William Blake's mythology
Encyclopedia
The prophetic books
of the English poet and artist William Blake
contain a rich invented mythology (mythopoeia), 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. His myths often described the struggle between enlightenment and free love
on the one hand, and restrictive education and morals on the other.
's Paradise Lost
and Paradise Regained
, the visions of Emanuel Swedenborg
, and the near-cabalistic
writings of Jacob Boehme. Blake's vision went further, in that he not only expanded on the world of Biblical revelation, but sought to transcend it by fusion with his own interpretations of druidism and paganism
.
The longest elaboration of this private myth-cycle was also his longest poem—The Four Zoas: The Death and Judgment of Albion The Ancient Man
—, written in the late 1790s but left in manuscript form at the time of his death. In this work, Blake traces the fall of Albion, who "was originally fourfold but was self divided." This theme was revisited later, more definitively but perhaps less directly, in his other epic prophetic works, Milton: a Poem
and Jerusalem: The Emanation of The Giant Albion
.
The parts into which Albion is divided are the four Zoas:
The Blake Pantheon also includes feminine emanations that have separated from an integrated male being, as Eve separated from Adam:
The fall of Albion and his division into the Zoas and their emanations are also the central themes of Jerusalem: The Emanation of The Giant Albion
.
Rintrah
first appears in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
, personifying revolutionary wrath. He is later grouped together with other spirits of rebellion in The Vision of the Daughters of Albion:
America, a Prophecy is also one of the "prophetic works". Here, the "soft soul" of America appears as Oothoon.
Other works concerning this pantheon:
William Blake's prophetic books
The 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...
of the English poet and artist William Blake
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...
contain a rich invented mythology (mythopoeia), 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
Cosmos
In the general sense, a cosmos is an orderly or harmonious system. It originates from the Greek term κόσμος , meaning "order" or "ornament" and is antithetical to the concept of chaos. Today, the word is generally used as a synonym of the word Universe . The word cosmos originates from the same root...
is the heart of his work and his psychology. His myths often described the struggle between enlightenment and free love
Free love
The term free love has been used to describe a social movement that rejects marriage, which is seen as a form of social bondage. The Free Love movement’s initial goal was to separate the state from sexual matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery...
on the one hand, and restrictive education and morals on the other.
Sources
Among Blake's inspirations were John MiltonJohn Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
's Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. It was originally published in 1667 in ten books, with a total of over ten thousand individual lines of verse...
and Paradise Regained
Paradise Regained
Paradise Regained is a poem by the English poet John Milton, published in 1671. It is connected by name to his earlier and more famous epic poem Paradise Lost, with which it shares similar theological themes...
, the visions of Emanuel Swedenborg
Emanuel Swedenborg
was a Swedish scientist, philosopher, and theologian. He has been termed a Christian mystic by some sources, including the Encyclopædia Britannica online version, and the Encyclopedia of Religion , which starts its article with the description that he was a "Swedish scientist and mystic." Others...
, and the near-cabalistic
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
writings of Jacob Boehme. Blake's vision went further, in that he not only expanded on the world of Biblical revelation, but sought to transcend it by fusion with his own interpretations of druidism and paganism
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
.
The Fall of Albion
Vala, or The Four Zoas
Vala, or The Four Zoas refers to one of the incompleted prophetic books by English poet William Blake, begun in 1797. The titular main characters of the book are The Four Zoas: , who were created by the fall of Albion in Blake's mythology. It consists of nine books, referred to as "nights"...
—, written in the late 1790s but left in manuscript form at the time of his death. In this work, Blake traces the fall of Albion, who "was originally fourfold but was self divided." This theme was revisited later, more definitively but perhaps less directly, in his other epic prophetic works, Milton: a Poem
Milton: a Poem
Milton a Poem is an epic poem by William Blake, written and illustrated between 1804 and 1810. Its hero is John Milton, who returns from Heaven and unites with Blake to explore the relationship between living writers and their predecessors, and to undergo a mystical journey to correct his own...
and Jerusalem: The Emanation of The Giant Albion
Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion
Jerusalem, subtitled The Emanation of the Giant Albion, was the last, longest, and greatest in scope of the prophetic books written and illustrated by the poet, artist, and engraver William Blake....
.
The parts into which Albion is divided are the four Zoas:
- TharmasTharmasIn the mythological writings of William Blake, Tharmas is one of the four Zoas, who were created when Albion, the primordial man, was divided fourfold. He represents sensation, and his female counterpart is Enion, who represents sexual urges. He is connected to the God the Father aspect of the...
: representing instinct and strength - UrizenUrizenIn the complex mythology of William Blake, Urizen is the embodiment of conventional reason and law. He is usually depicted as a bearded old man; he sometimes bears architect's tools, to create and constrain the universe; or nets, with which he ensnares people in webs of law and conventional culture...
: reason, tradition; a cruel god resembling the GnosticGnosticismGnosticism is a scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices common to early Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism , and Neoplatonism.A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis...
DemiurgeDemiurgeThe demiurge is a concept from the Platonic, Neopythagorean, Middle Platonic, and Neoplatonic schools of philosophy for an artisan-like figure responsible for the fashioning and maintenance of the physical universe. The term was subsequently adopted by the Gnostics...
. - LuvahLuvahIn the mythological writings of William Blake, Luvah is one of the four Zoas, who were created when Albion, the primordial man, was divided fourfold. He represents love, passion, and rebellious energy. His Emanation is Vala; his fallen form is Orc. Throughout Blake's mythological system, he is...
: love, passion and emotive faculties; a Christ-like figure, also known as Orc in his most amorous and rebellious form. - UrthonaUrthonaIn the mythological writings of William Blake, Urthona is one of the four Zoas, who were created when Albion, the primordial man, was divided fourfold. Specifically, he is the Zoa of inspiration and creativity, and he is a blacksmith god. His female counterpart is Enitharmon...
, also known as Los: inspiration and the imagination
The Blake Pantheon also includes feminine emanations that have separated from an integrated male being, as Eve separated from Adam:
- The maternal EnionEnionIn the mythological writings of William Blake, Enion is an Emanation/mate of Tharmas, one of the four Zoas, who were created when Albion, the primordial man, was divided fourfold. She represents sexuality and sexual urges while Tharmas represents sensation. In her fallen aspect, she is a wailing...
is an emanation from Tharmas. - The celestial AhaniaAhaniaAhania is the Emanation, or female counterpart, of Urizen, Zoas of reason, in William Blake's mythology. She is the representation of pleasure and the desire for intelligence. Although Urizen casts her out as being the manifestation of sin, she is actually an essential component in Blake's system...
is an emanation from Urizen. - The seductive Vala is an emanation from Luvah.
- The musical EnitharmonEnitharmonEnitharmon is a major female character in William Blake's mythology, playing a main part in some of his prophetic books. She is, but not directly, an aspect of the male Urthona, one of the Four Zoas. She is in fact the Emanation of Los, also male. There is a complex verbal nexus attached. The Zoa...
is an emanation from Los.
The fall of Albion and his division into the Zoas and their emanations are also the central themes of Jerusalem: The Emanation of The Giant Albion
Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion
Jerusalem, subtitled The Emanation of the Giant Albion, was the last, longest, and greatest in scope of the prophetic books written and illustrated by the poet, artist, and engraver William Blake....
.
Rintrah
Rintrah
Rintrah is a character in William Blake's mythology, representing the just wrath of the prophet. Rintrah first appears in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: "Rintrah roars and shakes his fires in the burdened air" shows him personifying revolutionary wrath...
first appears in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell is a book by the English poet and printmaker William Blake. It is a series of texts written in imitation of biblical prophecy but expressing Blake's own intensely personal Romantic and revolutionary beliefs. Like his other books, it was published as printed sheets...
, personifying revolutionary wrath. He is later grouped together with other spirits of rebellion in The Vision of the Daughters of Albion:
- The loud and lustful BromionBromionBromion is a character in the mythology of William Blake. According to S. Foster Damon he represents Reason, from the side of the poet's mind.-Incidence:* Visions of the Daughters of Albion, in which he plays a major role...
- The "mild and piteous" PalamabronPalamabronPalamabron is a character in William Blake's mythology, representing pity.He is the brother of Rintrah , Bromion , and Theotormon , represented together as either the Sons of Los or of Jerusalem....
, son of Enitharmon and Los (also appears in Milton) - The tortured mercenary Theotormon
The mythology and the prophetic books
Scholarship on Blake has not recovered a 'perfected' version of Blake's myth. The characters in it have to be treated more like a repertory company, capable of dramatising his ideas (which changed, over two decades). On the other hand the psychological roots of his work have been revealed, and are now much more accessible (with study) than they were a century ago.America, a Prophecy is also one of the "prophetic works". Here, the "soft soul" of America appears as Oothoon.
Other works concerning this pantheon:
- America a ProphecyAmerica a ProphecyAmerica 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:...
- The Book of UrizenThe Book of UrizenThe Book of Urizen is one of the major prophetic books of the English writer William Blake, illustrated by Blake's own plates. It was originally published as The First Book of Urizen in 1794. Later editions dropped the "First". The book takes its name from the character Urizen in Blake's mythology,...
- The Book of LosThe Book of LosThe Book of Los is a 1795 prophetic book by English poet and painter William Blake. It exists in only one copy, now held by The British Museum. The book is related to the Book of Urizen and to the Continental prophecies; it is essentially a retelling of Urizen from the point of view of Los...
- The Book of AhaniaThe Book of AhaniaThe Book of Ahania is one of the English poet William Blake's prophetic books. It was published in 1795, illustrated by Blake's own plates....
- Visions of the Daughters of AlbionVisions of the Daughters of AlbionVisions of the Daughters of Albion is a 1793 poem by William Blake, produced as a book with his own illustrations. It is a short and early example of his prophetic books, and a sequel of sorts to The Book of Thel....