William Blake in Context

Accessible, authoritative essays putting one of Britain's best-loved, but seemingly isolated, poet-artists back in touch with his times.

Thirty-eight authoritative and lively essays by an international team of scholars examine a full range of Blake's works from lyrical songs to later myth, from writing to artworks, situating them in historical and cultural contexts. Research driven yet accessibly written, the essays will appeal to students, teachers, and academic experts alike.William Blake, poet and artist, is a figure often understood to have 'created his own system'. Combining close readings and detailed analysis of a range of Blake's work, from lyrical songs to later myth, from writing to visual art, this collection of thirty-eight lively and authoritative essays examines what Blake had in common with his contemporaries, the writers who influenced him, and those he influenced in turn. Chapters from an international team of leading scholars also attend to his wider contexts: material, formal, cultural, and historical, to enrich our understanding of, and engagement with, Blake's work. Accessibly written, incisive, and informed by original research, William Blake in Context enables readers to appreciate Blake anew, from both within and outside of his own idiom.