Continental prophecies
Encyclopedia
The Continental Prophecies is a group of illuminated books by William Blake
that have been subject of numerous studies due to their recurrent and unorthodox
use of political, literary and sexual metaphors. They consist of America
, Europe
and The Song of Los
(Africa & Asia).
. The recurring appearance of Orc
, symbol of rebellion
against oppression
, throughout the series (specially in America and Europe) reinforces this view. Scholars such as Stephen Behrend have stressed the mutual interdependence of the series pointing out the subject of slavery
as a recurrent motive. David V. Erdman
called the Continental Prophecies a "spiritual history of the world".
Each of the works deal with satire, with a particular focus on Francis Bacon, Isaac Newton, and John Locke as a Cerberus figure when he attacked all three. Although Blake was wrong when he labeled Locke a deist, he was not incorrect to find many similarities between Locke's views and deism. However, there were many similar beliefs between the two that Blake does not mention: their opposition to slavery, their promotion of toleration, and the view that the senses are primary to knowledge. As for Bacon, Blake claimed that he was a non-believer. However, Blake did not have access to some of Bacon's works dealing with allegory that, though Blake would not agree with, would have removed the original claims. When Blake labeled Newton as a deist, he ridiculed Newton's works and interest in the apocalyptic.
Blake's specific criticism of individuals is based on the type of threat he believed they posed, especially when a work uses true beliefs but in a misleading manner. While Blake was opposed to Hobbes view, he believed that the straightforwardness of the view were not as dangerous as Locke's arguments were more persuasive to others. In the same way, Blake attack Swedenborg instead of attacking those like Augustine or Calvin who also promote the belief of predestination that Blake was strongly against. As for general beliefs, Blake felt that there was more to fear from deism than atheism, as deism was more persuasive and dangerous. This view is transformed into Blake's works as the contraries and the negations, with contrariness being represented as devil/angel. As such, Locke is a contrary to Blake, as they both use the same system but in different manners, whereas Hobbes merely negates Blake's view by not caring to use the system.
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
that have been subject of numerous studies due to their recurrent and unorthodox
Unorthodox
Unorthodox refers to something that is not orthodox.Unorthodox may also refer to:In music:* Unorthodox , a song by Wretch 32* Unorthodox , a doom metal band from Maryland...
use of political, literary and sexual metaphors. They consist of America
America a Prophecy
America a Prophecy is a 1793 prophetic book by English poet and illustrator William Blake. It is engraved on eighteen plates, and survives in fourteen known copies. It is the first of Blake's Continental prophecies.-Background:...
, Europe
Europe a Prophecy
Europe a Prophecy is a 1794 prophetic book by English poet and illustrator William Blake. It is engraved on 18 plates, and survives in just nine known copies. It followed America a Prophecy of 1793.-Background:...
and The Song of Los
The Song of Los
The Song of Los is one of William Blake's epic poems, known as prophetic books. The poem consists of two sections, "Africa" and "Asia". In the first section Blake catalogues the decline of morality in Europe, which he blames on both the African slave trade and enlightenment philosophers...
(Africa & Asia).
Background
Blake's works describing the four continents prophecies are part of his "Lambeth Books", based on their creation at his home in Lambeth, Surrey. Of these books are America a Prophecy created in 1793, Europe a Prophecy created in 1794, and The Song of Los created in 1795. Like the other under "Lambeth books", all aspects of the works, including the composition of the designs, the printing of them, the colouring of them, and the selling of them, happened at his home. The pages of the works and images were 23 x 17 cm in size, the size originally used for America a Prophecy and carried over into Europe a Prophecy and The Song of Los. All three of the works were occasionally bound together as a set.Plot
The plots of America a Prophecy, Europe a Prophecy and The Song of Los, divided into "Africa" and "Asia", are all part of the same group of poems. They, like The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, describe the story of Orc as the works all portray these events with a focus on satire, society, liberty found in revolution, and the apocalypse.Africa
"Africa" is the first half of The Song of Los, created last. The story begins in Africa with Los singing of Adam, Noah, and Moses were witnesses to Urizen granting laws to humanity. These laws involve abstractions being granted to Pythagoras, Socrates, and Plato, gospel being given to Jesus, a bible for Mahomet, and a book on war given to Odin. The last of the laws were those of the five senses, which were given to John Locke and to Isaac Newton. All of these laws were chains that bound the mind and caused the world.America
The first book, America a Prophecy, describes Orc's encouragement of the rebellion in the Americas. The work begins with the King of England trembling as he sees Orc. Orc provokes the people to rise up, and he witnesses an apocalyptic revelation of a new world.Europe
The second book, Europe a Prophecy, describes the rebellion in France. The work describes the entrapment of men and women into constictive gender relationships, and the serpent was originally the infinite bound up by the finite under God's tyranny. At the end of the story, Los calls forth a rebellion.Asia
"Asia" is the second half of The Song of Los. In the work, Orc creates fires in the mind that provokes a thought revolution. This causes the kings of the world to be startled as an apocalypse of sorts is begun.Themes
Blake scholars have suggested that the Continental prophecies follow a common thread in depicting the struggle for freedom experienced during Blake's time in the American War and in the outbreak of revolutionary activity in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The recurring appearance of Orc
Orc (Blake)
Orc is a proper name for one of the characters in the complex mythology of William Blake. Unlike the medieval sea beast, or Tolkien's humanoid monster, his Orc is a positive figure, the embodiment of creative passion and energy, and stands opposed to Urizen, the embodiment of tradition.In Blake's...
, symbol of rebellion
Rebellion
Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...
against oppression
Oppression
Oppression is the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner. It can also be defined as an act or instance of oppressing, the state of being oppressed, and the feeling of being heavily burdened, mentally or physically, by troubles, adverse conditions, and...
, throughout the series (specially in America and Europe) reinforces this view. Scholars such as Stephen Behrend have stressed the mutual interdependence of the series pointing out the subject of slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
as a recurrent motive. David V. Erdman
David V. Erdman
David V. Erdman was an American literary critic, editor, and Professor Emeritus of English at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Professor Erdman established his reputation as a William Blake scholar when his Blake: Prophet Against Empire was published in 1954...
called the Continental Prophecies a "spiritual history of the world".
Each of the works deal with satire, with a particular focus on Francis Bacon, Isaac Newton, and John Locke as a Cerberus figure when he attacked all three. Although Blake was wrong when he labeled Locke a deist, he was not incorrect to find many similarities between Locke's views and deism. However, there were many similar beliefs between the two that Blake does not mention: their opposition to slavery, their promotion of toleration, and the view that the senses are primary to knowledge. As for Bacon, Blake claimed that he was a non-believer. However, Blake did not have access to some of Bacon's works dealing with allegory that, though Blake would not agree with, would have removed the original claims. When Blake labeled Newton as a deist, he ridiculed Newton's works and interest in the apocalyptic.
Blake's specific criticism of individuals is based on the type of threat he believed they posed, especially when a work uses true beliefs but in a misleading manner. While Blake was opposed to Hobbes view, he believed that the straightforwardness of the view were not as dangerous as Locke's arguments were more persuasive to others. In the same way, Blake attack Swedenborg instead of attacking those like Augustine or Calvin who also promote the belief of predestination that Blake was strongly against. As for general beliefs, Blake felt that there was more to fear from deism than atheism, as deism was more persuasive and dangerous. This view is transformed into Blake's works as the contraries and the negations, with contrariness being represented as devil/angel. As such, Locke is a contrary to Blake, as they both use the same system but in different manners, whereas Hobbes merely negates Blake's view by not caring to use the system.
See also
- William Blake's prophetic booksWilliam Blake's prophetic booksThe prophetic books of the English poet and artist William Blake are a series of difficult and obscure poetic works. While Blake worked as a commercial illustrator, these books were ones that he produced, with his own engravings, as an extended and largely private project...
- Illuminated manuscriptIlluminated manuscriptAn illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...
- William Blake's mythologyWilliam Blake's mythologyThe prophetic books of the English poet and artist William Blake contain a rich invented mythology , in which Blake worked to encode his revolutionary spiritual and political ideas into a prophecy for a new age. This desire to recreate the cosmos is the heart of his work and his psychology...
- SlaverySlaverySlavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...