Blake and Antiquity

by Kathleen Raine

Overview

The classic book on William Blake as prophet of the New Age

William Blake (1757–1827) inhabited a remarkable inner world, one that he brought vividly to life in his poetry, painting, and printmaking. Blake and Antiquity situates this brilliant and enigmatic artist within the Western esoteric canon, revealing his indebtedness to Neoplatonism, the Gnostics, alchemy, and astrology. In this book, Kathleen Raine demonstrates how Blake rejected conventional orthodoxy and went in search among the occult traditions of antiquity for symbols that might expand the mind’s awareness into a spiritual state where space, time, and even death are transcended.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691252100
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	08/15/2023
Series:	The A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts , #35
Pages:	184
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Kathleen Raine (1908–2003) was a British poet, critic, and scholar, and a leading authority on William Blake. Her many books include Blake and Tradition; Golgonooza, City of Imagination: Last Studies in William Blake; and Autobiographies.

Table of Contents

Introduction
List of Illustrations
The Cave of the Nymphs
The Myth of Psyche
The Myth of the Kore or Persephone
The Myth of the Great Year
The Nether-World of Alchemy
Prophet against Science
Select Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

"For Kathleen Raine, Blake was an eighteenth-century herald of a change in thinking that only now is coming to fruition. . . . Blake and Antiquity is the work of a scholar who serves the lovers of literature."

MANAS

'For Kathleen Raine, Blake was an eighteenth century herald of a change in thinking that only now is coming to fruition Blake and Antiquity is the work of a scholar who serves the lovers of literature.' - Manas Magazine

'For Kathleen Raine, Blake was an eighteenth century herald of a change in thinking that only now is coming to fruition Blake and Antiquity is the work of a scholar who serves the lovers of literature.' - Manas Magazine

From the Publisher