William Blake
William Blake, 1757 to 1827, was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age. His prophetic poetry has been said to form "what is in proportion to its merits the least read body of poetry in the English language". His visual artistry led one contemporary art critic to proclaim him "far and away the greatest artist Britain has ever produced". In 2002, Blake was placed at number 38 in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons. Although he lived in London his entire life, except for three years spent in Felpham, he produced a diverse and symbolically rich œuvre, which embraced the imagination as "the body of God" or "human existence itself". Although Blake was considered mad by contemporaries for his idiosyncratic views, he is held in high regard by later critics for his expressiveness and creativity, and for the philosophical and mystical undercurrents within his work. His paintings and poetry have been characterised as part of the Romantic movement and as "Pre-Romantic". Reverent of the Bible but hostile to the Church of England, indeed, to almost all forms of organised religion, Blake was influenced by the ideals and ambitions of the French and American Revolutions. Though later he rejected many of these political beliefs, he maintained an amiable relationship with the political activist Thomas Paine; he was also influenced by thinkers such as Emanuel Swedenborg. Despite these known influences, the singularity of Blake's work makes him difficult to classify. The 19th-century scholar William Rossetti characterised him as a "glorious luminary", and "a man not forestalled by predecessors, nor to be classed with contemporaries, nor to be replaced by known or readily surmisable successors"
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'A Prophecy' from 'Europe: A Prophecy' by William Blake in 1794 £6.99
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'Aged Ignorance!' from 'Children: The Gates of Paradise' by William Blake in 1793 £6.99
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'Air' from 'Children: The Gates of Paradise' by William Blake in 1793 £6.99
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'Alas!' from 'Children: The Gates of Paradise' by William Blake in 1793 £6.99
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'Albions Angel stood beside the solid stone' from 'America: A Prophecy' by William Blake in 1793 £6.99
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'Albions Angels rose upon the Stone of Night' from 'Europe: A Prophecy' by William Blake in 1794 £6.99
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'An Angel with a Trumpet' by William Blake in 1805-08 £6.99
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'And the Clouds and Fires pale rolled round' from 'Europe: A Prophecy' by William Blake in 1794 £6.99
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'Antaeus setting down Dante and Virgil in the Last Circle of Hell' by William Blake in 1824-27 £6.99
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'Arise O' Rintrah, eldest born' from 'Europe: A Prophecy' by William Blake in 1794 £6.99
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'At length for hatching ripe he breaks the shell' from 'Children: The Gates of Paradise' by William Blake in 1793 £6.99
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'Christ Appearing to the Apostles after the Resurrection, detail' by William Blake in 1795-1805 £6.99
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'Cover Page' from 'Children: The Gates of Paradise' by William Blake in 1793 £6.99
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'David Delivered out of Many Waters, detail' by William Blake £6.99
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'Death's door' from 'Children: The Gates of Paradise' by William Blake in 1793 £6.99
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'Does thy God O Priest take such vengeance as this' from 'Children: The Gates of Paradise' by William Blake in 1793 £6.99
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'Earth' from 'Children: The Gates of Paradise' by William Blake in 1793 £6.99
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'Enitharmon Slept Eighteen Hundred Years' from 'Europe: A Prophecy' by William Blake in 1794 £6.99
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'Ethinthus, Queen of Waters' from 'Europe: A Prophecy' by William Blake in 1794 £6.99
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'Fear and hope are...Vision' from 'Children: The Gates of Paradise' by William Blake in 1793 £6.99
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'Fiery the Angels rose' from 'America: A Prophecy' by William Blake in 1793 £6.99
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'Fire'' from 'Children: The Gates of Paradise' by William Blake in 1793 £6.99
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'First Edition Cover Art' from 'America: A Prophecy' by William Blake in 1793 £6.99
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'Frontispiece' from 'Europe: A Prophecy' by William Blake in 1794 £6.99
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'Help! Help!' from 'Children: The Gates of Paradise' by William Blake in 1793 £6.99
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'I found him beneath a Tree!' from 'Children: The Gates of Paradise' by William Blake in 1793 £6.99
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'I have said to the Worm' from 'Children: The Gates of Paradise' by William Blake in 1793 £6.99
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'In the flames stood' from 'America: A Prophecy' by William Blake in 1793 £6.99
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'In thoughts pertub'd they rose' from 'Europe: A Prophecy' by William Blake in 1794 £6.99
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'In Thunder ends the Voice' from 'America: A Prophecy' by William Blake in 1793 £6.99
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'My Son! My Son!' from 'Children: The Gates of Paradise' by William Blake in 1793 £6.99
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'Now Comes the Night' from 'Europe: A Prophecy' by William Blake in 1794 £6.99
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'Over the hills, the vales, the cities' from 'America: A Prophecy' by William Blake in 1793 £6.99
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'Plate 10 Into the Fire' from 'Jerusalem' by William Blake in 1804-20 £6.99
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'Plate 11 To Labour mighty' from 'Jerusalem' by William Blake in 1804-20 £6.99
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'Plate 12 Why wilt thye give to her' from 'Jerusalem' by William Blake in 1804-20 £6.99
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'Plate 13 And that toward Eden' from 'Jerusalem' by William Blake in 1804-20 £6.99
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'Plate 14 One hair nor particle of dust' from 'Jerusalem' by William Blake in 1804-20 £6.99
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'Plate 15 And hand and hyle' from 'Jerusalem' by William Blake in 1804-20 £6.99
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'Plate 16 Hampstead Highgate Frinchley' from 'Jerusalem' by William Blake in 1804-20 £6.99
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'Plate 17 His Spectre divides' from 'Jerusalem' by William Blake in 1804-20 £6.99
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'Plate 18 From every one of the four regions' from 'Jerusalem' by William Blake in 1804-20 £6.99
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'Plate 19 His children exil'd from his breast' from 'Jerusalem' by William Blake in 1804-20 £6.99
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'Plate 31 His Western heaven' from 'Jerusalem' by William Blake in 1804-20 £6.99
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'Plate 32 Leaning against the pillars' from 'Jerusalem' by William Blake in 1804-20 £6.99