Blake and the assimilation of chaos

212 Pages·1978·8.5 MB·English

by  Blake

BLAKE
and the Assimilation
of Chaos

BLAKE
and the Assimilation
of Chaos
Christine Gallant
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
PRINCETON, NEWJERSEY
I S
97
Copyright © 1978 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press,
Guildford, Surrey
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging tn Publication Data will be
found on the last printed page of this book
Publication of this book has been aided by a grant from the
Paul Mellon Fund of Princeton University Press
This book has been composed in V.I.P. Garamond
Clothbound editions of Princeton University Press books are
printed on acid-free paper, and binding materials
are chosen for strength and durability
Printed in the United States of America by Princeton
University Press, Princeton, New Jersey
Listen,
I will tell thee
what is done in moments
to thee unknown.
JERUSALEM 1.7.29

Acknowledgments
JL would like to thank here
those who have helped me along the way as I wrote this book:
James Scoggins, Professor of English at Virginia Poly
technic Institute and State University, whose open-minded
encouragement of a critical approach not at all his own kept
me writing in the early days;
David Erdman, equally and generously tolerant, whose per
ceptive questions led me to see that Blake explored social as
well as psychological Chaos;
and my husband James, also a writer, with whom I enjoyed
so many battles about language and style. Furthermore, he did
the dishes.

Contents
Acknowledgments
vii
Abbreviations
xi
Introduction
3
ONE. Myth and Non-Myth
9
TWO. The Balance of Archetypes in The Four Zoas
48
THREE. The Reassumption of Ancient Bliss
95
FOUR. Going Forth to the Vintage of Nations
116
FIVE. Beyond Myth, Beyond Non-Myth
155
Bibliography
187
Index
197