William Blake was born on November 28, 1757 in London, England. His parents, James and Catherine, realized early on that their son was not like most other children his age; he spoke of “visions” of God and angels, so they allowed him to study from home. At ten years old, he decided he wanted to become an artist and was sent to drawing school, where he began to write poetry. When that became too expensive and Blake turned 14, his parents sent him to apprentice with an engraver for seven years. In 1782, Blake married Catherine Boucher and taught her to read and write. Eventually, she was able to help in Blake’s short-lived printshop business, as well as with the printing process for publishing his works of poetry. The business did not hold up and forced Blake to work as an engraver and illustrator for the rest of his life, simultaneously writing poetry and prose.

Just a year after marrying Catherine, Blake published his first collection of poems called Poetical Sketches. The poems, while they are ostensibly novice works modeled after classic forms and authors, demonstrate Blake’s ideals and opinions about government and diplomacy. His next two publications, Songs of Innocence (1789) and Songs of Experience (1794), were printed with illustrations, painted by hand in watercolors. The poetry in both was considered to be directed towards children, but satire undermined Blake’s simplistic language. He fostered unconventional and radical beliefs and was considered by many to be insane, most likely because of his tendency to put the imagination before logic.

Blake wrote several works of prose as well, such as The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790) in which he evaluated those in authority in religious and government organizations. During the last decade of the eighteenth century, Blake wrote “prophetic” books in which he chronicled the soul’s struggle to be freed from religion, law, and logic. Most of Blake’s other prose and epic poetry is completely void of conventional literary practices, such as a plot. Works like Milton (1804-1808) and Jerusalem (1804-1820), written after years of studying classic languages and literature in Felpham, England, reflect Blake’s deep-seated interest in spirituality.

Blake wrote and illustrated without apology, willing to compromise popularity for creativity and faithfulness to his beliefs. He lived for most of his life in poverty, and his last few years were no exception; he died debt-free, but was by no means a man of extravagance. His last venture, illustrating Dante’s Divine Comedy, kept him occupied until his death in 1827.