William Blake's Mythology
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The prophetic books of the English poet and artist
William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...
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 The cosmos (, ; ) is an alternative name for the universe or its nature or order. Usage of the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos is studied in cosmologya broad discipline covering ...
is the heart of his work and his psychology. His myths often described the struggle between enlightenment and
free love Free love is a social movement that accepts all forms of love. The movement's initial goal was to separate the State (polity), state from sexual and romantic matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery. It stated that such issues we ...
on the one hand, and restrictive education and morals on the other.


Sources

Among Blake's inspirations were
John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...
's ''
Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an Epic poetry, epic poem in blank verse by the English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The poem concerns the Bible, biblical story of the fall of man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their ex ...
'' and ''
Paradise Regained ''Paradise Regained'' is an epic poem by English poet John Milton, first published in 1671. The volume in which it appeared also contained the poet's closet drama '' Samson Agonistes''. ''Paradise Regained'' is connected by name to his earlie ...
'', the visions of
Emanuel Swedenborg Emanuel Swedenborg (; ; born Emanuel Swedberg; (29 January 168829 March 1772) was a Swedish polymath; scientist, engineer, astronomer, anatomist, Christian theologian, philosopher, and mysticism, mystic. He became best known for his book on the ...
and the near- cabalistic writings of
Jakob Böhme Jakob Böhme (; ; 24 April 1575 – 17 November 1624) was a German philosopher, Christian mysticism, Christian mystic, and Lutheran Protestant Theology, theologian. He was considered an original thinker by many of his contemporaries within the L ...
. Blake also included his own interpretations of
druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking priestly class in ancient Celtic cultures. The druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no wr ...
ism and
paganism Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...
.


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 Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than "Britain" today. The name for Scot ...
, who was "originally fourfold but was self-divided". This theme was revisited later, more definitively but perhaps less directly, in his other epic prophetic works, '' Milton: A Poem'' and '' Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion''. The parts into which Albion is divided are the four Zoas: * Tharmas: representing instinct and strength. * Urizen: reason and conventional society; a cruel god resembling the
Gnostic Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: , romanized: ''gnōstikós'', Koine Greek: nostiˈkos 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced in the late 1st century AD among early Christian sects. These diverse g ...
Demiurge In the Platonic, Neopythagorean, Middle Platonic, and Neoplatonic schools of philosophy, the Demiurge () is an artisan-like figure responsible for fashioning and maintaining the physical universe. Various sects of Gnostics adopted the term '' ...
. * Luvah: love, passion and emotive faculties; a Christ-like figure, also known as
Orc An orc (sometimes spelt ork; ), in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy fiction, is a race of humanoid monsters, which he also calls "goblin". In Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'', orcs appear as a brutish, aggressive, ugly, and malevol ...
in his most amorous and rebellious form. * Urthona, also known as Los: inspiration and the imagination. The Blake pantheon also includes feminine ''emanations'' that have separated from an integrated male being, as Eve separated from Adam: *The sexual Enion is an emanation from Tharmas. *The intellectual Ahania is an emanation from Urizen. *The nature goddess Vala is an emanation from Luvah (Orc). *The musical Enitharmon is an emanation from Los (Urthona). The fall of Albion and his division into the Zoas and their emanations are also the central themes of '' Jerusalem The Emanation of the Giant Albion''. Rintrah first appears in '' The Marriage of Heaven and Hell'', personifying revolutionary wrath. He is later grouped together with other spirits of rebellion in the '' Visions of the Daughters of Albion'': *The loud and lustful Bromion. *The "mild and piteous" Palamabron, son of Enitharmon and Los (also appears in ''Milton''). *The tortured mercenary Theotormon.


The mythology and the prophetic books

Scholarship on Blake has not recovered a "perfected" version of Blake's myth. The characters in it have to be treated more like a repertory company, capable of dramatising his ideas (which changed, over two decades). On the other hand, the psychological roots of his work have been revealed, and are now much more accessible than they were a century ago. ''America a Prophecy'' is also one of the "prophetic works". Here, the "soft soul" of America appears as Oothoon. Other works concerning this pantheon: *'' America a Prophecy'' *''
The Book of Urizen ''The Book of Urizen'' is one of the major William Blake's prophetic books, prophetic books of the English writer William Blake, illustrated by Blake's own Intaglio (printmaking), plates. It was originally published as ''The First Book of Urizen ...
'' *'' The Book of Los'' *'' The Book of Ahania'' *'' Visions of the Daughters of Albion''


Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, William Mythopoeia