Module Directory

‘I must Create a System, or be enslav'd by another Mans / I will not Reason & Compare: my business is to Create’. So howls Los, William Blake’s alter ego, in the epic poem Jerusalem. Blake’s almost hyperactive creative drive has spurred, fascinated, and confused readers for more than two centuries. People as diverse as poet William Butler Yeats, graphic artist Alan Moore, film director Ridley Scott, and horror writer Thomas Harris, have taken inspiration from Blake’s lyrics, epics, and visual designs. For not only was he a prolific writer of his own wildly original, vast, and evolving mythology, he also engraved and coloured his works. He was a painter, too, as the 2019-2020 Tate Britain exhibition of his work made stunningly apparent. Not that his own artwork paid the bills. Blake was largely unknown in his lifetime and he made his living engraving the works of other writers and artists. Blake was an artisan, at home more in the workshop than the library.

This module focuses entirely on Blake’s literary and visual art, but places this work in a larger historical and intellectual context. We move (generally) chronologically, starting with short manifestos written in the 1780s; then to poetry collections such as Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1789/94), hybrid works such as The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790), and textual-visual composite works such as The [First] Book of Urizen (1794); finally concluding with his major so-called prophecies, Milton: A Poem (1804) and Jerusalem (c.1804-1820). While the module does not focus on contemporary reception, we will end with a film, Jim Jarmusch's acid western Dead Man (1995), as one example of a modern response to Blake.

Blake stands on the threshold of literary Romanticism. At the same time, he can be viewed as a late exemplar of the longer, 18th-century tradition of popular mythographers. His attitudes toward nature, imagination, science, reason, politics, and religion all express a complicated discontinuity with the Enlightenment. We consider Blake’s work within this larger milieu.

The aims of this module are:

• To increase knowledge of William Blake and his world. - develop grounding in the larger Romantic reaction to the Enlightenment.


• To learn about social and legal contexts from child labor to sexual politics to imperial domination to technological innovations.


• To explore questions about the nature and function of art.


• To develop research skills and facility with (digital) archives.

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

1. Identify, analyse, and discuss the literary and visual art of William Blake in the context of Romanticism and the Enlightenment.


2. Speak and write in detail on key historical, philosophical, technological, and aesthetic contexts and features relevant to Blake's art.


3. Compare and contrast Blake with other artists across historical time.


4. Perform research using a range of resources both traditional and contemporary.


5. Interact productively with classmates to share knowledge, reflect on problems, and formulate interpretations.


6. Read and write effectively.

Students will develop the following transferrable skills relevant to a range of future careers:

• Confidence in performing interpretation of written and visual media.


• Competency in navigating archives.


• Flexibility and creativity in both posing and responding to challenging questions.


• Strong written and oral communication.


• Resilience in the face of conceptual and practical challenges.


• Facility in planning and scheduling workflow in order to meet weekly and termly deadlines.

This module on the art of William Blake goes beyond deepening your understanding of this artists own life and work. It also furnishes you with several transferable skills that will be useful in a variety of workplaces. For instance, we will explore how text and image interact--a complex relationship important for any work in digital or media spaces. Further, discussion of Blake's (sexual) politics and religious faith provides essential context for politics and social policy in our own time. Moreover, our examination of what was, in the 1790s, a revolutionary printing technology and its societal impacts remains provides insights relevant to contemporary high-tech fields. Your coursework will require research using a range of information systems and you will need to write clearly and effectively--the latter is a highly-valuable "soft skill" crucial in all workplaces.

The module will be delivered via:

• Weekly two-hour lecture-seminars.

Each week, students will read assigned texts and participate in class discussion. The one exception to this will be the first week, which will serve as an introduction to the module. Students will analyse assigned works and consider how they function internally and in relation to each other and the broader historical and intellectual context.

Information about the module will be provided on Moodle and the Module Directory.