![]() Subsequently Hayley became the tempter Satan in the poem Milton. Blake was true to himself and rejected Hayley’s patronage, returning to London to follow his calling to a new form of art and poetry. But Hayley pressured Blake to produce work that would be commercially pleasing and easy to sell. The autobiographical incident referred to within the poem was the patronage Blake received from William Hayley, who provided him a cottage by the sea at Felpham, ostensibly to provide a more conducive environment for Blake’s work. But Milton had gone astray in elevating Reason above Imagination and Creativity, and Blake himself was charged to correct this error and allow his poetic imagination to claim the fullness of his life. Blake saw himself as the new Milton, whom he considered England’s greatest poet. The epic poem, Milton, is about Blake’s own journey to artistic integrity and having the courage of his calling. The line that immediately follows, “would to God that all God’s people were prophets” (Numbers 11:29), shows Blake’s intent to stir the conscience of a nation against injustice and violence. If you read any of Blake’s major poems you will see that he was very much against empire building through military means and violence. The fight is a mental one and the weapons are “arrows of desire” and “my sword … in my hand” which is his pen. ![]() But it is neither nationalistic nor militaristic. It is truly a patriotic hymn in the best spiritual sense because it invokes Christ’s presence in England and the face of God smiling over the nation. Jerusalem is the city of God come to earth, a utopian vision of peace and justice which Blake dared to hope for in a time of great upheaval and war. There was something in that hymn that reached into the depth of my soul and stirred a mixture of pride, tears and longing. My first encounter with William Blake was singing this hymn, “Jerusalem” (found in the preface to Milton) at school morning assembly as a young teen in England: I am probably breaching all the rules of blogging etiquette by writing 2200 words here, but at least half the words are Blake’s poetry so I ask the reader’s indulgence. I hope this essay will at least whet your appetite for more Blake because he is an inspiring mystic of the first order. Foster Damon, Blake: Prophet Against Empire by David Erdman, and Fearful Symmetry by Northrop Frye (in that order of helpfulness). Indispensable guides to reading Blake are: Blake’s Apocalypse by Harold Bloom, A Blake Dictionary by S. I found I could appreciate the basics of his poetry with some expert guidance. Admittedly they are very difficult to understand and we need help. His major epic poems, Milton and Jerusalem, are known only by a few but they are magnificent and repay diligent study. ![]() If you have lived in England you would also be familiar with the hymn “Jerusalem” (see below), but these are only tidbits of his poetry. Most people’s acquaintance with the poet William Blake is limited to a few poems like “Tyger, Tyger burning bright, in the forests of the night…” (Songs of Experience) and “Little lamb who made thee?” (Songs of Innocence). ![]()
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