The Poetry of Blake Summary - William Blake - Masterplots, Definitive Revised Edition

At a glance:

Author: William Blake
First Published: 1783
Type of Work: Poetry
Genres: Poetry
Subjects: Mythology or myths, Nineteenth century, Poetry or poets, England or English people, Eighteenth century, Christianity, London, Romanticism, Innocence

Critical Evaluation:

The poetry of William Blake, an artist, printer, prophet, and revolutionary, varies widely in style and substance, from youthful imitations of Spenser to lyrics of seemingly naive childish wonder to obscure and pretentious mysticism. Apart from his earliest productions, his work shows a powerful originality in form, images, and technique.

His juvenile work, written between the ages of twelve and twenty, was published in 1783 as POETICAL SKETCHES. The poems, which are slight and at times even crude, show a strong Elizabethan influence....

(The entire page is 1669 words.)

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