The Complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake - (Hardcover)

About the Book

"[Blake] was a visionary, rather than a mystic, and like D. H. Lawrence and Sigmund Freud he hoped to encourage us to exalt our human potential. Perhaps William Blake can best be termed an apocalyptic humanist, who urges us never to forget that all deities reside within the human breast."--Harold Bloom, from the new foreword

Book Synopsis

"An essential book in the study of an always fascinating author."--Times Literary Supplement

Since its first publication in 1965, this collection has been widely hailed as the best available text of William Blake's poetry and prose. It is now expanded to include a new foreword by Harold Bloom, his definitive statement on Blake's greatness.

From the Back Cover

"Blake was a visionary, rather than a mystic, and like D. H. Lawrence and Sigmund Freud he hoped to encourage us to exalt our human potential. Perhaps William Blake can best be termed an apocalyptic humanist, who urges us never to forget that all deities reside within the human breast."--Harold Bloom, from the new foreword

Review Quotes

"The crucial preliminary problem [in establishing Blake's text] is simply to make out what Blake wrote. . . . Erdman has used modern aids such as infrared photography and microphotography . . . but his real achievement has been to look at Blake's text more closely and intelligently than any previous editor."-- "New York Review of Books"

"'Blake's most reliable historical and textual scholar' presents the work of the poet, artist and engraver (1757-1827); included are "The Lamb" ("Little Lamb who made thee"), "Never Pain to Tell They Love" ("?Love that never told can be?"), and "The Poison Tree" ("I was angry with my friend; / I told my wrath, my wrath did end")."-- "Foreword Reviews"

"An essential book in the study of an always fascinating author."-- "Times Literary Supplement"

About the Author

Largely unrecognized during his lifetime, William Blake (1757-1827) was a visionary English poet, painter, and printmaker. His wide-ranging influence can be seen in genres from theology and literature to popular music and graphic novels.