Blake, Myth, and Enlightenment

This book provides compelling new readings of William Blakes poetry and art, including the first sustained account of his visionary paintings of Pitt and Nelson. It focuses on the recurrent motif of apotheosis, both as a figure of political authority to be demystified but also as an image of utopian possibility. It reevaluates Blakes relationship to Enlightenment thought, myth, religion, and politics, from The French Revolution to Jerusalem and The Laocon. The book combines careful attention to cultural and historical contexts with close readings of the texts and designs, providing an innovative account of Blakes creative transformations of Enlightenment, classical, and Christian thought.