This open access book introduces William Blake's works in illuminated printing, from 1788 to 1795, meeting the need for a clear and accessible guide to the poet’s daunting complexities. It is addressed to readers who may know nothing about this poet-printer, or about the religious, historical, scientific and philosophical texts with which he engages, leading the reader progressively from the basic premises of Blake’s thought to the most complex ‘prophecies’ of his Lambeth period, explaining how and why Blake needs to write and publish in the way he does. In the process readers will learn to appreciate Blake’s methods and gain a clear understanding of the issues he addressed. The book shows in accessible terms how Blake’s engagement with thinkers he repeatedly denounced as enemies, including John Locke and Epicurus, influenced his reading of the Bible and of its great poetic interpreter John Milton. It begins with fundamentals, introducing Blake’s unusual conception of human identity, and his challenging attitude to suffering and to the death of the body. And it gives a brief outline of ‘Blake the Bloke’, including his social circumstances, working methods and the personal influences that explain his unusual views.

The book works through these issues in a series of readings of each of the early illuminated works. A chapter is devoted to each work, providing a clear contextualization and a detailed reading which keeps in mind the major trends within Blake criticism and--above all--the desire to make Blake accessible to readers. It is an introduction that will be useful both to new readers and to experienced ones.

Andrew Lincoln is Emeritus Professor of English at Queen Mary University of London, UK. His publications on Blake include widely different approaches, from work tailored to the needs of scholarly specialists (the complex textual problems thrown up by Blake's habit of revision) to commentary aimed at a wide readership (as editor of the Blake Trust edition of Songs of Innocence and of Experience, 1993).