William Blake’s (1757-1827) works were foundational to the nascent English Romantic movement, and they remain influential to this day. Born and raised in London, Blake claimed to experience spiritual visions from a very early age. He took up painting at age 10, and started writing poetry soon thereafter.
Throughout adulthood, Blake made his living illustrating books and making engravings. His first book, Poetical Sketches, was published in 1783. His two most popular collections, Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, were published in 1789 and 1794, respectively. Both originally included illustrations by Blake.
Blake’s poetry, especially in his two most famous books, is known for its poignant combination of childlike simplicity, imaginative transcendence, and dark meditations on death. Meanwhile, some of his lesser known poems take the form of sprawling semi-narrative treatises on the imagination/reality dichotomy, history, politics, nature, and anything else that Blake sees fit to include in his mythology.
Blake and his wife, Catherine Boucher, had no children. Although he enjoyed a small following by the end of his life, widespread recognition came only after his death, and Blake never made a living from his poems.
William Blake Poems:
Blake is. He illustrated all of his own works.