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Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-14491-0 — William Blake in Context Edited by Sarah Haggarty Frontmatter More Information WILLIAM BLAKE IN CONTEXT 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 influ- enced in turn. Chapters from an international team of leading scho- lars 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. sarah haggarty is Lecturer in the Faculty of English and Fellow of Queens’ College, at the University of Cambridge. She has published three previous books about Blake: Blake’s Gifts: Poetry and the Politics of Exchange (Cambridge, 2010); William Blake: Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1794) (with Jon Mee, 2013); and Blake and Conflict (with Jon Mee, 2009). © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-14491-0 — William Blake in Context Edited by Sarah Haggarty Frontmatter More Information © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-14491-0 — William Blake in Context Edited by Sarah Haggarty Frontmatter More Information WILLIAM BLAKE IN CONTEXT Edited by SARAH HAGGARTY University of Cambridge © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-14491-0 — William Blake in Context Edited by Sarah Haggarty Frontmatter More Information University Printing House, Cambridge cb28bs,UnitedKingdom One Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor, New York, ny 10006,USA 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, vic 3207,Australia 314–321, 3rd Floor, Plot 3, Splendor Forum, Jasola District Centre, New Delhi – 110025,India 79 Anson Road, #06–04/06, Singapore 079906 Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning, and research at the highest international levels of excellence. www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107144910 doi: 10.1017/9781316534946 © Cambridge University Press 2019 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2019 Printed in the United Kingdom by TJ International Ltd. Padstow Cornwall A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data names: Haggarty, Sarah, editor. title: William Blake in context / edited by Sarah Haggarty. description: New York : Cambridge University Press, 2019.|series: Literature in context | Includes bibliographical references and index. identifiers: lccn 2018049854 | isbn 9781107144910 (hardback) subjects: lcsh: Blake, William, 1757–1827 – Criticism and interpretation. | Literature and society – England – History – 18th century. | Literature and society – England – History – 19th century. | Art and literature – England – History – 18th century. | Art and literature – England – History – 19th century. | BISAC: LITERARY CRITICISM / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh. classification: lcc pr4147 .w475 2019 | ddc 821/.7–dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018049854 isbn 978-1-107-14491-0 Hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-14491-0 — William Blake in Context Edited by Sarah Haggarty Frontmatter More Information Contents List of Illustrations page ix Notes on Contributors xi Acknowledgements xx List of Abbreviations xxi Introduction 1 Sarah Haggarty part i: life, works, and reception 5 1 Life 7 Leo Damrosch 2 Networks 15 Jon Mee 3 Engraving 23 Mark Crosby 4 Illuminated Books 35 David Worrall 5 Manuscripts 43 Sarah Haggarty 6 Book Illustration 56 Luisa Calè 7 Painting 70 Martin Myrone 8 Early Reception 79 Sibylle Erle and Keri Davies v © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-14491-0 — William Blake in Context Edited by Sarah Haggarty Frontmatter More Information vi Contents 9 Late Reception 87 Jason Whittaker 10 Editing and Editions 94 Morris Eaves part ii: form, genre, and mode 103 11 Comedy 105 Fred Parker 12 Prophecy 113 Ian Balfour 13 Rhythm 120 Derek Attridge 14 Songs 129 Steve Newman 15 Sound 139 Michael D. Hurley 16 Sublimity 147 David Baulch 17 System, Myth, and Symbol 155 Tilottama Rajan part iii: creative cross-currents 163 18 The Bible 165 Stephen Prickett 19 Chaucer, Spenser, and Shakespeare 173 David Fuller 20 Milton 184 G. A. Rosso 21 The Eighteenth Century and Romanticism 192 David Duff 22 Byron 200 Jerome McGann © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-14491-0 — William Blake in Context Edited by Sarah Haggarty Frontmatter More Information Contents vii 23 Pre-Raphaelites and Aesthetes 211 Elizabeth Helsinger 24 Yeats, Eliot, and Auden 219 Edward Larrissy 25 Whitman, Crane, and the Beats 227 Linda Freedman part iv: history, society, and culture 235 26 Animals 237 Kurt Fosso 27 Antiquarianism 245 Noah Heringman 28 Education and Childhood 254 Louise Joy 29 Empiricism 262 Nicholas M. Williams 30 Life Sciences 270 Denise Gigante 31 London 277 Saree Makdisi 32 Money 286 Matthew Rowlinson 33 Moravianism 293 Alexander Regier 34 Mysticism 301 Laura Quinney 35 Nationalism and Imperialism 309 Julia M. Wright 36 Sex, Sexuality, and Gender 317 Susan Matthews 37 War and Revolution 325 Andrew Lincoln © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-14491-0 — William Blake in Context Edited by Sarah Haggarty Frontmatter More Information viii Contents 38 (Without) Sympathy 333 Steven Goldsmith Further Reading 345 Index 364 © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-14491-0 — William Blake in Context Edited by Sarah Haggarty Frontmatter More Information Illustrations 3.1 W. Blake, Joseph of Arimathea among the Rocks of Albion, page 26 first state, 1773, engraving, black carbon ink on paper, © Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge 3.2 W. Blake, The Canterbury Pilgrims, fourth state, 1810, 29 engraving, Collection of R. N. Essick 3.3 J. Basire, The Field of the Cloth of Gold, 1774, engraving, 31 Collection of M. Crosby 3.4 W. Blake, Job separate plate, second state, c. 1804 or later, 32 engraving, Collection of R. N. Essick 6.1 W. Blake, Edward Young, Night Thoughts [1797], Copy 1: 59 electronic edition, Object 25, 2007, etching and engraving, William Blake Archive (Collection of R. N. Essick) 6.2 W. Blake, The Descent of Man into the Vale of Death, c. 1805, 60 pen and grey ink and grey wash, with watercolour, © The Trustees of the British Museum, London 6.3 W. Blake, Christ Descending into the Grave, 1808,inRobert 62 Blair, The Grave: electronic edition, Object 3, 2007, etching and engraving, William Blake Archive 6.4 W. Blake, The Messengers Tell Job of His Misfortunes, 1823–6, 63 in Illustrations of the Book of Job: electronic edition, Object 6, 2002, intaglio engraving, William Blake Archive (Collection of R. N. Essick) 6.5 W. Blake, When the Morning Stars Sang Together, 1823–6,in 65 Illustrations of the Book of Job: electronic edition, Object 16, 2002, intaglio engraving, William Blake Archive (Collection of R. N. Essick) 6.6 W. Blake, The Mission of Virgil, 1824–7, watercolour over 67 pencil, pen and ink, and scratching out, Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery ix © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-14491-0 — William Blake in Context Edited by Sarah Haggarty Frontmatter More Information x List of Illustrations 7.1 W. Blake, The Spiritual Form of Nelson Guiding Leviathan, 72 c. 1805–9, The Picture Art Collection/Alamy Stock Photo 7.2 W. Blake, The Spiritual Form of Pitt Guiding Behemoth, 73 c. 1805, The Picture Art Collection/Alamy Stock Photo 19.1 W. Blake, Characters from Spenser’s Faery Queen, c. 1825, 177 watercolour, Petworth House and Park, West Sussex, © National Trust Images/John Hammond 19.2 W. Blake, As if an Angel Dropped Down from the Clouds, 1809, 180 Art Collection 2/Alamy Stock Photo 19.3 W. Blake, Pity, c. 1795, Art Collection 2/Alamy Stock Photo 182 20.1 W. Blake, Michael Foretelling the Crucifixion to Adam, 1808, 190 pen and ink and watercolour, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 38.1 W. Blake, The Belvedere Torso [verso], c. 1779/80, graphite on 334 two joined sheets, Rosenwald Collection, National Gallery, Washington 38.2 W. Blake, Moses Staying the Plague (?) [recto], c. 1780/85, 335 graphite on two joined sheets, Rosenwald