Essay on Biography of William Blake - 1631 Words

How you live your life and the people you surround yourself with influence and inspire your work and success. William Blake was a famous artist, engraver and poet. However, it was not until 1863 that he became famous when Alexander Gilchrist published his biography(Blake, William, and Geoffrey Keynes).Blake and his poetry have been compared to Shakespeare (Kathleen Raine). As an artist Blake was equated to Michelangelo. Being born during the time of both the American and French Revolution, William Blake was against both the Church and the State. Blake was a Dualist, believing the earth is broken up into two; good and evil, Heaven and Hell. He was a visionary and was known to many as a modern-day prophet (in class). Blake’s visions†¦show more content†¦In June of 1780, the Gordon Riots broke out. The Gordon Riots were non-catholic demonstrations in response to a bill repealing penalties against the practice of Roman Catholicism . Houses and chapels were burned down and many people were arrested and killed. In addition, many prisoners were set free. Blake witnessed the burning of Newgate Prison from the front line. He was mixed in with a mob who attacked the prison (Thomas Wright). Gilchrist argues that Blake was â€Å"forced† to join the mob. However, many biographers argue that Blake supported the revolutionists and joined the mob by choice (The Complete Work). August 18, 1782, William Blake, at the age of 24, married 20 year old Catherine Boucher. She was the daughter of a Battersea market gardener. Though Blake and Catherine had a happy life together, they did not have any children. Catherine was uneducated and illiterate (Blake, William, and Geoffrey Keynes.). Blake taught Catherine how to read and write as well as how to engrave. In 1783, Blake published his first collection of poems Poetical Sketches. (The Complete Work). Many people influenced the writing of this collection. This included Shakespeare, John Milton, Thomas Fletche r, Augustan Poetry and many, many more. One of the poems in this collection, â€Å"To the Muses†, is contemporary poetry that mocks the Augustan Poetry. The poems in the collection reflect Blake’s objection toShow MoreRelatedEssay about A Brief Biography of William Blake668 Words   |  3 PagesHave you ever heard of a guy name William Blake? No, if not I can tell you things about him. William Blake was born over his father’s modest history shop at Broad Street, Golden Square, London. His dad name was James Blake and his mother name was Catherin Wright Armitage Blake. Did Blake have any Brother and Sisters? Yes he had four brothers and one sister their names are: John Blake, Richard Blake, James Blake, John William, and Catherin Elizabeth (A1). William Blake father was a prosperous hosierRead MoreWilliam Blakes Influence Of Literature1303 Words   |  6 PagesWilliam Blake William Blake’s poetry was heavily influenced by the Christian Bible, which is quite uncommon for the English Romantic poets. In fact, he is even known as the final religious poet of Britain. This tendency toward using the Bible in his literature derived from his avid reading of this holy book during his childhood. There is little information about any other schooling he might have had outside of reading this book. However, his writing was unique from other Christian writings as heRead MoreWilliam Blake For this paper I choose to do a study of William Blake. I choose William Blake800 Words   |  4 PagesWilliam Blake For this paper I choose to do a study of William Blake. I choose William Blake because I really liked some of his poems and he is considered one of the most renowned poets in English literature history. 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To examine literature from the perspective of Marxist social theory is a quintessential form of sociological criticism, as Marxism primarily deals with political and economic ideas of communism and social inequality. William Blake, a Romantic poet, frequently wrote on the topic of class oppression and his opposition to the exploitation of the proletariat by the capitalists. Blake’s ideology and preference towards an equalitarian society quite closely mirror the theoriesRead MoreWilliam Blake was born in London on November 28, 1757 to James and Catherine Blake. His father,1600 Words   |  7 PagesWilliam Blake was born in London on November 28, 1757 to James and Catherine Blake. His father, James was a hosier (seller of legwear) in London. Blake had four brothers, James, John, Richard and Robert; and a s ister named Catherine (Harris 5). Blake got along best with his younger brother, Robert as they shared an interest in art (Clarke 1). As a young boy, Blake claimed to have had visions of God, spirits, prophets and angels. When he was four he is claimed to have seen God’s head in his windowRead MoreWilliam Blakes London1458 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Blake and London Victorian London was a far from happy place. It was full of crime, the air full of filth, and the people rancorous. One of the premier poets of the period was one William Blake who advocated the beauties of life and railed against the distaste he felt for Victorian London and some of the more rigid ideologies of the time, specifically the strict morality and religious views of the English. In the poem London, Blake makes clear his position on the city and the morals of thatRead MoreEssay on The Message Behind A Poison Tree1077 Words   |  5 PagesWilliam Blake was a first generation Romantic poet. He lived a long life in which he wrote a copious amount of poetry (Eaves). Blake was also a painter. This aided Blake’s advancing symbolism; he could paint a lovely picture with his words (Eaves). The poem that I have analyzed is A Poison Tree. Blake strategically placed imagery and personification to hide his underlying truth; do not store up anger because horrible situations wil l arise. At first glance the poem seems hate filled and that he justRead MoreEssay The Writings of William Blake1106 Words   |  5 PagesWilliam Blake was one of England’s greatest writers (Tejvan) in the nineteenth century, but his brilliancy was not noticed until after he was deceased. Blake was very much a free spirit who often spoke his mind and was very sensitive to cruelty. At the age of twenty five he married a woman named Catherine Boucher. They created a book of all Blake’s poems called Songs on Innocence, which was not very popular while he was alive. On the other hand Blake’s other book of poems, Songs of Experience, wereRead MoreA Treatise Of Human Nature By David Hume1472 Words   |  6 PagesUp until the time when William Blake, William Wordsworth, and David Hume put pen to paper, the most revolutionary lines of thought regarding science and philosophy came from Isaac Newton and John Locke who described humans as passive receivers of a world of set laws ruling passive atoms. Hume pushes this popular understanding of the self to the brink and ends up claiming that one can never comprehend the self. Blake and Wordsworth both vehemently disagree with Hume and believe the self is knowable