''The Night of Enitharmon's Joy'', often referred as ''The Triple Hecate'' or simply ''Hecate'', is a 1795 work of art by the English artist and poet

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of t ...

which depicts

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, als ...

, a female character in his mythology, or

Hecate Hecate or Hekate, , ; grc-dor, Ἑκάτᾱ, Hekátā, ; la, Hecatē or . is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depict ...

, a

chthonic The word chthonic (), or chthonian, is derived from the Ancient Greek word ''χθών, "khthon"'', meaning earth or soil. It translates more directly from χθόνιος or "in, under, or beneath the earth" which can be differentiated from Γῆ ...

Greco-Roman goddess of magic and the

underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underwo ...

. The work presents a nightmarish scene with fantastic creatures. ''The Triple Hecate'' is painted with deep tones and bold masses. Blake employed a new technique whose "effect is darker and richer than isilluminated books". One scholar interprets his colour print ''Hecate'' thus:

"She is triple, according to mythology: a girl and a boy hide their heads behind her back. Her left hand lies on a book of magic; her left foot is extended. She is attended by a thistle-eating ass, the mournful owl of false wisdom, the head of a crocodile (blood-thirsty hypocrisy), and a cat-headed bat."

Blake often drew on

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was ins ...

to create and compose his epic images, including Hecate's, according to a consensus of critics. "Blake is indebted to Michelangelo for many of his giant forms". Michelangelo contributed many "characters to Blake's gallery of mythic persons and heroes". Regarding the ''Hecate'' colour print, a suggested trail may be traced. From Michelangelo, Blake copied his early sketch entitled ''The Reposing Traveller'', which then evolved into a figure for his work (1795-1797) regarding ''Night Thoughts'', and also into the similarly posed figure of Hecate here. The image may also allude to the Three Fates — the

Moirai In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Moirai (, also spelled Moirae or Mœræ; grc, Μοῖραι, "lots, destinies, apportioners"), often known in English as the Fates ( la, Fata, Fata, -orum (n)=), were the personifications of fat ...

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities o ...

and the Parcae of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

. Notwithstanding these allusions, critics point out that a contemporary trigger for Blake's inspiration probably was the return popularity of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's play ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

''.Emory University

. Consulted on September 25, 2010. As Hecate listens offstage, the three witches, in arranging Macbeth's doom, chant: "Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble". Each witch in turn adds her verses, the second's being: :"Fillet of a fenny snake, :In the cauldron boil and bake; :Eye of newt and toe of frog, :Wool of bat and tongue of dog, :Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting, :Lizard's leg and owlet's wing, :For a charm of powerful trouble, :Like a hell-broth boil and bubble." (''

'', IV.i) Hence, bat, owl,

snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more ...

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

would be appropriate to ''The Triple Hecate''. Blake printed his illuminated ''

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, ...

'' in 1794. The bulk of the book, according to one scholar, "is devoted to ''the night of Enitharmon's joy'', when she establishes her Woman's World with its false religion of chastity and vengeance: a religion of eighteen hundred years, which is the error of official

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

."S. Foster Damon, ''A Blake dictionary: the ideas and symbols of William Blake'' (Brown University 1965; Shambhala 1979; UPNE 1988) at 125. Index (1979) by Morris Eaves. In other words, it is said to represent a Feminine Will over a

patriarchal Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of dominance and privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical anthropological term for families or clans controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males ...

Christianity. Blake's character is described as "the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

of love to Los's Sun", hence its relationship with Hecate, one of the Moon Goddesses alongside Diana/

Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified with ...

and

Selene In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Selene (; grc-gre, Σελήνη , meaning "Moon"''A Greek–English Lexicon's.v. σελήνη) is the goddess and the personification of the Moon. Also known as Mene, she is traditionally the daughter of ...

. She is also invoked in ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'', in the play within the play method, by the (actor) Lucianus: "With Hecate's ban thrice blasted, thrice infected, Thy natural magic and dire property .. but in '' Europe: a Prophecy'' Enitharmon's night is presented in this way: :"Now comes the night of Enitharmon's joy! :Who shall I call? Who shall I send? :That Woman, lovely Woman! may have dominion :Arise O Rintrah thee I call! & Palamabron thee. :Go! tell the human race that Womans love is Sin! :That an Eternal life awaits the worms of sixty winters :In an allegorical abode where existence hath never come: :Forbid all Joy, & from her childhood shall the little female :Spread nets in every secret path." There are other literary sources for the myth of Hecate, such as ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his '' magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the ...

'' by

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom ...

, VI 140, VII 74, 94, 174, 177, 194, 241, XIV 44, 405, and Blake himself: "The Gods all Serve her at her will; so great her Power is, like fabled Hecate, she doth bind them to her law." (Blake, '' Then She bore Pale desire…''). But not only in his poetry ''The Triple Hecate'' makes a connection: it is seen as an opposition to his painting ''

Pity Pity is a sympathetic sorrow evoked by the suffering of others, and is used in a comparable sense to ''compassion'', ''condolence'' or ''empathy'' – the word deriving from the Latin ''pietas'' (etymon also of ''piety''). Self-pity is pity ...

'', circa 1795, where the

piety Piety is a virtue which may include religious devotion or spirituality. A common element in most conceptions of piety is a duty of respect. In a religious context piety may be expressed through pious activities or devotions, which may vary among ...

provides a "possibility of

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...

" in the fallen world. Here, both

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...

and

curse A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particula ...

, associated with Hecate, are factors to human perdition.

Geoffrey Keynes Sir Geoffrey Langdon Keynes ( ; 25 March 1887, Cambridge – 5 July 1982, Cambridge) was a British surgeon and author. He began his career as a physician in World War I, before becoming a doctor at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London, where h ...

wrote about it: The image was created in a time in which Shakespeare's ''Macbeth'' had a revival, being performed nine times.Nick Rawlinson, ''William Blake's comic vision'', Palgrave Macmillan, 2003, p.48. Like other works by Blake, such as ''

The Ghost of a Flea ''The Ghost of a Flea'' is a miniature painting by the English poet, painter and printmaker William Blake, held in the Tate Gallery, London. Measuring only , it is executed in a tempera mixture with gold, on a mahogany-type tropical hardwood ...

'', the picture is part of W. Graham Robertson's

private collection A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individu ...

and was presented to the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

by himself in 1939. It is considered to be one of the most brilliant and significant pictures of William Blake.''Blake'', Volumes 14-15. University of New Mexico. Dept. of English. Ardent Media, 1980, p.59

References

External links

''The Night of Enitharmon's Joy'' (formerly called ''Hecate'')
Profile of the picture in

official website.
Tate Britain Past Exhibitions
A collection of Gothic Nightmares in Tate official site. {{DEFAULTSORT:Night of Enitharmon's Joy 1795 paintings Animals in art Art by William Blake Birds in art Collection of the Tate galleries Mythological paintings Paintings of Greek goddesses Romantic paintings William Blake's mythology Witches in art Books in art Hecate