In Blake’s letter to Flaxman he wrote:
“Now my lot in the Heavens is this; Milton lovd me in childhood &
shewd me his face
Ezra came with Isaiah the Prophet, but Shakespeare in riper years
gave me his hand
Paracelsus & Behmen appeard to me. terrors appeard in the Heavens
above
(Erdman 707)
Which seems to mean that Shakespeare meant a great deal to Blake
as a source for his ideas, poetry and pictures
Here are some of the areas in Shakespeare that he used.
In particular Blake produced many pictures and images involving
Shakespeare’s works:
Look for example to this picture of King Lear
In a letter to Hayley dated 1804 Blake wrote about some pictures that he hoped to
have printed including “ Lear & Cordelia. belonging to Mr Walker”
and “,
………………………..an incomparable production, which
Mr. W. bought for five shillings at a broker's shop; it is about
five feet by four, and exquisite for expression; indeed, it is
most pathetic; the heads of Lear and Cordelia can never be
surpassed”
shewd me his face
Ezra came with Isaiah the Prophet, but Shakespeare in riper years
gave me his hand
Paracelsus & Behmen appeard to me. terrors appeard in the Heavens
above
(Erdman 707)
………………………..an incomparable production, which
Mr. W. bought for five shillings at a broker's shop; it is about
five feet by four, and exquisite for expression; indeed, it is
most pathetic; the heads of Lear and Cordelia can never be
surpassed”
Venus and Adonis is a poem by William Shakespeare, written in 1592–1593, with a plot based on passages from Ovid's Metamorphoses. It is a complex, kaleidoscopic work, using constantly shifting tone and perspective to present contrasting views of the nature of love.
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