1st Student's Major
English
1st Student's College
Arts and Humanities
Students' Professional Biography
Jeannie Campe is a graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato, MN, with a BA in English Literature and French.
Mentor's Name
Mary Susan Johnston
Mentor's Email Address
mary.johnston@mnsu.edu
Mentor's Department
English
Mentor's College
Arts and Humanities
Abstract
The purpose of this project is to examine the artistic vision of William Blake as well as his impact on literature. William Blake was one of the most misunderstood artists of his time, which led to a life of isolation and poverty. Determined to follow his “Divine Image,” Blake remained unappreciated until his twilight years, although he was still virtually unknown except for a small group of followers. William Blake is important today because of his innovative work stemming from his frustration with standard poetic tradition and techniques. This project explores Blake’s collection of poems entitled Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. The two groups of lyrics depict, as Blake stated, “the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul.” Although written a few years apart, Blake intended the two volumes to be read together. Each poem from Songs of Innocence stands as an independent poem, but also has a matched counterpart or contrary in Songs of Experience. In addition, Blake expressed many of his conceptions visually and each poem is accompanied by a design and illustration that make up an integral part of the text.
Recommended Citation
Campe, Jeannie
(2004)
"William Blake: The Misunderstood Artist of the 19th Century,"
Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato: Vol. 4, Article 4.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56816/2378-6949.1156
Available at:
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/jur/vol4/iss1/4
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