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
Humility is only doubt, / And does the sun and moon blot out.
Children of the future AgeReading this indignant page,Know that in a former timeLove! sweet Love! was thought a crime.
Can I see another's woe, and not be in sorrow, too? Can I see another's grief, and not seek for kind relief?
Can I see another's woe, / And not be in sorrow too?
Sleep, sleep, beauty bright,Dreaming in the joys of night;Sleep, sleep; in thy sleepLittle sorrows sit and weep.
Sleep, sleep, beauty bright, Dreaming in the joys of night; Sleep, sleep; in thy sleep Little sorrows sit and weep.
I looked for my soul but my soul I could not see. I looked for my God but my God eluded me. I looked for a friend and then I found all three.
I heard an Angel singingWhen the day was springing,"Mercy, Pity, PeaceIs the world's release.
I must Create a System, or be enslaved by another Man's; / I will not Reason and Compare; my business is to Create.
Then every man of every clime,That prays in his distress,Prays to the human form divine,Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace.
But to go to school in a summer morn, Oh, it drives all joy away! Under a cruel eye outworn, The little ones spend the day in sighing and dismay
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.
Great Men & Fools do often me InspireBut the Greater Fool the Greater Liar.
For the Eye altering alters all;The Senses roll themselves in fearAnd the flat Earth becomes a Ball.