Eternity's Sunrise: The Imaginative World of William Blake

by Leo Damrosch

Overview

In this richly illustrated portrait, a prize-winning biographer surveys the entire sweep of William Blake’s creative work while telling the story of his life

William Blake, overlooked in his time, remains an enigmatic figure to contemporary readers despite his near canonical status. Out of a wounding sense of alienation and dividedness he created a profoundly original symbolic language, in which words and images unite in a unique interpretation of self and society. He was a counterculture prophet whose art still challenges us to think afresh about almost every aspect of experience—social, political, philosophical, religious, erotic, and aesthetic. He believed that we live in the midst of Eternity here and now, and that if we could open our consciousness to the fullness of being, it would be like experiencing a sunrise that never ends.
 
Following Blake’s life from beginning to end, acclaimed biographer Leo Damrosch draws extensively on Blake’s poems, his paintings, and his etchings and engravings to offer this generously illustrated account of Blake the man and his vision of our world. The author’s goal is to inspire the reader with the passion he has for his subject, achieving the imaginative response that Blake himself sought to excite. The book is an invitation to understanding and enjoyment, an invitation to appreciate Blake’s imaginative world and, in so doing, to open the doors of our perception.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300223644
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	10/25/2016
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	344
Product dimensions:	6.60(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Leo Damrosch is Research Professor of Literature, Harvard University. His previous books include Jonathan Swift: His Life and His World, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in biography and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in biography. He lives in Newton, MA.

Hometown:

Newton, Massachusetts

Date of Birth:

September 14, 1941

Place of Birth:

Manila, Philippines

Education:

B.A., Yale University, 1963; M.A. Cambridge University, 1966; Ph.D., Princeton University, 1968

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

1 The Working Artist 7

2 How Should We Understand Blake's Symbols? 39

3 Innocence 50

4 Experience 67

5 Revolution 96

6 Atoms and Visionary Insight 120

7 "The Gate Is Open" 128

8 Understanding Blake's Myth 139

9 The Zoas and Ourselves 155

10 The Prophetic Call 163

11 Breakthrough to Apocalypse 182

12 "The Torments of Love and Jealousy" 195

13 The Female Will 212

14 Wrestling with God 235

15 The Traveler in the Evening 258

Chronology 273

List of Short Titles 277

Notes 279

Illustration Credits 305

Index 311

Interviews

Praise for Leo Damrosch’s Jonathan Swift: His Life and World

“This will be the definitive life of Swift for years to come.”—Jonathan Bate, New Statesman

“Superb. . . . Damrosch’s outstanding book has raised Swift’s provocative genius to life. . . . Damrosch has brought [Swift’s] vision into sharp focus and exposed its disquieting relevance.”—Jeffrey Collins, Wall Street Journal

“[A] commanding new biography. . . . Damrosch is gifted with a fluent style [and] sturdy sense of humor.”—John Simon, New York Times Book Review (Editor’s Choice)

 “Damrosch tells this story . . . with great energy and elegantly worn erudition. He restores to Swift the dignity he deserves, reminding us that the really shocking things about him lie not in his life but in his work.”—Fintan O’Toole, New York Review of Books

“Leo Damrosch conjures up Jonathan Swift with hallucinatory vividness, allowing the contradictions of this baffling, elusive genius full rein. He recovers in rich detail the world in which Gulliver's Travels and other enduring masterpieces were created. This is a brilliant and humane biography.”—Stephen Greenblatt, author of The Swerve: How the World Became Modern

 “A lively and pleasurable experience: vigorous, compassionate, occasionally pugnacious, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. . . . Damrosch’s book, and the centuries-old voices in it, are alive and talking to us.”—Laura Collins-Hughes, Boston Globe
 

• Winner of the 2013 National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography
• A New York Times Notable Book of 2013
• Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and Plutarch Award
• Named a Best Book of 2013 by the Daily Beast literary editor Lucas Wittmann

Editorial Reviews

"Lucid and absorbing . . . [with] an attractive hint of a secret passion [and] an unusual sense of ease and intimacy with Blake’s work."—Michael Wood, New York Times Book Review

"[An] excellent book, . . . [aiming] to be introductory in the best sense: 'to help nonspecialists appreciate Blake’s profoundly original vision and . . . the symbols in which he conveyed it.' . . . Scores of illustrations and color plates give us a small portion of Blake’s countless prints, engravings and watercolor designs, and his career is treated with admirable fullness."—William Pritchard, Wall Street Journal

"Wise and original."—Rosie Schaap, New York Times Magazine

"An outstanding book . . . [combining] learned analysis with a warm and conversational style. . . . [Its] primary distinction . . . is its intricate analysis of the relation between Blake’s verse and his vivid paintings and etchings — beautifully reproduced here in abundant color plates and illustrations."—Michael Lindgren, Washington Post

"Damrosch’s readings are nuanced, sensitive, and deeply perceptive, touched with wonder at the poet’s originality and alive to the ways that Blake’s beliefs presented 'a wide-ranging challenge to orthodox morality.' With generous illustrations, including a gallery of breathtaking full-color plates, Damrosch’s study will build an appreciation among scholars and general readers alike for Blake’s 'vast, complicated myth' and reinforce his place in the Western canon as a 'profound thinker' and creative genius 'not in a single art but in two.'"—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Acclaimed scholar and biographer Damrosch brings decades of study to this analysis of William Blake's art, poetry, religion, and philosophy. . . . The author's study of the man and clear style makes this much easier to read and tempts readers to seek out more. . . . Damrosch expertly navigates Blake's ‘questing imagination,’ which ‘has never ceased to startle and inspire.’ General readers looking for a challenge will love this book and will dive into Blake's work."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"As I read the first beautifully written chapters of Leo Damrosch’s Eternity’s Sunrise: The Imaginative World of William Blake, I was inspired to look even more carefully at Blake’s composite art. Damrosch’s prose flows, filled with imaginative lucidity."—Susanne Sklar, Arts Fuse

"[An] intimate book, part biography, part critical reflection, and part a scholar’s testimony to the experience of actually teaching Blake over many years. . . . Damrosch writes movingly of his own convictions. . . . The main sweep of his book carries the reader as steadily as possible into the increasingly complex world of Blake’s private mythology, while ingeniously relating it to his illuminated manuscripts (many beautifully reproduced in color, and some decidedly weird). . . . Damrosch keeps a fine eye on the revealing biographical detail that continuously anchors Blake in the real world."—Richard Holmes, New York Review of Books

"[Damrosch] offers this insightful book as ‘an invitation to understanding and enjoyment.’. . . The book also includes nearly 100 reproductions—with 40 color plates—of Blake’s stunning artwork. . . . Damrosch succeeds in making a notoriously difficult poet and artist more accessible. . . . His sharp insights clarify both the context and originality of Blake's art, and his passion for Blake's work is often magnetic. Readers who accept Damrosch's generous invitation will better understand and more deeply enjoy the enduring distinctiveness of Blake's vision."—Christopher J. Scalia, Weekly Standard

"Illuminating and absorbing. . . . In Damrosch’s hands Blake emerges as behemoth and mystic. We see the powerful, insatiable, stubborn commitment to calling which defined Blake’s life, and we also are helped to see freshly the art Blake made to accompany his poems."—Tess Taylor, LitHub

"Thoughtful and thought-provoking . . . . [Damrosch] explains early on that his book is not a straight biography or thorough guide; instead, it is 'an invitation to understanding and enjoyment,' one that unquestionably meets those goals. . . . Of particular value in Damrosch’s book is the inclusion of a series of 40 full-color plates, in addition to black-and-white figures throughout the text. In that sense, Eternity’s Sunrise somewhat mirrors Blake’s innovation of combining words and images into ‘illuminated books.’ In this case, we can admire two great minds at once."—Grace Labatt Parazzoli, Pasatiempo: The Santa Fe New Mexican's Weekly Magazine of Arts, Entertainment & Culture

"Thoroughly illustrated with nearly 100 images, 40 in full color, the volume combines biographical detail with an illuminating reading of Blake's work. . . . The author offers fresh, provocative interpretations of some of Blake’s works and of his relationship to politics, religion, women, and science. . . . Like a good film trailer, this book generates a desire to learn more."—Choice

"[A] beautiful book. . . . [Damrosch] provides us with a captivating, complex account of Blake’s struggles to make a powerful vision out of the divisions and difficulties of life."—Jeffrey N. Cox, Studies in English Literature 1500-1900

"An engaging and illuminating study that presents an inspiring vision of Blake."—Diane Piccitto, Modern Philology

“For any general reader who seeks a more in-depth engagement with Blake’s work, for budding Romanticists who want to find that golden thread into Blake’s complex mythology, and for longtime Blake readers who would appreciate Damrosch’s deft handling of the art and poetry that they love.”—James Rovira, European Romantic Review

"For someone wondering what all the hubbub is about concerning Blake, Damrosch’s book may be just the thing."—R. Paul Yoder, Blake: An Illustrated Quarterly
 

“Damrosch’s winning devotion is to make Blake’s unique, quirky genius accessible and engaging to those outside of Blakeworld . . . a grand gambit.”—Susan J. Wolfson, Journal of Romanticism

New York Times Book Review, Editors’ Choice

A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2015

Finalist for the 2015 National Book Critics Circle award in the criticism category

Shortlisted for the 2016 Christian Gauss Award given by the Phi Beta Kappa Society

"This astute, generously illustrated study is an excellent introduction to William Blake. It will help both new and experienced readers to understand Blake as poet, painter, engraver, printer—and as a person."—Andrew Lincoln, Queen Mary University of London

"Leo Damrosch’s luminous new book on William Blake forsakes esoteric scholarship and addresses itself to the common reader who is invited to a festive celebration of the great English poet who was also an extraordinary visual artist and a profound and original thinker."—Harold Bloom

From the Publisher

…lucid and absorbing…There is an attractive hint of a secret passion in [Damrosch's] telling us that "after half a century of living with Blake," he remains "in awe of the depth and range" of the poet's genius. This awe is accompanied by an unusual sense of ease and intimacy with Blake's work. Eternity's Sunrise has a biographical shape, but as Damrosch says, "it is not a systematic biography." It describes Blake's early life, maps out his London and the intellectual and artistic culture of his time, tells us about his marriage, his friendships, his death. But the heart of the book is in its evocation of the complexities of the early poems, and the "kaleidoscopic dreams" of the vast later works, where Blake sought to display the secret history of creation and of humanity's submission to an alien, authoritarian God.

The New York Times Book Review - Michael Wood

★ 08/24/2015
Damrosch (Jonathan Swift) extends “an invitation to understanding and enjoyment” of poet William Blake (1757–1827) by bringing to life the inner logic and “imaginative reality” that governs his body of work. This exemplary study begins with a primer on reading Blake’s verse, presented alongside his engravings, and goes on to explicate the artist’s “dynamic, not iconic” recurrent symbols, revolutionary ideas, and “personal myth” that over his lifetime grew “challengingly complicated and increasingly strange.” At ease with the complexities of the historical period as well as his subject’s inward torments, Damrosch leads the reader through Blake’s life and work with thoughtful clarity and frequent affection, exploring the well-studied poems and making accessible more abstruse works such as The Four Zoas, Milton, and Jerusalem. Damrosch’s readings are nuanced, sensitive, and deeply perceptive, touched with wonder at the poet’s originality and alive to the ways that Blake’s beliefs presented “a wide-ranging challenge to orthodox morality.” With generous illustrations, including a gallery of breathtaking full-color plates, Damrosch’s study will build an appreciation among scholars and general readers alike for Blake’s “vast, complicated myth” and reinforce his place in the Western canon as a “profound thinker” and creative genius “not in a single art but in two.” 40 color plates and 56 b&w illus. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

“Thoroughly illustrated with nearly 100 images, 40 in full color, the volume combines biographical detail with an illuminating reading of Blake's work. . . . The author offers fresh, provocative interpretations of some of Blake’s works and of his relationship to politics, religion, women, and science. . . . Like a good film trailer, this book generates a desire to learn more.”—Choice

Choice

Shortlisted for the 2016 Christian Gauss Award given by the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

Phi Beta Kappa - Christian Gauss Award

“Thoughtful and thought-provoking . . . . [Damrosch] explains early on that his book is not a straight biography or thorough guide; instead, it is ‘an invitation to understanding and enjoyment,’ one that unquestionably meets those goals. . . . Of particular value in Damrosch’s book is the inclusion of a series of 40 full-color plates, in addition to black-and-white figures throughout the text. In that sense, Eternity’s Sunrise somewhat mirrors Blake’s innovation of combining words and images into ‘illuminated books.’ In this case, we can admire two great minds at once.”—Grace Labatt Parazzoli, Pasatiempo: The Santa Fe New Mexican's Weekly Magazine of Arts, Entertainment & Culture

Pasatiempo: The Santa Fe New Mexican's Weekly Magazine of Arts, Entertainment & Culture - Grace Labatt Parazzoli

“An outstanding book . . . [combining] learned analysis with a warm and conversational style. . . . [Its] primary distinction . . . is its intricate analysis of the relation between Blake’s verse and his vivid paintings and etchings — beautifully reproduced here in abundant color plates and illustrations.”—Michael Lindgren, Washington Post

Washington Post - Michael Lindgren

“Illuminating and absorbing. . . In Damrosch’s hands Blake emerges as behemoth and mystic. We see the powerful, insatiable, stubborn commitment to calling which defined Blake’s life, and we also are helped to see freshly the art Blake made to accompany his poems.”—Tess Taylor, LitHub

LitHub - Tess Taylor

“Wise and original.”—Rosie Schaap, New York Times Magazine

New York Times Magazine - Rosie Schaap

Finalist for the 2015 National Book Critics Circle award in the criticism category.

NBCC - Award

“[Damrosch] offers this insightful book as ‘an invitation to understanding and enjoyment.’. . . The book also includes nearly 100 reproductions—with 40 color plates—of Blake’s stunning artwork. . . . Damrosch succeeds in making a notoriously difficult poet and artist more accessible. . . . His sharp insights clarify both the context and originality of Blake's art, and his passion for Blake's work is often magnetic. Readers who accept Damrosch's generous invitation will better understand and more deeply enjoy the enduring distinctiveness of Blake's vision.”—Christopher J. Scalia, Weekly Standard

Weekly Standard - Christopher J. Scalia

‘Damrosch captures Blake’s creativity in all its complexity, bringing to life his work as a poet, engraver and painter in a revolutionary age’ – Nicholas Roe, Literary Review

Literary Review - Nicholas Roe

“[An] intimate book, part biography, part critical reflection, and part a scholar’s testimony to the experience of actually teaching Blake over many years. . . . Damrosch writes movingly of his own convictions. . . . The main sweep of his book carries the reader as steadily as possible into the increasingly complex world of Blake’s private mythology, while ingeniously relating it to his illuminated manuscripts (many beautifully reproduced in color, and some decidedly weird). . . . Damrosch keeps a fine eye on the revealing biographical detail that continuously anchors Blake in the real world.”—Richard Holmes, New York Review of Books

New York Review of Books - Richard Holmes

“As I read the first beautifully written chapters of Leo Damrosch’s Eternity’s Sunrise: The Imaginative World of William Blake, I was inspired to look even more carefully at Blake’s composite art. Damrosch’s prose flows, filled with imaginative lucidity.”—Susanne Sklar, Arts Fuse

Arts Fuse - Susanne Sklar

New York Times Book Review, Editors’ Choice

Editors’ Choice - New York Times Book Review

“[An] excellent book, . . . [aiming] to be introductory in the best sense: ‘to help nonspecialists appreciate Blake’s profoundly original vision and . . . the symbols in which he conveyed it.’ . . . Scores of illustrations and color plates give us a small portion of Blake’s countless prints, engravings and watercolor designs, and his career is treated with admirable fullness.”—William Pritchard, Wall Street Journal

Wall Street Journal - William Pritchard

"Leo Damrosch’s luminous new book on William Blake forsakes esoteric scholarship and addresses itself to the common reader who is invited to a festive celebration of the great English poet who was also an extraordinary visual artist and a profound and original thinker."—Harold Bloom

Harold Bloom

“This astute, generously illustrated study is an excellent introduction to William Blake. It will help both new and experienced readers to understand Blake as poet, painter, engraver, printer—and as a person.”—Andrew Lincoln, Queen Mary University of London

Andrew Lincoln

“Lucid and absorbing, . . . [with] an attractive hint of a secret passion [and] an unusual sense of ease and intimacy with Blake’s work.”—Michael Wood, New York Times Book Review

New York Times Book Review - Michael Wood

★ 2015-07-30
Acclaimed scholar and biographer Damrosch (Literature/Harvard Univ.; Jonathan Swift: His Life and His World, 2013, etc.) brings decades of study to this analysis of William Blake's art, poetry, religion, and philosophy.Those with little experience with the 18th-century poet will probably benefit the most from this fascinating work. As the author writes, Blake's poems are undeniably strange, and his genius has always challenged the focus of his readers (he was overlooked during his lifetime). Especially difficult is tracing the complications of the unpublished poem "The Four Zoas" and their feminine emanations. Blake's outlooks on the divine, which is contained in all nature, and institutional religion, which he loathed, show in his invented symbols and unique myths. He sought the incarnation of the divine spirit of the human in the everyday, and he looked at conventional marriage as institutionalized prostitution and conventional religion as theatrical performance. In "London," nothing is sacred as Blake indicts church, law, monarchy, property, and marriage. He produced his own engravings and writings, and those who bought them tended to ignore the text. The author's study of the man and clear style make this much easier to read and tempt readers to seek out more. Blake was a complicated man, given to visions and paranoia, and he often heard voices, and Damrosch guides us through the paths of Blake's mind to ease our journey. Blake's poems and art were used to challenge and inspire, never to preach, and his first works had a social message. His long prophecies were not epics, however; a better analogy is music, as they resembled oratorios with key changes and tempo contrasts. Damrosch expertly navigates Blake's "question imagination," which "has never ceased to startle and inspire." General readers looking for a challenge will love this book and will dive into Blake's work. Many will find him just too far off the beam, but they, too, will enjoy the many color illustrations included in the text.

Kirkus Reviews