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
He's a Blockhead who wants a proof of what heCan't PerceiveAnd he's a Fool who tries to make such aBlockhead believe.
The apple tree never asks the beech how he shall grow, nor the lion the horse, how he shall take his prey.
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.
How sweet I roamed from field to field, and tasted all the summer's pride.
I do not like the man's face. He looks as if he will live to be hanged.
The road to excess leads to the palace of wisdom...for we never know what is enough until we know what is more than enough.
And I made a rural pen, / And I stained the water clear, / And I wrote my happy songs / Every child may joy to hear.
The hum of multitudes was there, but multitudes of lambs,Thousands of little boys and girls raising their innocent hands.
The essentials to happiness are something to love, something to do, and something to hope for.
The head Sublime, the heart Pathos, the genitals Beauty, the hands & feet Proportion.
The harlot's cry from street to street / Shall weave old England's winding-sheet.
And now the time returns again: / Our souls exult, and London's towers / Receive the Lamb of God to dwell / In England's green and pleasant bowers.