William Blake - Biography of the Poet and Artist

Poet and artist William Blake was born on November 28, 1757 in London, England; he was the third of seven children. Blake was mostly home-schooled by his mother. At the age ten he received drawing lessons out of his home, and at fourteen he started working as an apprentice etcher in a print shop.

In 1782, Blake married Catherine Boucher; they had no children. Catherine was illiterate and Blake taught her how to write and how to etch. It was by all accounts a very happy marriage. The last drawing he did before he died was of his wife while she sat at his bedside weeping.

In 1783, Blake’s first book of poems, Poetical Sketches, was published. In 1784, he opened a print shop with his brother which quickly became a meeting place for dissidents and radicals. In 1789, his Songs of Innocence was published, and five-years-later Songs of Experience was published. Blake went on to write any more poems and to illustrate many more books. He was greatly influenced by the French and American revolutions and was an inspiration to many of the poets who came after him.

In addition to being a successful poet, William Blake painted some powerful paintings and illustrated many great works of literature, including The Divine Comedy which he was working on until the day he died. His artwork is not for everyone, it can be very graphic and disturbing to some. A lot of it is based on biblical tales.

Today, William Blake is considered one of the most important poets in English literature as well as one of the most talented English artists. He was not as celebrated in his own lifetime and was considered by many to be a mad man, he was most certainly ahead of his time.

William Blake died on August 12, 1827.

He who binds himself to a joy

Does the winged life destroy;

But he who kisses the joy as it flies

Lives in eternity's sun rise.