William Blake vs. the World
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- Create Date：2022-07-11 06:52:00
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：John Higgs
- ISBN：1639361537
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Summary
A wild and unexpected journey through culture， science， philosophy， and religion to better understand the mercurial genius of William Blake。
Poet， artist， and visionary， William Blake is an archetypal misunderstood genius。 His life passed without recognition and he worked without reward， often mocked， dismissed and misinterpreted。 Yet from his ignoble end in a pauper's grave， Blake now occupies a unique position as an artist who unites and attracts people from all corners of society—a rare inclusive symbol of human identity。
Blake famously experienced visions， and it is these that shaped his attitude toward politics， sex， religion， society， and art。 Thanks to the work of neuroscientists and psychologists， we are now in a better position to understand what was happening inside that remarkable mind and gain a deeper appreciation of his brilliance。 His timeless work， we will find， has never been more relevant。
In William Blake vs the World we return to a world of riots， revolutions， and radicals; discuss movements from the Levellers of the sixteenth century to the psychedelic counterculture of the 1960s; and explore the latest discoveries in neurobiology， quantum physics， and comparative religion。
Taking the reader on a wild adventure into unfamiliar territory， John Higgs places the bewildering eccentricities of a most singular artist into fascinating context。 And although the journey begins with us trying to understand him， we will ultimately discover that it is Blake who helps us to understand ourselves。
Poet， artist， and visionary， William Blake is an archetypal misunderstood genius。 His life passed without recognition and he worked without reward， often mocked， dismissed and misinterpreted。 Yet from his ignoble end in a pauper's grave， Blake now occupies a unique position as an artist who unites and attracts people from all corners of society—a rare inclusive symbol of human identity。
Blake famously experienced visions， and it is these that shaped his attitude toward politics， sex， religion， society， and art。 Thanks to the work of neuroscientists and psychologists， we are now in a better position to understand what was happening inside that remarkable mind and gain a deeper appreciation of his brilliance。 His timeless work， we will find， has never been more relevant。
In William Blake vs the World we return to a world of riots， revolutions， and radicals; discuss movements from the Levellers of the sixteenth century to the psychedelic counterculture of the 1960s; and explore the latest discoveries in neurobiology， quantum physics， and comparative religion。
Taking the reader on a wild adventure into unfamiliar territory， John Higgs places the bewildering eccentricities of a most singular artist into fascinating context。 And although the journey begins with us trying to understand him， we will ultimately discover that it is Blake who helps us to understand ourselves。
Reviews
M
，
Going into this book with no prior knowledge of Blake left me with little to no expectations。 However， after reading it， I feel like I have reached a certain state of enlightenment that I cannot quite understand or capture。 I learnt so much about Blake， then the universe through his eyes， the world through my own eyes and finally， myself as Blake would wish me to。 That’s a mammoth task for just one book and one author to do。 I felt so immersed in the world of Blake， I didn’t want to leave， and n Going into this book with no prior knowledge of Blake left me with little to no expectations。 However， after reading it， I feel like I have reached a certain state of enlightenment that I cannot quite understand or capture。 I learnt so much about Blake， then the universe through his eyes， the world through my own eyes and finally， myself as Blake would wish me to。 That’s a mammoth task for just one book and one author to do。 I felt so immersed in the world of Blake， I didn’t want to leave， and now I just want to remain in this expanse of imagination and eternity for the rest of time。 The book and the story of Blake felt so accessible when written in this way， with modern day references peppered in throughout and a comfortable narrative style。 I grew into an appreciation for Blake due to the tone of respect and awe that Higgs cultivated， and so I think my life has changed a little bit now knowing Blake。 Definitely reading again one day。 Thank you for everything Blake， the imagination is a lovely place to live in。 。。。more
Fletcher
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There's something about Blake that speaks to me。 Well。。。 not so much "speak" as "slaps me across the face with both hands before shaking me by the shoulders while jumping up and down， ranting and raving about who knows what"， and I live it。 Sometimes though， it woyld be nice to understand his ravings a little better， and luckily， John Higgs， scribe of Timothy Leary and The KLF， has admirably risen to the occaision There's something about Blake that speaks to me。 Well。。。 not so much "speak" as "slaps me across the face with both hands before shaking me by the shoulders while jumping up and down， ranting and raving about who knows what"， and I live it。 Sometimes though， it woyld be nice to understand his ravings a little better， and luckily， John Higgs， scribe of Timothy Leary and The KLF， has admirably risen to the occaision 。。。more
Travis Timmons
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Mostly really， really good， especially as a serious yet non-academically bogged down reading of Blake’s entire project。 I feel ready to read anything by Blake now。However， I wish Higgs stuck just to Blake at times， because when he ventured into material about neuroscience， etc， his narrative was diluted a bit—reminded me Christian texts that are too eager to apply the Bible to as many things as possible。Otherwise， I highly recommend the book！
Ian
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great but not as good as his klf book。 but then what is
Warwick
，
In an era when almost everyone seems very hard to understand， Blake stands out for being unusually opaque。 Even people at the time had no idea what to make of him。 ‘Artist or Genius – or Mystic – or Madman？’ （as Henry Crabb Robinson put it）， to which we might tentatively reply， ‘Yes！’His life story is of fairly limited use when it comes to understanding him – which makes biographies feel vaguely unsatisfying。 Peter Ackroyd's Blake has an excellent handle on the man and the time， but it doesn't r In an era when almost everyone seems very hard to understand， Blake stands out for being unusually opaque。 Even people at the time had no idea what to make of him。 ‘Artist or Genius – or Mystic – or Madman？’ （as Henry Crabb Robinson put it）， to which we might tentatively reply， ‘Yes！’His life story is of fairly limited use when it comes to understanding him – which makes biographies feel vaguely unsatisfying。 Peter Ackroyd's Blake has an excellent handle on the man and the time， but it doesn't really touch on Blake's importance or show how he influenced later artists and thinkers。 So this book from John Higgs is a very good complement: less a biography than a book about Blake's ideas， it ventures beyond the confines of Georgian London to take in Einstein， Jung， Mumsnet， The Good Place， Carlo Rovelli， transcendental meditation and Star Wars merchandise， among many others。Admittedly， Higgs is on firmer ground with some of these than others （I'm not sure how far quantum physicists would agree with his breezy summaries of their field）， but the effect is still very productive。 So much so that you sometimes don't even notice how far from Blake we have actually travelled。 The speculative nature of Higgs's links is clear from all the qualifying phrases: ‘you might expect’， ‘it is also possible’， ‘it seems a safe bet’， ‘it is likely’， ‘it is tempting to assume’ （these all from a single double-page spread）。 But perhaps that doesn't matter too much if it genuinely helps you think about Blake's work in useful ways。And some help is welcome。 Anyone who's tried to read Blake's longer， later works will know how completely impenetrable they are， coming across as something like a cross between The Silmarillion and the Book of Mormon。 There's more than a whiff of the pathological about them。 Some of Higgs's comparisons open this work up in fascinating ways – especially the link to meditation and mindfulness， which casts Blake as， in part， a pioneer of investigating deep mental states。Like early explorers returning from their ocean voyages with exotic plants and strange beasts， or Apollo astronauts returning to earth with a case full of moon rocks， he has travelled to inner places that we know nothing about and returned with exhibits to convince the sceptical。 Of course， you don't have to be convinced to enjoy Blake's visionary weirdness – or to enjoy this incredibly wide-ranging， omnivorously curious book， which successfully makes the case that Blake is， if anything， even more relevant now than he's ever been。 。。。more
Jack Skelley
，
Blake’s splashes only get bigger。 John Higgs records waves in the lit and extra-lit worlds， referencing #AphexTwin #blackholes #DavidHockney #TimothyLeary #GeorgeLucas #TwinPeaks & #AlanWatts 。 A great chapter on sexual politics， “Seek Love There。” Blake produced engravings for #MaryWollstonecraft 's Original Stories from Real Life （her children’s book）， and endorsed her pioneering feminism。 Here’s Higgs on Blake’s Visions of the Daughters of Albion: It “explores how the social norms of marriage Blake’s splashes only get bigger。 John Higgs records waves in the lit and extra-lit worlds， referencing #AphexTwin #blackholes #DavidHockney #TimothyLeary #GeorgeLucas #TwinPeaks & #AlanWatts 。 A great chapter on sexual politics， “Seek Love There。” Blake produced engravings for #MaryWollstonecraft 's Original Stories from Real Life （her children’s book）， and endorsed her pioneering feminism。 Here’s Higgs on Blake’s Visions of the Daughters of Albion: It “explores how the social norms of marriage constrain and repress the healthy sexual appetites of women， explicitly comparing joyless marriage with slavery still being practiced in America。 This is an extraordinarily progressive perspective for a male writer in the eighteenth century。” 。。。more
David N Ford
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Not what I was expecting， but John Higgs does a great job talking through the life of William Blake。 Makes me want to explore more of the works of William Blake。
Ellie
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An absolutely wonderful book covering William Blake; it felt as if I'd sat down for tea with Blake himself to discuss the wonders of the world。 Higgs does a great job at using Blake's life as a starting point to cover many topics including history， psychology， physics， philosophy， religion and more and it really gave me a deep appreciation for both Blake as a person， but also the world around us。 I listened to this through an audiobook， which I'd highly recommend given that Higgs himself does an An absolutely wonderful book covering William Blake; it felt as if I'd sat down for tea with Blake himself to discuss the wonders of the world。 Higgs does a great job at using Blake's life as a starting point to cover many topics including history， psychology， physics， philosophy， religion and more and it really gave me a deep appreciation for both Blake as a person， but also the world around us。 I listened to this through an audiobook， which I'd highly recommend given that Higgs himself does an exceptional job narrating it。 Absolutely incredible。 。。。more
Helena
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4 （CAWPILE）Can't put my finger on it， but there is something about this book that keeps me from getting overly exited， like I would being inspired by Blake's work itself， therefor a meager 3，5 stars。 Mostly lower rating on Intrigue， style and enjoyment。Nonetheless， very interesting。 Contemplative， to me， for sure！ 4 （CAWPILE）Can't put my finger on it， but there is something about this book that keeps me from getting overly exited， like I would being inspired by Blake's work itself， therefor a meager 3，5 stars。 Mostly lower rating on Intrigue， style and enjoyment。Nonetheless， very interesting。 Contemplative， to me， for sure！ 。。。more
Roxanne Bodsworth
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I didn't know I needed to know about Blake beyond his poetry until this book， and didn't know I needed to know so much about the world and cosmology until now。 I didn't know， either， that I would be able to understand the intricacies of the different philosophies and ideologies until Higgs put them all into context， wove all together， showed that Blake was a prophet and visionary， and is perhaps one himself。 Thanks for this book， I needed it。 I didn't know I needed to know about Blake beyond his poetry until this book， and didn't know I needed to know so much about the world and cosmology until now。 I didn't know， either， that I would be able to understand the intricacies of the different philosophies and ideologies until Higgs put them all into context， wove all together， showed that Blake was a prophet and visionary， and is perhaps one himself。 Thanks for this book， I needed it。 。。。more
Maksim Karpitski
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John Higgs tries to be hip too much。 No， the Earth isn't flat 'in the quantum realm'， and no， microchips don't generally rely on quantum mechanics。 I love that Higgs is very trusting and respectful towards Blake's ideas， but he's way too flippant with pretty much everything else。 A lot of what he gives as fact is just hearsay that he doesn't care to research or fact-check。 Like with Michelangelo's God and the cloud that's supposedly an anatomically accurate depiction of human brain。 Higgs is act John Higgs tries to be hip too much。 No， the Earth isn't flat 'in the quantum realm'， and no， microchips don't generally rely on quantum mechanics。 I love that Higgs is very trusting and respectful towards Blake's ideas， but he's way too flippant with pretty much everything else。 A lot of what he gives as fact is just hearsay that he doesn't care to research or fact-check。 Like with Michelangelo's God and the cloud that's supposedly an anatomically accurate depiction of human brain。 Higgs is actually confusing two stories here: the cloud merely resembles the brain， while the anatomically accurate brain stem can be seen in the neck of another God painted by Michelangelo。 More importantly， of course， this might very well be frequency bias as this 'brain' was noticed by two neuroscientists who probably see brains in the clouds all the time。 Higgs， however， is even sure what Michelangelo meant by something he might not have done at all。It's also upsetting that Higgs never cares to properly research Blake's intellectual preoccupations。 For example， his version of Newton's philosophy is simplistic at best， and while discussing Blake's poem on Milton he's more eager to talk platitudes than to engage with Milton's ideas that were obviously important for Blake。 Why do all that when you can just use some pop science trivia and the watered down version of 'Zen Buddhism'？ 。。。more
Mark Lawrenson
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A wonderful exploration of the philosophy and mind of William Blake。
Jon Bounds
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Higgs makes lots of interesting points about the world we live in。 It’s engaging and readable: apart from every time he quotes Blake。 Blake is impenetrable to me and pretty much remains so; my fault but the reason the book wasn’t rated higher。
Daniel Nicholls
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Another spectacular book from John Higgs。 I had no knowledge of Blake going into this and bought it purely because I enjoyed the authors previous books。 He has an amazing ability to connect subcultures draw links to the present day from obscure history。
Kami
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I’m an avid John Higgs fan， I believe this take is probably the best informed， easier to read introduction into the world of William Blake which is ever expanding and infinite but very complex too。 William Blake is one of the greatest artists to have ever lived。 In today’s world of polarities， John Higgs points out something very important: Blake is able to create bridges between people that normally would not have anything to do with each other。 The fact that people from different ages， politic I’m an avid John Higgs fan， I believe this take is probably the best informed， easier to read introduction into the world of William Blake which is ever expanding and infinite but very complex too。 William Blake is one of the greatest artists to have ever lived。 In today’s world of polarities， John Higgs points out something very important: Blake is able to create bridges between people that normally would not have anything to do with each other。 The fact that people from different ages， political interests and ways of life come together to explore the mind of this fantastic artist is not far from a miraculous feat， given the climate of our times。 Recommend reading his booklet “William Blake: why he matters more than ever” by Higgs as well before reading this one。 。。。more
Jason Downey
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Best book I’ve read all year。
Cliff Moyce
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This book is as mad and as brilliant as Blake himself。 The ability of the author to link Blake’s work， ideas， beliefs and opinions to everything that has happened in religion， philosophy， science， politics， the arts， and popular culture knows no bounds。 There is a definite trend in popular science books to follow this style， but Higgs does it better than most （perhaps better than any）。 Rather than reading this book to find out who Blake was， you should read it to find out why he matters （though This book is as mad and as brilliant as Blake himself。 The ability of the author to link Blake’s work， ideas， beliefs and opinions to everything that has happened in religion， philosophy， science， politics， the arts， and popular culture knows no bounds。 There is a definite trend in popular science books to follow this style， but Higgs does it better than most （perhaps better than any）。 Rather than reading this book to find out who Blake was， you should read it to find out why he matters （though if you are a university graduate or went to an English public school you might stop singing Jerusalem once you know what the poem is really saying）。 。。。more
Hannah Wood
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Really enjoyed it， although I think I could do with a re-read at some point to properly understand it。
podzo
，
By using a wide reference field to include amongst other things ;quantum mechanics， psychology， theories of Mind， and18th century politics， John Higgs brings light and occasional insight into the tangled and deeply personal Mythology of Blake's World view。 By using a wide reference field to include amongst other things ;quantum mechanics， psychology， theories of Mind， and18th century politics， John Higgs brings light and occasional insight into the tangled and deeply personal Mythology of Blake's World view。 。。。more
Alex Sarll
，
I'm fairly sure John Higgs couldn't write a dull book if he tried， and he's in fertile territory here， with one of England's great visionaries as his subject。 Typically wide-ranging， he goes back to the Ranters， forward to everything from quantum physics to recent findings in neuroscience， seeing what light they might shed on Blake's encounters with cosmic entities， and the legendarium he crafted from that， but also what light Blake's experiences and work might in turn shed on our own time。 As e I'm fairly sure John Higgs couldn't write a dull book if he tried， and he's in fertile territory here， with one of England's great visionaries as his subject。 Typically wide-ranging， he goes back to the Ranters， forward to everything from quantum physics to recent findings in neuroscience， seeing what light they might shed on Blake's encounters with cosmic entities， and the legendarium he crafted from that， but also what light Blake's experiences and work might in turn shed on our own time。 As ever， it's dotted with things which are somewhat relevant and definitely good to know， whether that be Sartre's hallucinatory retinue of boisterous crabs， or Pixar animators counterintuitively showing a higher rate of aphantasia than the general population。 There are also some really good readings of Blake， especially on how what we now know as Jerusalem （though of course it's from another poem entirely） becoming the unofficial anthem of Albion pretty much matches part of Blake's idiosyncratic mythology - even as the groups who bellow it most lustily demonstrate how thoroughly his point has been missed。 The book also resists the urge towards hagiography， unafraid to address the awkward implications in Blake's paradigm， or the periods when he was the non-fun， paranoid flavour of crazy visionary。 All the same， it can't help but feeling a little staid， not least because Higgs has already done one briefer， stranger， more deeply Higgs book on Blake， which could equally have been left as part of this for a longer but livelier whole。 As is， this volume is a little short on the brain-inverting epiphanies to be found in Higgs' KLF， 20th century or Watling Street books; it would be a highlight in most writers' bibliographies， but feels distinctly second-tier in his。 。。。more
booksummoner
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actual rate: 4，5
Noah Letner
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A wonderful presentation of the character and life of William Blake。
Pete Maguire
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What a wonderful book， incredibly intriguing。 I didn’t know much about William Blake but he keeps popping up in my life， the Paolozzi statue is one of my favourites， and he’s appeared in songs and friends recommended him， so this is really my launchpad into him and his work。 And what a wonderfully mystical， contradictory life it is。 This books focuses on his mythology rather than his actual life events， it’s explores the meaning behind his work and makes numerous contemporary comparisons with sc What a wonderful book， incredibly intriguing。 I didn’t know much about William Blake but he keeps popping up in my life， the Paolozzi statue is one of my favourites， and he’s appeared in songs and friends recommended him， so this is really my launchpad into him and his work。 And what a wonderfully mystical， contradictory life it is。 This books focuses on his mythology rather than his actual life events， it’s explores the meaning behind his work and makes numerous contemporary comparisons with scientific discovery， mysticism and religion。 I want more William Blake in my life 。。。more
Toni Kely-Brown
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This was wonderful！ John Higgs uses culture， history， philosophy， religion and science （all my favourite things！） to explain about the eccentric 18th/19th century poet and artist William Blake。 I must admit I don’t know a lot about William Blake but after hearing the author describe this book on a podcast， I had to read it and it exceeded my expectations！William Blake is one of those “misunderstood” genius’s who had no recognition in his own time and in fact was dismissed as quite mad because he This was wonderful！ John Higgs uses culture， history， philosophy， religion and science （all my favourite things！） to explain about the eccentric 18th/19th century poet and artist William Blake。 I must admit I don’t know a lot about William Blake but after hearing the author describe this book on a podcast， I had to read it and it exceeded my expectations！William Blake is one of those “misunderstood” genius’s who had no recognition in his own time and in fact was dismissed as quite mad because he had vivid visions from a child。 He sincerely believed in these visions and saw things around him others couldn’t。 These visions shaped how Blake saw the world and his attitudes to art， politics and religion。 Today he would be likely medicated due to seeing delusions！ But then again， maybe medication would have just stifled the creativity of his mind and “imagination”？Maybe I need to read a more “orthodox” biography of Blake to get a more linear story about him， but I LOVED this book and how the author used modern concepts of neuroscience， psychiatry， etc。 within the context of that time and gave some insight into how Blake’s mind might have possibly worked。 Highly recommended！ 。。。more
David
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I've started a fair few books on Blake， but never finished any。 Even Peter Ackroyd was too much for me。 The same is true of Blakes own books， and this despite having the Blake Dictionary on my shelf。Not only did I finish the John Higgs book， I thoroughly enjoyed it， and I learnt the basics about William Blake。If you have little patience for Quantum physics being used to explain and justify any number of hippy ideas then you might want to skip a good third of the book。I loved it all， especially t I've started a fair few books on Blake， but never finished any。 Even Peter Ackroyd was too much for me。 The same is true of Blakes own books， and this despite having the Blake Dictionary on my shelf。Not only did I finish the John Higgs book， I thoroughly enjoyed it， and I learnt the basics about William Blake。If you have little patience for Quantum physics being used to explain and justify any number of hippy ideas then you might want to skip a good third of the book。I loved it all， especially the bits where he compares Blakes work to Star Wars and the Lord of the Rings。 。。。more
Antonio Gallo
，
Quando ho letto la recensione su questo libro， apparsa su The Spectator， mi sono ricordato di avere scritto anche io sul mio blog qualcosa riguardante la "follia" di questo straordinario poeta inglese。 Una "follia" conosciuta sin dai primi tempi di università， quando al secondo anno ci assegnarono un corso monografico su di lui。 Di "follie inglesi"， a dire la verità， ne ero abbastanza pratico。 Ero da poco ritornato dall'Inghilterra dove avevo trascorso un paio di anni di lavoro in un ospedale me Quando ho letto la recensione su questo libro， apparsa su The Spectator， mi sono ricordato di avere scritto anche io sul mio blog qualcosa riguardante la "follia" di questo straordinario poeta inglese。 Una "follia" conosciuta sin dai primi tempi di università， quando al secondo anno ci assegnarono un corso monografico su di lui。 Di "follie inglesi"， a dire la verità， ne ero abbastanza pratico。 Ero da poco ritornato dall'Inghilterra dove avevo trascorso un paio di anni di lavoro in un ospedale mentale a nord di Londra， nei pressi della città romana "Verulam"， la moderna St Albans， la città di Francis Bacon。 Oltre due anni di lavoro con pazienti subnormali， in particolare bambini。 Una esperienza che mi ha segnato per tutta la vita e che mi ha portato a comprendere da dentro la realtà e la cultura di quel popolo。Alternavo gli studi del corso di infermeria， come studente， a quelli del corso di letteratura in un college serale。 Serate straordinarie trascorse a leggere i sonetti Shakespeare， le liriche dei romantici e di quel poeta pazzo e bibliomane che fu， appunto， William Blake。 Alternavamo i suoi versi con i brani erotici del libro di D。 H。 Lawrence， appena liberato dalla censura， "L'Amante di Lady Chatterly"。 E poi ancora il teatro del giovane Tom Stoppard， Harold Pinter， gli "angry young men"， quelli del "Look back in anger"…Oggi， quella follia， la ritrovo nella lettura di questa poesia da lui dedicata all'estate。 E' una poesia abbastanza difficile da interpretare。 Rientra nella logica narrativa di un poeta che con il suo fascino， ancora tutto moderno， non si sa come definire， se folle o visionario。 Dal titolo si capisce che è dedicata all'estate mediante la tecnica della personificazione。 Questa ardente stagione viene infatti immaginata come un cavaliere che cavalca furiosi destrieri dalle narici di fuoco。 Il "cavaliere estate" viene invitato nella prima strofa a spegnere il calore， mentre nella seconda cavalca il ricordo di passate stagioni non tanto torride come quella attuale， una estate "just right"。 A questa considerazione segue l'invito a sedersi e a "raffreddarsi"， anche se la cosa appare impossibile。 L'orgoglio di questo cavaliere furente sembra infatti essere il suo calore incontenibile。 E' naturale che l'ambiente e la natura dei suoi luoghi ai quali il poeta appartiene non amino queste estreme condizioni。 L'isola a cui appartiene Blake non sembra amare gli estremismi in tutte le diverse manifestazioni della condizione umana。To summerO thou who passest thro' our valleys inThy strength， curb thy fierce steeds， allay the heatThat flames from their large nostrils！ thou， O Summer，Oft pitched'st here thy goldent tent， and oftBeneath our oaks hast slept， while we beheldWith joy thy ruddy limbs and flourishing hair。O tu che passi nelle nostre valli in forza，tu che domini i tuoi fieri destrieri， spegni il caloredelle fiamme che escono dalle loro narici， o Estate，tu sovente hai piantato qui la tua tenda dorata e spessosotto le nostre querce hai dormito， mentre guardammocon gioia le rosee ali e i tuoi fiorenti capelli。Beneath our thickest shades we oft have heardThy voice， when noon upon his fervid carRode o'er the deep of heaven; beside our springsSit down， and in our mossy valleys， onSome bank beside a river clear， throw thySilk draperies off， and rush into the stream:Our valleys love the Summer in his pride。Sotto le nostre grandi ombre abbiamo spesso uditola tua voce， quando la luna sul suo ardente carroviaggiava sulle profondità del cielo， vicino alle nostre sorgenti，siediti e nelle nostre muschiose valli，su qualche riva di chiare acque di fiume，stendi i tuoi drappeggi di seta e lanciati nel rivo，le nostre valli amano l'estate nel suo orgoglio。Our bards are fam'd who strike the silver wire:Our youth are bolder than the southern swains:Our maidens fairer in the sprightly dance:We lack not songs， nor instruments of joy，Nor echoes sweet， nor waters clear as heaven，Nor laurel wreaths against the sultry heat。I nostri bardi sono famosi per colpire le corde d'argento，i nostri giovani sono più coraggiosi dei pastorelli del sud，le nostre fanciulle più belle nelle allegre danze，non ci mancano i canti， nè gli strumenti di gioia，nè i dolci echi nè le acque chiare come il cielo，nè le corone d'alloro contro il soffocante caldo。Ora se pensiamo al clima con il quale si susseguono le stagioni sulle Isole britanniche possiamo ben dire che l'irruzione furiosa e potente， con la sua calura di destrieri cavalcati da simili cavalieri， può effettivamente destabilizzare menti e comportamenti。 La cosa è vista in maniera quanto mai drammatica。 Chi vive su questa isola， ne conosce la mitezza dei luoghi， la moderazione delle stagioni， le temperate manifestazioni umane che ben poco hanno a che vedere con gli intensi calori e persistenti intemperanze delle estati che possiamo avere dalle nostre parti。Questa poesia di William Blake fa parte di un ciclo giovanile di composizioni chiamate "Poetical sketches" in cui vengono esaminate tra l'altro le quattro stagioni。 Scritte tra tra il 1769 e il 1777， sono una specie di laboratorio poetico "avanti lettera" in cui William Blake forgia la vena poetica per la sua futura poetica visione del mondo。 Sebbene gli studiosi ritengano che queste composizioni poetiche non siano gran cosa da un punto di vista artistico， esse sono quanto mai importanti per studiare come venne formandosi uno dei più grandi poeti inglesi di tutti i tempi。 Alcuni critici hanno messo in evidenza il fatto che questi lavori mettono in luce il modo in cui venne a crearsi la grande forza creativa dal punto di vista della immaginazione。 Il critico Harold Bloom ha scritto che queste composizioni anticipano le ambizioni poetiche di Blake in termini di sensibilità ereditata da Spenser， Milton e Shakespeare。 Gli "sketches"di Blake sono anticipatori della grande imminente forza immaginativa che caratterizzerà in seguito i suoi lavori sia in versi che in prosa o in forma grafica。Egli disprezzava fortemente le forme poetiche dominanti dell'epoca rifiutando la rima， rompendo i paradigmi， usando invece la rima visiva con la quale spezzava i canoni della metrica convenzionale。 Un libro giovanile questo degli "sketches" di cui Blake conservò gelosamente alcune copie stampate privatamente e che vennero ritrovate nella sua biblioteca alla sua scomparsa。La recensione apparsa su The Spectator:Whose were those feet in ancient time that walked upon England’s mountains green？ That William Blake assumed his readers were on his same wavelength is one of the things， according to John Higgs， ‘that makes his writing a glorious puzzle’。 Equally puzzling， argues Higgs， is that the cockney visionary， unsung in his lifetime and buried in a pauper’s grave， has now been absorbed thoroughly into mainstream culture without our having the faintest idea of what he was on about。Take the 20th-century adoption of ‘Jerusalem’ as England’s alternative national anthem: in its original context as the preface to Blake’s long poem ‘Milton’， the hymn that marks the end of our school terms and party political conferences was intended to describe the overthrow of these very institutions。 There is a similar irony， says Higgs， in placing Eduardo Paolozzi’s bronze Newton in the forecourt of the British Library: the object of the Blake print on which the statue is based， ‘Newton: Personification of Man Limited by Reason’， was precisely to challenge the limitations of book-based learning。The finest of all our misreadings of Blake， however， was when on 28 November 2019 ‘The Ancient of Days’ was projected onto the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral。 Here， squatting naked above the great church with his long hair and white beard blowing in the wind， was Urizen （‘your reason’）， marking out with his golden compass the soulless world in which we live。 He might look like God but Urizen was， in Blake’s mythology， Satan himself。 Higgs explains:“No one has ever understood everything that Blake wrote， possibly including Blake himself。 But as Obi-Wan Kenobi asks rhetorically in Star Wars: ‘Who’s the more foolish — the fool， or the fool that follows him？’In William Blake vs the World， Higgs makes a laudable attempt to explain Blake to the nation and then， to paraphrase Byron， to explain his explanation。 What did Blake mean， for example， by the proverb ‘Without contraries is no progression’， or by his belief that while God created man， man also created God？ And how should we interpret his casual accounts of conversing with angels， whether on Peckham Rye， where his earliest vision took place， or otherwise？ ‘I have always found，’ said Blake， ‘that angels have the vanity to speak of themselves as the only wise。’ Was Blake an artist， a genius， a mystic or a madman， wondered Henry Crabb Robinson， after spending an evening with the elderly poet。 He was all of those things， says Higgs， except the last。 ‘As the late maverick Ken Campbell used to insist， “I’m not mad， I’ve just read different books”。’Apart from the Bible， Blake’s great influence was the Swedish theologian Emanuel Swedenborg， whose book Heaven and Hell was satirised by Blake in ‘The Marriage of Heaven and Hell’。 Starting out as Swedenborg’s student， he ended up as his nemesis， but then ‘opposition is true friendship’。 The most engaging of Blake’s oppositions can be found in the contrast between the immateriality of his thought and the ‘infernal’ labour involved in getting his ideas circulated。 Blake illustrated， engraved and printed his books himself。 This involved not only scratching thousands of lines， dots and crosses onto sheets of copper， but using mirror writing， so the finished text would not read backwards。 Higgs compares his one-man publishing industry to ‘the do-it-yourself ethos of punk rock’。At the heart of Blake’s world was the power of imagination， which faculty he believed would free us from our mind-forged manacles。 Imagination， represented in Blakean mythology by Los， is the opposite of the reason， and we cannot understand Blake without understanding what he meant by imagination or taking seriously his visions。 Higgs does this admirably， by exploring what we know about the mind while maintaining， for our secular times， the sacred quality of Blake’s attention。 For Blake， the dividing line between the external and the internal was porous， and his capacity to see more than the rest of us might be explained by his having hyperphantasia。 The mind’s eye of those with hyperphantasia is morevivid — both visually and in every other sense — than it is for the rest of us。 ‘To a hyperphantasic，’ Higgs argues， ‘images are not things that you think， they are things that you encounter。’Higgs compares Blake to the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu; also to Leonard Cohen， David Bowie and Lennon and McCartney: ‘To judge Blake by Songs of Innocence is like judging the Beatles by the song “Yellow Submarine”。’I grew weary of these analogies — further misreadings， perhaps， which do little to explain Blake’s sublime strangeness; but then this book is not written for my generation。 William Blake vs the World is a primer for the future。 Witness the statement: ‘Blake appears to have been cisgendered and heterosexual， but there may have been a transgender aspect to his sense of self。’ It might be one of the Proverbs of Hell。WRITTEN BYFrances Wilson - The Spectator -3 July 2021 。。。more
Bryan Wigmore
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A readable combination of biography and commentary on Blake's thought and work。 It could perhaps have gone into a bit more depth or detail at times， and sometimes the prose feels a bit too purely functional to convey the fire and passion of the work it was describing， but overall a valuable book that deserves a wide readership。 A readable combination of biography and commentary on Blake's thought and work。 It could perhaps have gone into a bit more depth or detail at times， and sometimes the prose feels a bit too purely functional to convey the fire and passion of the work it was describing， but overall a valuable book that deserves a wide readership。 。。。more
Dan Sumption
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