W.J. THOMAS MITCHELL Blake's Composite Art A Study of the Illuminated Poetry PRINCETON LEGACY LIBRARY BLAKE'S COMPOSITE ART BLAKE'S COMPOSITE ART A Study of the Illuminated Poetry W. J. T. Mitchell PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY Princeton Legacy Library edition 2019 Paperback ISBN: 978-0-691-61356-7 Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-691-65613-7 Copyright © 1978 by Princeton University Press Published by Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, Guildford, Surrey ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data will be found on the last printed page of this book Printed in the United States of America by Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey First Princeton Paperback printing, 1982 TO THE MEMORY OF EARL R. WASSERMAN Contents List of Illustrations ix Preface xv Abbreviations xix Chapter One. BLAKE'S COMPOSITE ART 3 I. Visual-Verbal Dialectics 4 II. Blake and the Tradition of the Sister Arts 14 i. Illustration: Visual Translation and Visionary Transformation 17 2. Pictorialist Poetry and Visionary Prophecy 20 3. The Picture as Text: Narrative, Allegory, and Vision 24 4. Painting Plus Poetry or Painting Times Poetry 30 III. The Unity of Blake's Composite Art 34 Chapter Tivo. BLAKE'S PICTORIAL STYLE 40 I. Technical Discriminations and the Life of Forms 40 II. The Interplay of Color and Line: A Critique of the Descriptive Catalogue 44 III. Compositional Dynamics and the Life of the Body 53 IV. Linear Schemata: The Structures of the Elements and of the Senses 58 V. Metamorphoses of the Vortex 69 Chapter Three. THE FORM OF INNOCENCE: Poetic and Pictorial Design in The Book of Thel 78 I. Structuring Reader Response: Claritas and Difficultas 78 II. Ambiguities of Plot and Theme: Some Versions of the Pastoral 81 III. Resolution, Independence, and Nothingness: The Uses of Selfhood 87 IV. The Illustrations: Style and Staging 95 VIl CONTENTS Chapter Four. THE HUMAN ILLUSION: Poetic and Pictorial Design in The Book of Urizen 107 I. The Void Outside Existence: Urizen and the Prophecies of the Lambeth Period 107 II. Wit, Humor, and Revolutionary Epic 111 III. Transvaluing Values: The Parody of Milton 114 IV. Transforming Forms: The Critique of Time and Space 122 V. Nothingness, Illusion, and the Fortunate Fall 131 VI. "Dark Visions of Torment": Urizen as Picture Gallery 137 i. Narrative and Antinarrative in the Sequence of Plates 137 2. Framing Elements: Title page, Preludium, and Final Plate 140 3. The Spaces of Hell 145 4. The Spaces of Heaven 152 5. The Spaces of Earth 157 Chapter Five. LIVING FORM: Poetic and Pictorial Design in Jerusalem 165 I. Structure and the Problem of Time: A Fourfold Model for Narrative 166 II. Generic Structure: Jerusalem as Comic Encyclopedic Anatomy 171 III. Spatial Structure: Center, Circumference, and the Serpent Temple 176 IV. Structure and Causality: Reading Jerusalem Backwards 182 V. Thematic Structure: The Sexual Politics of Oratory 185 VI. The Perfect Whole and the Minute Particulars 191 VII. The Illustrations: Style, Sequence, and Iconography 192 i. Technical Discriminations: "A Variety in Every Line" 194 2. The Gates of the City 197 VIII. A Conclusion in which Nothing Is Concluded 215 Index 219 Illustrations 235 VlIl List of Illustrations ALL illustrations are by Blake unless otherwise designated. Copies of illuminated books are identified by the letter assigned to them in the Keynes-Wolf Census. Plate numbers follow Erdman, TIB. i. Songs of Experience, copy I. Frontispiece. The Widener Col- lection, Harvard University 2. Songs of Innocence, copy Z. Frontispiece. Library of Congress, Rosenwald Collection 3. Albrecht Diirer, St. Christopher with Head Turned Back (1529). Courtesy of The Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mrs. Katherine Kuh 4. Christian Reading in His Book, from Blake's designs for Bun- yan's Pilgrim's Progress. Copyright The Frick Collection, New York 5. Drawing from the manuscript of VaIa, or The Four Zoas, p. 66. British Library 6. America, copy N. Plate 8. Auckland Public Library 7. America, copy N. Plate 10. Auckland Public Library 8. The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, copy C. Title page. The Pierpont Morgan Library 9. Songs of Innocence, copy I. Plate 10: "The Little Black Boy," second illustration. The Widener Collection, Harvard Univer- sity io. Otto van Veen, Amoris Divini Emblemata (Antwerp, 1660), emblem 13: Guardian Angel Presenting the Wayward Soul to God. The New York Public Library, Rare Book Division 11. The Expulsion, from Blake's illustrations to Paradise Lost. The Henry E. Huntington Library 12. The Expulsion. Engraved by Rothwell after E. F. Burney, Milton's Paradise Lost, printed by C. Whittingham for T. Heptinstall (London, 1799), facing p. 371. The Ohio State University Library 13. William Hogarth, A Harlot's Progress, pi. 1: Arrival in London. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1932 14. George Wither, The Choice of Hercules, from A Collection IX LIST OF ILLUSTRATION S of Emblems (London , 1635), Book I, emblem 22. Princeto n Universit y Library, Departmen t of Rare Books 15. Paolo de Matteis , The Choice of Hercules, in Shaftesbury, Second Characters, or The Language of Forms (Birmingham , 1773), Treatise VII, title page. The New York Public Library, Rare Book Division 16. Jerusalem, copy D. Plate 46(32). By permission of the Harvar d College Library 17. Jerusalem, copy D. Plate 44 (detail) . By permission of the Harvar d College Library 18. Milton, copy A. Title page. British Museu m 19. Milton, copy A. Plate 2. British Museu m 20. Milton, copy D. Plate 3. Library of Congress, Rosenwald Collectio n 21. Blake, engraving after Hogarth , The Beggar's Opera, Act III : "When My Her o in Cour t Appears" (1790). The New York Public Library, Print s Division 22. Newton. The Tate Gallery , Londo n 23. Song of Los, copy A. Frontispiece . British Museu m 24. Europe, copy I. Frontispiece . Auckland Public Library 25. Albion rose, color print . British Museu m 26. Europe, copy K. Plate 11. By permission of the Syndics of the Fitzwilliam Museum , Cambridg e 27. The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, copy B. Plate i: "Our End is come. " Bodleian Library, Oxford 28. America, copy N. Plate 9 (detail) . Auckland Public Library 29. Vinons of the Daughters of Albion, copy J. Plate 4 (detail) . Library of Congress, Rosenwald Collectio n 30. Franci s Quarles, Emblemes (London , 1635), Book V, emblem 9. Princeto n Universit y Library, Departmen t of Rare Books 31. Europe, copy I. Plate 2. Auckland Public Library 32. The Angel Michael Binding the Dragon. Fogg Art Museum , Harvar d University , Gift of W. A. White 33. The Epitome of James Hervey's Meditations among the Tombs. The Tate Gallery , Londo n 34. The Lord Answering Job from the Whirlwind. Nationa l Gal- leries of Scotlan d 35. America, copy N. Plate 5. Auckland Public Library 36. The Punishment of Rusttcucci and His Companions, from Blake's designs for The Divine Comedy. Fogg Art Museum , Harvar d University , Grenvill e L. Winthro p Bequest χ LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 37. The Book of Thel, copy O. Title page. Library of Congress, Rosenwald Collection 38. The Book of Thel, copy O. Plate 1. Library of Congress, Rosenwald Collection 39. The Book of Thel, copy O. Plate 2. Library of Congress, Rosenwald Collection 40. The Book of Thel, copy O. Plate 4. Library of Congress, Rosenwald Collection 41. The Book of Thel, copy O. Plate 5. Library of Congress, Rosenwald Collection 42. Francesco Francia, The Madonna Adoring the Infant Jesus. Alte Pinakothek, Munich 43. Albrecht Diirer, The Nativity (detail). National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Rosenwald Collection 44. The Book of Thel, copy O. Plate 6. Library of Congress, Rosenwald Collection 45. Song of Los, copy B. Plate 6. Library of Congress, Rosenwald Collection 46. The Book of Urizen, copy B. Title page. The Pierpont Mor- gan Library 47. The Book of Urizen, copy B. Plate 28. The Pierpont Morgan Library 48. The Book of Urizen, copy B. Plate 2. The Pierpont Morgan Library 49. The Book of Urizen, copy B. Plate 3. The Pierpont Morgan Library 50. Pestilence: The Death of the First Born. Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 51. The Book of Urizen, copy B. Plate 4. The Pierpont Morgan Library 52. Gates of Paradise, copy F. Plate 2: Water. The Henry E. Huntington Library 53. The Book of Urizen, copy B. Plate 5. The Pierpont Morgan Library 54. The Book of Urizen, copy A. Plate 6. Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon 55. The Resurrection. Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Grenville L. Winthrop Bequest 56. Relief of the Orphic God Phanes, Modena. Deutsches Archaeo- logisches Institut, Rome Xl LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 57. Gates of Paradise, copy F. Plate 2: "At length for hatching ripe he breaks the shell." The Henry E. Huntington Library 58. The Mundane Egg. From Jacob Bryant, A New System, or an Analysis of Ancient Mythology, 3 vols. (London, T. Payne, 1774-76), III, pi. IV, facing p. 242. Princeton University Li- brary, Department of Rare Books 59. Elohim Creating Adam. The Tate Gallery, London 60. The Book of Urizen, copy B. Plate 7. The Pierpont Morgan Library 61. The Book of Urizen, copy B. Plate 8. The Pierpont Morgan Library 62. The Book of Urizen, copy B. Plate 9. The Pierpont Morgan Library 63. The Book of Urizen, copy B. Plate 10. The Pierpont Morgan Library 64. The Book of Urizen, copy G. Plate 11. Library of Congress, Rosenwald Collection 65. Europe, copy K. Plate 13. Library of Congress. Rosenwald Collection 66. The Book of Urizen, copy B. Plate 12. The Pierpont Morgan Library 67.