By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
‘The Sick Rose’ was published in William Blake’s Songs of Experience in 1794. The poem remains a baffling one, with Blake’s precise meaning difficult to ascertain. Many different interpretations have been offered, so below we sketch out some of the possible ways of analysing ‘The Sick Rose’ in terms of its imagery.
The most significant events in the history of books on the 28th of November
1582: William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway pay a £40 bond for their marriage licence.
1628: John Bunyan is born. He wrote much of his defining work, The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678), while imprisoned in Bedford Jail. As well as the famous allegory of The Pilgrim’s Progress – which, as well as arguably being an early English novel, also gave us the name of another classic novel, Vanity Fair – Bunyan also wrote a sort of spiritual memoir, Grace Abounding (1666), and The Life and Death of Mr Badman (1680), a sort of follow-up book to The Pilgrim’s Progress.
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.
Here are five of William Blake’s greatest paintings related to books – whether because the illustrations accompanied Blake’s prophetic books or other literary work (such as his poems) or because they actually feature books in a more literal sense. 1. Urizen with his book. In Blake’s own mythology, Urizen (the name is possibly derived from ‘your reason’) … Read more