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William Blake was one of Britain's greatest poets. His long history of mental illness also makes him one of England's most colourful and interesting literary figures. He lived his life in poverty, in the company of his devoted wife, and created a great deal of controversy due to his unconventional views on religion and rationalism.
He was born on November 28, 1757 in London.
Blake's parents were James, a hosier, and Catherine. As was common at the time, two of his six siblings died as infants.
Blake had a long and consistent history of mental illness. As a child, he reported having visions. At the age of four, Blake said that God had put his head to the window, and he saw a tree filled with angels. He spoke often with the angel Gabriel, and the Virgin Mary, and often saw visions of ghosts and monks. Blake's parents tried to keep him from these "fanciful" flights, but they did not force him to attend conventional school. (Blake was taught to read and write at home, mostly by his mother. His parents sent him to Henry Pars'...
At age twelve, he began to write poetry, and at age fourteen hi apprenticed with an engraver, as art school was too expensive for the Blake family to afford. As the apprentice engraver, Blake sketched the tombs at Westminster Abbey. This exposed him to the Gothic styles that inspired him for years. Blake studied for a short period at the Royal Academy after his apprenticeship ended.
He married Catherine Boucher in 1772. She was illiterate, and he taught her to read, write, and paint, and instructed her in draftsmanship. In return, she was his devout assistant, and played an important role in producing his works. The couple never had children.
Blake set up a print shop in 1784 with his close friend James Parker. The print shop soon failed, and Blake spent the rest of his life working as an engraver, and as a book and magazine illustrator. This existence did not pay much money, and Blake lived the large majority of his life in poverty.
Blake produced his first printed in 1783. Called…
Works Cited
Bentley, G.E. The stranger from paradise: A biography of William Blake New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2001.
Vaughan, William. William Blake. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1999.
William Blake. The Academy of American Poets. 14 June 2002. http://www.poets.org/poets/poets.cfm?prmID=117&CFID=9779630&CFTOKEN=7966658
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