Andrew Lincoln, Ed., William Blake, Songs of Innocence and of Experience

REVIEW Andrew Lincoln, ed., William Blake, Songs of Innocence and of Experience Irene Tayler Blake/An Illustrated Quarterly, Volume 26, Issue 2, Fall 1992, p. 57 Fall 1992 BLAKE/AN ILLUSTRATED QUARTERLY 57 5 Dan Miller, "Blake and the Deconstruc- 6 Robert N. Essick, William Blake and 8 See, for example, Gerald Graff, Litera tive Interlude," in Critical Paths: Blake and the Language of Adam (Oxford: Claren- ture Against Itself: Literary Ideas in the Argument of Method, ed. Donald Ault don, 1989) 97-103, 150, 195-96, 208-10. Modern Society (Chicago: University of et al. (Durham, N.C.: Duke University 7 Blake, letter to George Cumberland, 12 Chicago Press, 1979); and Frederick Press, 1987) 156. April 1827, E 783. Crews, SkepticalEngagements(New York: Oxford University Press, 1986). finished copies we have. Each of the William Blake. Songs of In 54 plates not only has all the usual attractions of Blake's hand-colored nocence and of Exper Songs, but here he also surrounded ience: Shewing the Two each plate with a delicate water color Contrary States of the border that in each case bears themati- Human Soul. Edited with cally on the content of the plate itself. an Introduction and Notes Several of these borders are extremely by Andrew Lincoln. Prince- complex in design and richly colored, ton: The William Blake as in the case of the combined tide- page, which is wreathed in thorns and Trust/Princeton University flames and half-animate leaf-life. Press, 1991.209 pp. $59.50. Others (like those for "The Blossom" of Innocence and "London" of Exper ience) are restrained and monochro- Reviewed by Irene Tayler matic, as if to suggest that in such strong encounters with the life and death of the spirit, further "decoration" could only detract. 'his is the second volume (after It is pleasant to know that this copy Jerusalem) of a projected col- T was for 55 years owned by the novelist lected edition of Blake's illuminated E. M. Forster; literary history does not because it affords a nice comparison books, under the aegis of the Blake often offer such appropriate conver- with the Oxford paperback color Trust and the general editorship of gences. The book was given to Forster reproduction (likewise based on a late David Bindman. Both for itself and as in 1903 by his aun: Laura May Forster, copy of the Songs), and because it part of this larger project, it is a wel- who inherited it from her father, who includes 12 other color plates for com- come work. received it in turn from John Jebb, parison—offering for example three Part of the pleasure of this lovely Bishop of Limerick, who bought it starkly divergent images of "The volume results from Andrew Lincoln's from Catherine Blake in 1830, three Divine Image," all on a single page. On intelligent introduction and commen- years after William Blake's death. It the other hand it is not clear to me why tary. The Introduction conveys a lot of was Forster who willed it to King's the texts of the Songs needed to be technical and contextual information College, Cambridge, where it has transcribed twice—once facing each in readable English; and the fact that remained one of their great treasures, page of color reproduction, and once the footnotes are on the page (rather much talked of among Blake scholars again at the head of each entry of the than being gathered at the back) is an but never before available to a wide commentary at the back. To my mind, advantage, especially in a volume that audience. the space saved by offering a single readers will wish to handle carefully At $59-50 it will be hard to require transcription might have been put to and conserve for long life. And the students to purchase this edition of the good use in an annotated bibliography commentaries at the back—which de- Songs, even for an advanced Blake of the most important scholarly work scribe and discuss both the text and seminar; but every college library that has been done on the Songs, the plates—are helpful without pre- should own at least two copies, as any replacing the rather brief list of "Works tending to be definitive. student at all interested in Blake's com- Cited" that we have here. But let such But the greatest pleasure by far is the posite art will want to study it carefully, small caveats not cloud my overall color reproduction itself. This volume and every teacher of romantic poetry point: this is a volume that every reproduces the King's College, Cam- will want to keep it on reserve. It will Blakean may joy to own. bridge, copy, which has been called be especially useful as a tool for teach- "Blake's own" copy, and is certainly ing how Blake varied his copies, both one of the most beautiful and finely .

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