DOCSLIB.ORG

A Study in Songs: Comparative Analyses of 20Th Century Settings Of

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Study in Songs: Comparative Analyses of 20Th Century Settings Of Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2017 A Study in Songs: Comparative Analyses of 20th century settings of William Blake's "Songs of Innocence and of Experience": Selections from Vaughan Williams's "Ten Blake Songs", Britten's "Songs and Proverbs of William Blake", and Rochberg's "Blake Songs: For Soprano and Chamber Ensemble" Jennifer Berkebile Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Berkebile, Jennifer, "A Study in Songs: Comparative Analyses of 20th century settings of William Blake's "Songs of Innocence and of Experience": Selections from Vaughan Williams's "Ten Blake Songs", Britten's "Songs and Proverbs of William Blake", and Rochberg's "Blake Songs: For Soprano and Chamber Ensemble"" (2017). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 7300. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/7300 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A Study in Songs: Comparative Analyses of 20th century settings of William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience: selections from Vaughan Williams’s Ten Blake Songs, Britten’s Songs and Proverbs of William Blake, and Rochberg’s Blake Songs: For Soprano and Chamber Ensemble Jennifer Berkebile Research Document submitted to the College of Creative Arts at West Virginia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance Hope Koehler, Chair, DMA Andrew Kohn, Research Advisor, Ph.D. Mary Ferer, Ph.D. Emerita Robert Chafin, MM Lee Blair, MFA Morgantown, West Virginia 2017 Keywords: William Blake, Songs of Innocence and of Experience, Vaughan Williams, Britten, Rochberg © Jennifer Berkebile 2017 ProQuest Number:10273766 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ProQuest 10273766 Published by ProQuest LLC ( 2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 - 1346 Abstract A Study in Songs: Comparative Analyses of 20th century settings of William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience: selections from Vaughan Williams’s Ten Blake Songs, Britten’s Songs and Proverbs of William Blake, and Rochberg’s Blake Songs: For Soprano and Chamber Ensemble Jennifer Berkebile The eighteenth-century poet, William Blake, is well-known today for his illuminated books, where a unique technique of relief etching allowed him to integrate text and illustration on a single printed copper plate, and his esoteric prophetic volumes. However, Blake’s work went largely unrecognized during his lifetime and musical settings of Blake’s poetry, in particular, are predominantly a twentieth and twenty-first century occurrence. With their distinctive styling and complicated interpretation, Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience: Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul have provided material for many song settings over the course of the twentieth century and make for an interesting study of words and music. Selections from three composers were chosen for the study: Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1953), Benjamin Britten (1913-1976), and George Rochberg (1918-2005). The study focuses on settings found in song cycles versus single pieces since a cycle (though not including all of the poems) would create the same sense of “variety within unity” that is evident in Blake’s collection. The cycles chosen are also all composed within a fairly close time span to make the most out of comparing the compositional techniques between interpretations within a similar historical and cultural context. Finally, the compositions exhibit different styles and musical idioms of the twentieth century in order to highlight the multitude of relationships possible between music and words. The heart of the discussion lies in the relationship between text and music in the song cycles of Vaughan Williams, Britten, and Rochberg and how their musical settings affect and enhance the Blake texts. The unique obstacles in setting the poetry of William Blake are explored along with a brief overview of Blake’s work and cultural/historical environment and a detailed discussion of the poetic fundamentals of the Songs. A number of questions are considered when analyzing the selected poems and musical settings and conclusions are discussed at the end of the study. How do twentieth century musical idioms work with the early or pre-Romantic poetic style of Blake? Does the rearrangement of the poems from the original, carefully constructed volume alter the intentions of the creator or reveal new connections? How do the interpretations differ between composers? How, if at all, does the music attempt to portray the visual art included with the original poetry? What is the role of the performer in a work where the poetry is so well known as a stand-alone entity? To Bradley, who supported, encouraged, and believed To Lily, who provided much needed snuggles iii Acknowledgements It would not have been possible to complete this document without the assistance of many individuals throughout the process. Special thanks must go to my research advisor, Dr. Andrew Kohn, whose unending genius and honest criticism has inspired me throughout my time at WVU. The quality of this work has been greatly improved by his contributions and critiques, and I am extremely grateful for his help. I wish to thank my committee chair and applied professor, Dr. Hope Koehler, for her encouragement and guidance over the past 6 years, and for sharing her knowledge, wisdom, and art with me. I would like to express my gratitude to the rest of my committee, Dr. Mary Ferer, Professor Lee Blair, and Professor Robert Chafin, for their support and friendship through the course of my tenure at WVU. Every one of my committee members has made a great impact on the way I view singing, performing, and study, and I am forever grateful to have had the opportunity to work with each of them. Finally, I would like to thank my husband, Bradley Smoak, and my little love, Lily. Thank you for understanding when it was time for “Mommy to work,” and for always making me feel loved and encouraged. I love you both very much! iv Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................................ ii Dedication .................................................................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................................................... v List of Musical Examples ...................................................................................................................................... vi Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 1: William Blake .................................................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 2: Songs of Innocence and of Experience ...................................................................................... 28 Chapter 3: Blake’s Legacy ................................................................................................................................... 48 Chapter 4: The Composers and Their Cycles ............................................................................................. 64 Chapter 5: Analyses ............................................................................................................................................... 85 “London” .......................................................................................................................................................... 85 “A Poison Tree” .......................................................................................................................................... 105 “The Fly” ......................................................................................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Guitar Syllabus
    TheThe LLeinsteinsteerr SScchoolhool ooff MusMusiicc && DDrramama Established 1904 Singing Grade Examinations Syllabus The Leinster School of Music & Drama Singing Grade Examinations Syllabus Contents The Leinster School of Music & Drama ____________________________ 2 General Information & Examination Regulations ____________________ 4 Grade 1 ____________________________________________________ 6 Grade 2 ____________________________________________________ 9 Grade 3 ____________________________________________________ 12 Grade 4 ____________________________________________________ 15 Grade 5 ____________________________________________________ 19 Grade 6 ____________________________________________________ 23 Grade 7 ____________________________________________________ 27 Grade 8 ____________________________________________________ 33 Junior & Senior Repertoire Recital Programmes ________________________ 35 Performance Certificate __________________________________________ 36 1 The Leinster School of Music & Drama Singing Grade Examinations Syllabus TheThe LeinsterLeinster SchoolSchool ofof MusicMusic && DraDrammaa Established 1904 "She beckoned to him with her finger like one preparing a certificate in pianoforte... at the Leinster School of Music." Samuel Beckett Established in 1904 The Leinster School of Music & Drama is now celebrating its centenary year. Its long-standing tradition both as a centre for learning and examining is stronger than ever. TUITION Expert individual tuition is offered in a variety of subjects: • Singing and
    [Show full text]
  • William Blake's Songs of Innocence and of Experience: from Innocence to Experience to Wise Innocence Robert W
    Eastern Illinois University The Keep Masters Theses Student Theses & Publications 1977 William Blake's Songs of Innocence and of Experience: From Innocence to Experience to Wise Innocence Robert W. Winkleblack Eastern Illinois University This research is a product of the graduate program in English at Eastern Illinois University. Find out more about the program. Recommended Citation Winkleblack, Robert W., "William Blake's Songs of Innocence and of Experience: From Innocence to Experience to Wise Innocence" (1977). Masters Theses. 3328. https://thekeep.eiu.edu/theses/3328 This is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Theses & Publications at The Keep. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of The Keep. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PAPER CERTIFICATE #2 TO: Graduate Degree Candidates who have written formal theses. SUBJECT: Permission to reproduce theses. The University Library is receiving a number of requests from other institutions asking permission to reproduce dissertations for inclusion in their library holdings. Although no copyright laws are involved, we feel that professional courtesy demands that permission be obtained from the author before we allow theses to be copied. Please sign one of the following statements: Booth Library of Eastern Illinois University has my permission to lend my thesis to a reputable college or university for the purpose of copying it for inclusion in that institution's library or research holdings. �S"Date J /_'117 Author I respectfully request Booth Library of Eastern Illinois University not allow my thesis be reproduced because ��--��- Date Author pdm WILLIAM BLAKE'S SONGS OF INNOCENCE AND OF EXPERIENCE: - FROM INNOCENCE TO EXPERIENCE TO WISE INNOCENCE (TITLE) BY Robert W .
    [Show full text]
  • VAUGHAN WILLIAMS His Broadcasting Career Covers Both Radio and Television
    557643bk VW US 16/8/05 5:02 pm Page 5 8.557643 Iain Burnside Songs of Travel (Words by Robert Louis Stevenson) 24:03 1 The Vagabond 3:24 The English Song Series • 14 DDD Iain Burnside enjoys a unique reputation as pianist and broadcaster, forged through his commitment to the song 2 Let Beauty awake 1:57 repertoire and his collaborations with leading international singers, including Dame Margaret Price, Susan Chilcott, 3 The Roadside Fire 2:17 Galina Gorchakova, Adrianne Pieczonka, Amanda Roocroft, Yvonne Kenny and Susan Bickley; David Daniels, 4 John Mark Ainsley, Mark Padmore and Bryn Terfel. He has also worked with some outstanding younger singers, Youth and Love 3:34 including Lisa Milne, Sally Matthews, Sarah Connolly; William Dazeley, Roderick Williams and Jonathan Lemalu. 5 In Dreams 2:18 VAUGHAN WILLIAMS His broadcasting career covers both radio and television. He continues to present BBC Radio 3’s Voices programme, 6 The Infinite Shining Heavens 2:15 and has recently been honoured with a Sony Radio Award. His innovative programming led to highly acclaimed 7 Whither must I wander? 4:14 recordings comprising songs by Schoenberg with Sarah Connolly and Roderick Williams, Debussy with Lisa Milne 8 Songs of Travel and Susan Bickley, and Copland with Susan Chilcott. His television involvement includes the Cardiff Singer of the Bright is the ring of words 2:10 World, Leeds International Piano Competition and BBC Young Musician of the Year. He has devised concert series 9 I have trod the upward and the downward slope 1:54 The House of Life • Four poems by Fredegond Shove for a number of organizations, among them the acclaimed Century Songs for the Bath Festival and The Crucible, Sheffield, the International Song Recital Series at London’s South Bank Centre, and the Finzi Friends’ triennial The House of Life (Words by Dante Gabriel Rossetti) 26:27 festival of English Song in Ludlow.
    [Show full text]
  • The Mental Traveller”: Man’S Eternal Journey
    ARTICLE “The Mental Traveller”: Man’s Eternal Journey Izak Bouwer, Paul McNally Blake/An Illustrated Quarterly, Volume 12, Issue 3, Winter 1978-79, pp. 184- 192 184 "THE MENTAL TRAVELLER": MAN'S ETERNAL JOURNEY The spiritual States of the Soul are all Eternal Distinguish between the man, & his present State (Jerusalem 52, El 98, K681) IZAK BOUWER & PAUL McNALLY he Mental Traveller" describes a cycle in Traveller" portrays the successive states through which two figures, one male and one female, which Man passes on his eternal journey, as deter- T grow from infancy to old age and back to mined by the complementary interplay of two prin- infancy again. Each grows younger as the other grows ciples in him: the Spiritual, expressed through his older, so that each is oldest when the other is at imaginative faculty, and the Natural, expressed 5 the point of birth. This curious round of change through his earthly nature. This theme of Man's becomes understandable when we realize that the eternal journey was of profound importance to Blake, figures personify two complementary principles. How- and inspires his entire mythology, so that the poem ever, the interpretation of these principles and of emerges as a compact counterpart to his major work, their cycle of change has proved to be puzzling and and a summary of his spiritual vision. controversial. Of two main critical traditions, the earlier represents the cycle as essentially proto- It was Blake's conviction that "Mental Things typical of cyclic process, and in particular of are alone Real" {VLJ, E555, K617), and he considered historical cycles.2 Such a generalizing approach is it his great task to "open the Eternal Worlds, to out of character for Blake, and the cyclic processes open the immortal Eyes / Of Man inwards into the of history are certainly within the grasp of "cold Worlds of Thought: into Eternity ..." {Jerusalem Earth wanderers," while this cycle is explicitly said 5:18-19, E146, K623).
    [Show full text]
  • Poems and Fairy Tales Program (SCROLL)
    Poems and Fairy Tales Anna Ball, soprano Annie Winkelman, oboe Lauren Winkelman, piano from Ten Blake Songs (1958) Ralph Vaughan Williams Infant Joy The Piper The Lamb The Divine Image Eternity In Sleep the World is Yours (2014) Lori Laitman Lullaby Yes Tragedy from Three Fairy Tales (1997) Marcia Kraus The Little Mermaid The Ugly Duckling Please join us outdoors for a reception following the performance. Wednesday, June 16, 2021 7:00 p.m. Knollwood Baptist Church www.knollwood.org/live Then every man, of every clime, Eternity Ten Blake Songs That prays in his distress, He who binds to himself a Joy poetry by William Blake Prays to the human form divine, Doth the wingèd life destroy; Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace. But he who kisses the Joy as it flies Infant Joy The Lamb Live in Eternity’s sunrise. "I have no name: Little Lamb, who made thee? And all must love the human form, In heathen, Turk, or Jew; I am but two days old." Dost thou know who made thee? The look of love alarms, Where Mercy, Love, and Pity dwell What shall I call thee? Gave thee life, and bid thee feed, Because it’s fill’d with fire; There God is dwelling too. "I happy am, By the stream and o’er the mead; But the look of soft deceit Joy is my name." Gave thee clothing of delight, Shall win the lover’s hire. Sweet joy befall thee! Softest clothing wooly, bright; Gave thee such a tender voice, Soft deceit and idleness, Pretty Joy! Making all the vales rejoice? These are beauty’s sweetest dress.
    [Show full text]
  • Issues) and Begin (Cambridge UP, 1995), Has Recently Retired from Mcgill with the Summer Issue
    AN ILLUSTRATED QUARTERLY VOLUME 31 NUMBER 1 SUMMER 1997 s-Sola/ce AN ILLUSTRATED QUARTERLY VOLUME 31 NUMBER 1 SUMMER 1997 CONTENTS Articles Angela Esterhammer, Creating States: Studies in the Performative Language of John Milton Blake, Wollstonecraft, and the and William Blake Inconsistency of Oothoon Reviewed by David L. Clark 24 by Wes Chapman 4 Andrew Lincoln, Spiritual History: A Reading of Not from Troy, But Jerusalem: Blake's William Blake's Vala, or The Four Zoas Canon Revision Reviewed by John B. Pierce 29 by R. Paul Yoder \7 20/20 Blake, written and directed by George Coates Lorenz Becher: An Artist in Berne, Reviewed by James McKusick 35 Switzerland by Lorenz Becher 22 Correction Reviews Deborah McCollister 39 Frank Vaughan, Again to the Life of Eternity: William Blake's Illustrations to the Poems of Newsletter Thomas Gray Tyger and ()//;<•/ Tales, Blake Society Web Site, Reviewed by Christopher Heppner 24 Blake Society Program for 1997 39 CONTRIBUTORS Morton D. Paley, Department of English, University of Cali• fornia, Berkeley CA 94720-1030 Email: [email protected] LORENZ BECHER lives and works in Berne, Switzerland as artist, English teacher, and househusband. G. E. Bentley, Jr., 246 MacPherson Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M4V 1A2. The University of Toronto declines to forward mail. WES CHAPMAN teaches in the Department of English at Illi• nois Wesleyan University. He has published a study of gen• Nelson Hilton, Department of English, University of Geor• der anxiety in Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow and gia, Athens, GA 30602 has a hypertext fiction and a hypertext poem forthcoming Email: [email protected] from Eastgate Systems.
    [Show full text]
  • William Blake's “The Little Vagabond” and Organized Religion
    International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences, 5(2) Mar-Apr 2020 |Available online: https://ijels.com/ William Blake’s “The Little Vagabond” and Organized Religion Sun Shuting English Department, North China Electric Power University, China Abstract—This article is an analysis of William Blake’s poem “The Little Vagabond” from the angle of Blake’s views on organized religion. The article identifies three main themes of the poem; happiness, the sacred and the profane and assesses the tension between them. The article assesses the tension between these three in the poem to show Blake’s criticism of organized religion, later developed in his prophetic books. The little vagabond unwittingly identifies a dichotomy of organized religion in its inability to combine happiness with the sacred. Its strictures against happiness make happiness profane. As happiness is exiled to only keep company with the profane, the boy innocently suggests making the sacred the profane. Blake develops these ideas in molding his character of Urizon, the cold lawgiver, father of stern and somber organized religion. Keywords— Christianity, organized religion, Songs of Innocence and Experience, The Little Vagabond, William Blake. I. INTRODUCTION of the poems also hint at the vulnerability of Innocence and “The Little Vagabond” is a William Blake poem of 1794. It the dangerous encroachment of the world of Experience on appears in his Songs of Innocence and Experience, a its simple joys. These poems are usually accompanied by compendium of two poetry anthologies. This book illustrations of bucolic harmony. Experience corresponds appeared in two phases. At first Songs of Innocence to the Fallen world of division and hostility, which arises in appeared in 1789 on its own with Blake illuminating and the rule-governed, cold world of scientific objectivity.
    [Show full text]
  • PBS Lesson Series
    PBS Lesson Series ELA: Grade 8, Lesson 7, William Blake Part II Lesson Focus: The focus of today’s lesson will be on William Blake’s poetry and argumentative writing. Practice Focus: Students will analyze one of Blake’s poems, “A Poison Tree,” in order to determine its meaning. Students will also analyze an argumentative essay on Blake’s poem in order to study author’s craft in writing arguments. Objective: Students will use “A Poison Tree” and “Analysis of ‘A Poison Tree’” to learn about William Blake’s poem and to learn about author’s craft in writing arguments. Academic Vocabulary: wiles, beheld, stole, veil’d, connotation, figurative, personification, symbolism, cohesion, resentment, unexpressed, nurtures, hyperbole, grievance, transitional phrase, literary device TN Standards: 8.RI.KID.1, 8.RI.KID.3, 8.RI.CS.4, 8.RI.IKI.8, 8.RL.KID.1, 8.RL.KID.2, 8.RL.KID.3, 8.RL.CS.4, 8.RL.CS.5, 8.RL.CS.6 Teacher Materials: Lesson script Chart paper o Will need to write out the TPCASTT template onto chart paper; you only need to include the headings for each section as the commentary will be covered in the script o Will need to write the independent practice questions on chart paper so students can see them and copy them onto their own paper Student Materials: Paper, pencil, and a surface to write on Teacher Do Students Do Opening (1 min) Students gather materials for the Hello! Welcome to Tennessee’s At Home Learning Series for lesson and prepare to engage with literacy! Today’s lesson is for all our 8th graders out there, the lesson’s content.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction
    Introduction The notes which follow are intended for study and revision of a selection of Blake's poems. About the poet William Blake was born on 28 November 1757, and died on 12 August 1827. He spent his life largely in London, save for the years 1800 to 1803, when he lived in a cottage at Felpham, near the seaside town of Bognor, in Sussex. In 1767 he began to attend Henry Pars's drawing school in the Strand. At the age of fifteen, Blake was apprenticed to an engraver, making plates from which pictures for books were printed. He later went to the Royal Academy, and at 22, he was employed as an engraver to a bookseller and publisher. When he was nearly 25, Blake married Catherine Bouchier. They had no children but were happily married for almost 45 years. In 1784, a year after he published his first volume of poems, Blake set up his own engraving business. Many of Blake's best poems are found in two collections: Songs of Innocence (1789) to which was added, in 1794, the Songs of Experience (unlike the earlier work, never published on its own). The complete 1794 collection was called Songs of Innocence and Experience Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul. Broadly speaking the collections look at human nature and society in optimistic and pessimistic terms, respectively - and Blake thinks that you need both sides to see the whole truth. Blake had very firm ideas about how his poems should appear. Although spelling was not as standardised in print as it is today, Blake was writing some time after the publication of Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Intertextuality, Intermediality and Mediality in Benjamin Britten's
    Intertextuality, Intermediality and Mediality in Benjamin Britten’s Nocturne, Op. 60 Von der Falkutät für Geistes- und Erziehungswissenschaften der Technischen Universität Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig zur Erlangung des Grades Doktor der Philosophie (Dr. phil.) genehmigte Dissertation von Kenton Emery Barnes aus Toledo, Ohio, USA Eingereicht am 11.06.2012 Mündliche Prüfung am 28.08.2012 Referent: Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Heinze Korreferent: Prof. Dr. Hero Janßen Druckjahr 2017 Intertextualität, Intermedialität und Medialität in Benjamin Brittens Nocturne, Op. 60 Benjamin Britten ist nicht nur einer der am meisten verehrten Komponisten Großbritanniens, sondern zugleich auch einer der Komponisten, über die äußerst kontrovers diskutiert wird. Kritiker bewerten seine Musik auf sehr unterschiedliche Art und Weise. Einige halten seine Musik für zu altmodisch und zu sehr den Traditionen der Tonalität verbunden, andere bewerten sie als zu modern und schwer zugänglich, an Atonalität grenzend. Aber wie soll man Brittens Musik betrachten? Setzt sie die Traditionen der romantischen Komponisten des 19. Jahrhunderts fort? Ja, dies ist der Fall, jedoch bringt Britten diese Konventionen an ihre Grenzen. Ist Brittens Musik atonal? Obwohl manche Kritiker der Ansicht sind, dass seine Kompositionen abstrakt sind, bleibt er den etablierten Konventionen der Musik doch treu. Nicht zu bestreiten ist, dass Brittens gesangliche Kompositionen in ihrer Poesie nur schwer zu übertreffen sind. Er vertonte Gedichte von bedeutenden Dichtern wie Arthur Rimbaud, Victor Hugo, Paul Verlaine, Henry Longfellow, William Shakespare, Edith Sitwell, Emily Brontë und William Blake. Alles in allem vertonte Britten mehr als 300 Gedichte von nicht weniger als neunzig Dichtern. Die vorliegende Arbeit Intertextualität, Intermedialität und Medialität in Benjamin Brittens Nocturne, Op.
    [Show full text]
  • New Risen from the Grave: Nineteen Unknown Watercolors by William Blake
    ARTICLE New Risen from the Grave: Nineteen Unknown Watercolors by William Blake Martin Butlin Blake/An Illustrated Quarterly, Volume 35, Issue 3, Winter 2002, pp. 68-73 Cromek. Suffice it to say that John Flaxman, in a letter of 18 ARTICLES October 1805, wrote that "Mr. Cromak has employed Blake to make a set of 40 drawings from Blair's poem of the Grave New Risen from the Grave: 20 of which he proposes [to] have engraved by the Designer ..." (Bentley (2001) 279). Blake himself, in a letter to Will- Nineteen Unknown Watercolors iam Hayley of 27 November 1805, wrote that about two by William Blake months earlier "my Friend Cromek" had come "to me de- siring to have some of my Designs, he namd his Price & wishd me to Produce him Illustrations to The Grave A Poem BY MARTIN BUTLIN by Robert Blair, in consequence of this I produced about twenty Designs which pleasd so well that he with the same hat is certainly the most exciting Blake discovery since liberality with which he set me about the Drawings, has now WI began work on the artist, and arguably the most set me to Engrave them."2 Cromek, in the first version of important since Blake began to be appreciated in the sec- his Prospectus, dated November 1805, advertised "A NEW AND ond half of the nineteenth century, started in a deceptively ELEGANT EDITION OF BLAIR'S GRAVE, ILLUSTRATED WITH FIFTEEN low-key way. A finished watercolor for the engraving of "The PRINTS FROM DESIGNS INVENTED AND TO BE ENGAVED BY WILLIAM Soul Hovering over the Body," published in Robert Cromek's BLAKE ..
    [Show full text]
  • William Blake, Poet and Mystic
    LIBRARY ANNEX 1 ; , .rJ'MW*vl*l-r'rm CORNELL t UNIVERSITY LIBRARY FROM A FUND RECEIVED BY BEQUEST OF WILLARD-FISKE 1831-1904 FIRST LIBRARIAN OP THIS UNIVERSITY : 1 868- 1 883 The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924013436492 WILLIAM BLAKE WILLIAM BLAKE POET AND MYSTIC By P. BERGER Docteur-es-Lettres Professor of English Lahguage and Literature in the Lyc^e and Lecturer in the University of Bordeauxj Authorized Translation from the French by DANIEL H. CONNER. LONDON CHAPMAN & HALL, LTD. 1914 THE WESTMINSTER PRESS LONDON, W. To EMILE LEGOUIS Professor at the Sorbonne In recognition of His Sympathy and Encouragement. Oh ! never rudely will I blame his faith In the might of stars and angels ! . Delightedly dwells he 'mong fays and talismans And spirits ; and delightedly believes Divinities, being himself divine." S. T. Coleridge. NOTE The Author desires to thank Mr. John Sampson and the Authorities of the Clarendon Press for per- mission to quote from the text of The French Revolution, published—^for the first time—in the Oxford Edition (1913) of Blake's Poetical Works. CONTENTS PAGE I : THE MAN : HIS LIFE I Introduction 3 II His Life 22 III His Character 43 IV His Visions j 48 II : THE MYSTIC : HIS DOCTRINES \y General Character of his Works and his System 63 - VI Mysticism and its various Forms 68 lyil His Theories—The Work of Demolition—Negation of the Senses and of Reason 76 ly^III Constructive Work—Imagination and Symbolism 86 iJX His Universe—The Creation of the World : Spectre and Emanation—the Fall and Regeneration of Man 99 (JK The Four Zoas and their Emanations 128; XI His other Creations, and the Worlds they live in 168.
    [Show full text]