William Blake
William Blake
William Blakewas an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age. His prophetic works have been said to form "what is in proportion to its merits the least read body of poetry in the English language". His visual artistry led one contemporary art critic to proclaim him "far and away the greatest artist Britain has ever produced". In...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionPhilosopher
Date of Birth28 November 1757
A man's worst enemies are thoseOf his own house and family;And he who makes his law a curse,By his own law shall surely die.
Does the Eagle know what is in the pit / Or wilt thou go ask the Mole? / Can Wisdom be put in a silver rod, / Or Love in a golden bowl?
You throw the sand against the windAnd the wind blows it back again.
O Rose, thou art sick! The invisible worm, That flies in the night, In the howling storm, Has found out thy bed Of crimson joy; And his dark secret love Does thy life destroy
Father! father! where are you going? / O do not walk so fast. / Speak, father, speak to your little boy, / Or else I shall be lost.
Every year we are growing by leaps and bounds.
Excess of sorrow laughs, excess of joy weeps.
I sometimes try to be miserable that I may do more work, but find it is a foolish experiment.
I see the Fourfold Man; the Humanity in deadly sleep, / And its fallen Emanation, the Spectre and its cruel Shadow. / I see the Past, Present, and Future existing all at once / Before me.
Some will say,Is not God alone the Prolific? I answer,God only Acts & Is, in existing beings or Men.
See what it is to play unfair!Where cheating is, there's mischief there.
see the world in a grain of sand ... And eternity in an hour.
The moon, like a flowerIn heaven's high bower,With silent delightSits and smiles on the night.
Hear the voice of the Bard! / Who present, past, and future sees; / Whose ears have heard/ The Holy Word / That walked among the ancient trees.