direction point West and his fallen state is to mark the Circumference of the world. His elemental connection is to water and, in turn, to time. His artis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Book Of Urizen
''The Book of Urizen'' is one of the major prophetic books of the English writer William Blake, illustrated by Blake's own plates. It was originally published as ''The First Book of Urizen'' in 1794. Later editions dropped the "First". The book takes its name from the character Urizen in Blake's mythology, who represents alienated reason as the source of oppression. The book describes Urizen as the "primeaval priest" and narrates how he became separated from the other Eternals to create his own alienated and enslaving realm of religious dogma. Los and Enitharmon create a space within Urizen's fallen universe to give birth to their son Orc, the spirit of revolution and freedom. In form the book is a parody of the Book of Genesis. Urizen's first four sons are Thiriel, Utha, Grodna and Fuzon (respectively elemental Air, Water, Earth, Fire, according to Chapter VIII). The last of these plays a major role in ''The Book of Ahania'', published in 1795. Background In autumn 1790 Bla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Urthona
In the mythological writings of William Blake, Urthona is one of the four Zoas, who were created when Albion, the primordial man, was divided fourfold. Specifically, he is the Zoa of inspiration and creativity, and he is a blacksmith god. His female counterpart is Enitharmon. Urthona usually appears in his "fallen" form, that of Los. Character Urthona (likely intended to imply "earth owner") is one of the Four Zoas and represents both the north and imagination within the individual. He is aligned with the Christian Trinity in the aspect of the Holy Ghost and is opposed to Urizen, the Zoa of reason. He is the last to be created, and his corresponding element is Earth. In his eternal form, he is portrayed as a blacksmith, working in his forge in Golgonooza. In terms of senses, he is represented by the ear, in terms of art he is represented by poetry, and in his fallen form, his profession is religion. He and Luvah are the guardians of the gates of heaven. Unlike the other Zoas, he d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vala, Or The Four Zoas
''Vala, or The Four Zoas'' is one of the uncompleted prophetic books by the English poet William Blake, begun in 1797. The eponymous main characters of the book are the Four Zoas (Urthona, Urizen, Luvah and Tharmas), who were created by the fall of Albion in Blake's mythology. It consists of nine books, referred to as "nights". These outline the interactions of the Zoas, their fallen forms and their Emanations. Blake intended the book to be a summation of his mythic universe but, dissatisfied, he abandoned the effort in 1807, leaving the poem in a rough draft and its engraving unfinished. The text of the poem was first published, with only a small portion of the accompanying illustrations, in 1893, by the Irish poet W. B. Yeats and his collaborator, the English writer and poet Edwin John Ellis, in their three-volume book '' The Works of William Blake''. Background Blake began working on ''Vala, or The Death and Judgement of the Eternal Man: A Dream of Nine Nights'' while he wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Four Zoas
''Vala, or The Four Zoas'' is one of the uncompleted prophetic books by the English poet William Blake, begun in 1797. The eponymous main characters of the book are the Four Zoas (Urthona, Urizen, Luvah and Tharmas), who were created by the fall of Albion in Blake's mythology. It consists of nine books, referred to as "nights". These outline the interactions of the Zoas, their fallen forms and their Emanations. Blake intended the book to be a summation of his mythic universe but, dissatisfied, he abandoned the effort in 1807, leaving the poem in a rough draft and its engraving unfinished. The text of the poem was first published, with only a small portion of the accompanying illustrations, in 1893, by the Irish poet W. B. Yeats and his collaborator, the English writer and poet Edwin John Ellis, in their three-volume book '' The Works of William Blake''. Background Blake began working on ''Vala, or The Death and Judgement of the Eternal Man: A Dream of Nine Nights'' while he wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Blake's Mythology
The prophetic books of the English poet and artist William Blake contain an invented mythology, in which Blake worked to encode his spiritual and political ideas into a prophecy for a new age. This desire to recreate the cosmos is the heart of his work and his psychology. His myths often described the struggle between enlightenment and free love on the one hand, and restrictive education and morals on the other. Sources Among Blake's inspirations were John Milton's ''Paradise Lost'' and ''Paradise Regained'', the visions of Emanuel Swedenborg and the near-cabalistic writings of Jakob Böhme. Blake also included his own interpretations of druidism and paganism. The Fall of Albion The longest elaboration of this private myth-cycle was also his longest poem, '' The Four Zoas: The Death and Judgment of Albion The Ancient Man'', written in the late 1790s but left in manuscript form at the time of his death. In this work, Blake traces the fall of Albion, who was "originally fourfold b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catherine Blake (wife Of William Blake)
Catherine Blake (née Boucher; 25 April 1762 – 18 October 1831) was the wife of the poet, painter and engraver William Blake, and a vital presence and assistant throughout his life. Life Catherine was the last child of market gardener William Boucher (1714–1794) and Mary Davis (1716–1782). A "demure young woman", in response to her mother's queries regarding which of her acquaintances she would take for a husband, she would reply that she had not yet met such a man.William Blake, Osbert Burdett, 1926, Parkstone Press International (reprint), p. 37 She met William Blake in Battersea in 1781, during his brief visit to the area, while he was recovering from an emotional upset following the failure of an earlier relationship. Their courtship was brief. According to early biographers of Blake, Catherine immediately recognised him as her future husband and when she sympathised with him over his earlier emotional troubles he replied "do you pity me? Then I love you." Blake m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Europe A Prophecy
''Europe a Prophecy'' is a 1794 prophetic book by the British poet and illustrator William Blake. It is engraved on 18 plates, and survives in just nine known copies. It followed ''America a Prophecy'' of 1793. Background During autumn 1790, Blake moved to Lambeth, Surrey. He had a studio at the new house that he used while writing what were later called his "Lambeth Books", which included ''Europe'' in 1794. Like the others under the title, all aspects of the work, including the composition of the designs, the printing of them, the colouring of them, and the selling of them, happened at his home. Early sketches for ''Europe'' were included in a notebook that contained images were created between 1790 until 1793. Only a few of Blake's works were fully coloured, and only some of the editions of ''Europe'' were coloured. When ''Europe'' was printed, it was in the same format as Blake's ''America'' and sold for the same price. It was printed between 1794 and 1821 with only 9 copi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerusalem The Emanation Of The Giant Albion
''Jerusalem'', subtitled ''The Emanation of the Giant Albion'' (1804–1820, with additions made even later), is the last, longest and greatest in scope of the prophetic books written and illustrated by the English poet, artist and engraver William Blake. Etched in handwriting, accompanied by small sketches, marginal figures and huge full-plate illustrations, it has been described as "visionary theatre". The poet himself believed it was his masterpiece and it has been said that "of all Blake's illuminated epics, this is by far the most public and accessible". Nonetheless, only six copies were printed in Blake's lifetime and the book, like all of Blake's prophetic works, was all but ignored by his contemporaries. The lyric to the famous hymn ''Jerusalem'' (text also by Blake, with music by Sir Hubert Parry) is not connected to this poem. It is in fact taken from the preface to another of Blake's "prophetic books", ''Milton''. Production technique The poem, which was produced be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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