Poetry and Creative Writing for All

William Blake

By Sharon Spencer

Take an amble through the annals of history and you will find them peppered with gargantuan giants: men and women, who from quite humble beginnings accomplish greatness. People who leave their individual stamp on our heritage for generations to come.

William Blake was one such man. A multitalented phenomenon, not only was he arguably the greatest British poet ever to have lived, but he was also an accomplished painter, printmaker and mystic to boot.

However it is for his brilliant and thought-provoking poetry he is best remembered, for he was a visionary poet and one of the most prominent early figures in English Romanticism.

Born on November 28th 1757 in Golden Square, London, Blake was the third son of a hosier, which in 18th century London was considered to be a lower middle class occupation. This meant that he was bought up in a relatively poor household, an ideal training ground for the poverty in which he would live for the majority of his life.

In his infancy William began to experience what he later referred to as his ‘visions’. He was only four when he imagined he saw God rest his head against the window, and at ten he attempted to persuade his father that he’d seen a group of angels up in a tree in Peckham Rye. Much later on when he witnessed his brother’s death of consumption, William affirmed that he saw Robert’s soul rising towards the heavens clapping for joy. This strong faith in the ethereal remained with him all of his life. Believing as he did, that he regularly conversed with the angels, devils, and spirits that are evident in his works.

The young William received very little schooling but was taught to read and write by his mother at home. His talent for art was observed and actively encouraged whilst he was still small, and his parents sent him to a drawing school. Four years later at fourteen, he hit the jackpot and was apprenticed to a noted engraver, James Basire, for seven years. The family budget had been severely strained whilst William was attending the drawing school, so it was a relief when he left to become an apprentice. One of William’s jobs was to draw the tombs at Westminster Abbey, and during this time he became fond of the gothic art he was exposed to, drawing inspiration from it throughout his lifetime.

Despite his meagre schooling William was widely read and had begun to write poetry at the age of twelve. Because he was on an apprenticeship, journalism was not a career open to him. His first book Poetical Sketches was published in 1783, followed by Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience (containing the well known The Tyger) in 1789 and 1794 respectively. At the age of 21 William set himself up as a professional engraver in his own right, but this venture proved unsuccessful. He enrolled at the Royal Academy, but fought against the Cultivated Convictions of the principal, Sir Joshua Reynolds, and felt he had to leave. Soon after he produced watercolours and engravings for various magazines.

William married Catherine Boucher, a market gardener’s daughter in 1782. Catherine was, like many women of her time, illiterate, so he set about teaching her to read and write, even training her in the art of engraving in the process. She repaid the favour by devoutly assisting him in his work. The couple never had any children and it is thought that William suggested they employ a concubine, but Catherine was so unhappy that he left well alone and promptly forgot all about it.

William spent the remainder of his life contriving to make a small living as an engraver and illustrator of books and magazines. In 1800, he moved to the seaside town of Felpham, where he stayed enjoying the sponsorship of William Hayley. During his stay he taught himself Greek, Hebrew and Italian to enable him to read classical works before translation. Experiencing profound visions of a spiritual nature, William was enormously busy, producing some of his best work.

Then in 1803 disaster struck. William was arrested and charged with High Treason. Apparently he had been too vocal when he caught a soldier urinating in his garden, but sanity prevailed and the charges were dropped. Shortly after in 1808 he showed some watercolours at The Royal Academy, and in 1809 he held a disasterous exhibition of his work at an old shop of his brother James. His collection bombed, some people extolled his paintings, others thought them hideous, and there were those who believed he might be insane.

William’s last years were spent in abject poverty. He had not discovered the fame and notoriety he yearned for, but he did have the admiration of a group of young artists who were known as the ‘Ancients’, and this cheered his soul immensely.

William was his own worst enemy. He decried the hypocrisy and oppression present in society, religion and in traditional art, whilst promoting the power of innocence. He argued that true innocence would be impossible without experience affected by the creative power of the imagination.

He felt his poetry could not only be read, but also understood by ordinary people, refusing to compromise his vision for popularity. Many of his peers considered him a harmless lunatic. After his death, Wordsworth was quoted to say ‘There is no doubt that this poor man was mad, but there is something in the madness of this man which interests me more than the sanity of Lord Byron and Walter Scott.’ William’s career as a writer and artist was clouded by misunderstandings during his lifetime and it was left for future generations to appreciate his genius.

William died solvent in 1827 and was buried in an unmarked grave at Bunhill Fields. Contributing some of the most magnificent masterpieces to the Literary World, he couldn’t have envisaged the veritable treasure trove we would inherit centuries after his death.

This article was taken from an issue of Poetry Now Magazine. 

Top