| Blake |  | Author: Peter Ackroyd Publisher: Vintage Category: Book
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Seller: abbeybooks- Rating: 8 reviews Sales Rank: 57,043
Media: Paperback Edition: New edition Pages: 464 Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8 Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 1.2
ISBN: 0749391766 Dewey Decimal Number: 821.7 EAN: 9780749391768 ASIN: 0749391766
Publication Date: January 3, 1998 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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Product Description A biography of William Blake who was a poet, painter, engraver and visionary.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 8
William, It Was Really Nothing October 10, 2009 J. J. O'neill (Warrington UK) 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
William Blake must present a unique challenge to a would-be biographer: It is not that nothing happend to the great poet and artist, on the contrary, he met and conversed with some of the greatest figures in history( Virgil, Milton, Harry Hotspur, Socrates,Jesus,etc etc)and witnessed extraordinary events(flocks of angels, spirits, God Himself etc etc) the problem is, of course that all this happened in Blake's internal world, his"real" life is much more mundane.
So, Blake's biographer has to decide whether to descibe his workaday life, as a printer and engraver, a flirtation with real grinding poverty or his mad world of visions and marvels, touched with genius.
Ackroyd, in this long and detailed life story, rightly strikes a balance, Blake's work and relationships are fully described and, as far as possible the visions and voices he experiences are given consideration; The great man's eccentricities are invariably excused as they obviously inspire his genius.
This biography is very strong while considering Blake's poetry, but rather more space is given to his artistic endeavours, particularly the various methods of engraving and/or painting he employed. Personally, I would have preferred more emphasis on the poetry, but clearly Blake is a giant in both fields.
Always sympathetic and admiring of its subject, the only real complaint I had with this absorbing book was that some of the colour plates were of Black and White work, while some of the Black and White illustrations were of colour pictures.
William Blake by Ackroyd May 18, 2009 M. Brendan Flanagan (Paris, France) 3 out of 3 found this review helpful
BlakePeter Ackroyd writes well and succinctly which make his sentences easy to grasp. He uses previous biographical material extensively including Gilchrist and makes his text interesting to the casual reader such as myself.
There are over 60 plates which, although small, do give a sense of Blake as draughtman as well as glimpses of his family and other environmental influences.
Keeping himself out of the narrative shows Ackroyd's discretion and value as a biographer. We get all the information that could interest us and none about the excellent Peter Ackroyd. He thus exemplifies one of the basic rules of good reporting writing: good informative prose and no vertical pronouns which are sadly so common in current writing.
Innocent World May 15, 2009 Captain Pugwash (UK) 4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Peter Ackroyd is clearly passionate about his subject matter, and for students of William Blake or those simply seeking further context for his poetry this is ideal. Accessible and not even faintly patronising; the text is comprehensive and coherent.
A difficult vision to master February 15, 2009 mary C. Irving (Bedfordshire, England) 6 out of 7 found this review helpful
I found this book just too dificult. It is chock full of references to the life around Blake but says little about the man himself. Ditto with references to his work. I requires quite a full existing knowledge of Blake on the reader's part I think.
The structure of the text which relies heavily on end notes is also obscure. It is very fully referenced but lacks sufficient reference within the text to keep it accessible and easily followed.
I was very disappointed
A lyrical and entrancing portrait of an enduring genius August 8, 2005 S. Gardiner 45 out of 49 found this review helpful
Blake's prophetic books are, in proportion to their length and literary importance, amongst the least read texts within the body of English Literature. Certainly, they are the least understood.This is partly because of the notion, common today as it was amongst Blake's contemporaries, that the poet-artist was, at best, an ultrasensitive whose work was not consciously or methodically thought out but merely reflected his changeable mood at the time of writing. Either that or he was a lunatic, and his work the ramblings of a lunatic; this view is, unfortunately, still common today. Ackroyd's examination of Blake's life is important in that it aids in expelling this illusion, both by relating the nature of Blake's time and place to the artist's output, and by being willing to engage Blake on his own ground. For example, Ackroyd at times willingly entertains the veracity of Blake's frequent visions, which is an engaging angle for the reader seeking to penetrate fully into Blake's world (and an attitude less likely to be found in a more academic study). At others, he substitutes the notion that Blake's imaginative faculties were of such a magnitude as to invade his ocular sense: he literally saw what he fancied. Either way, Blake is far from a madman and closer to a genius; consequently, one can feel the grain of his life - as he lived it - passing under the fingertips as they turn the pages. This biography is that rare thing amongst its kind that allows the reader to engage with the subject's life, as well as observe it; at times, it allows moments of genuine love for the pugnacious Londoner who remains so little understood. Alone, it will not grant an understanding of Blake's poetry or art, particularly his prophetic works; this is not Ackroyd's intention. Rather, it allows a reader (or, more accurately, 'the viewer') of Blake's work, either experienced or virginal, to approach them with the attention, engagement and willingness to understand that they both require and deserve.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 8
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