By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
‘Jerusalem’ is one of the most famous hymns around, a sort of alternative national anthem for England. Yet the poem on which Hubert Parry based his hymn, although commonly referred to as ‘William Blake’s “Jerusalem”’, is actually from a much larger poetic work titled Milton a Poem and was largely ignored when it was published in 1804.
The history of the classic hymn ‘Jerusalem’ and its literary origins
‘Jerusalem’ is one of the most famous hymns around, a sort of alternative national anthem for England (and some, especially those of a republican persuasion, prefer it to ‘God Save the Queen’). But as with most things which we know well, the hymn called ‘Jerusalem’ is surrounded by misconceptions, legend, and half-truths. We intend, in this post, to clear away some of the mystery in which Blake’s ‘Jerusalem’ is abundantly swathed.