Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
there were some moments that were good but idk most were bad and weird.
This builds on the possibility of the devil as the hero in Milton. Including his list of the proverbs of hell which teach how to live.
I had the privilege of seeing one of the handpainted versions of this book and it's absolutely gorgeous. There are so many endearing little unique details to a handwritten book that are absolutely impossible to have in print ones. (Also, having the librarians bring it out of "the vault" for me was possibly one of the coolest moments of my life so far.)
The text can be a little hard to get your head around, but in general, Blake paints himself as the prophet preaching for the unity of heaven and hall, or more concretely the soul and the body. It's a particularly interesting view considering it came out of a time where following the pleasures of the body was a one-way ticket to hell.
Some interesting trivia about the writer:
He invented a new way of printing which allowed for more ways of intertwining painting with letters. He said he got the idea from the ghost of his dead brother in a dream!
He claimed he was seeing visions since he was 10!
He was a great feminist and he thought his wife to read and write, she was also the person who did a lot of the watercolours in his books. He also suggested that they would bring a mistress to live with them. His wife, surprisingly, did not go for that.
Allegedly, he was also a nudist. Apparently, him and his wife both had a penchant for walking in their grounds naked to really appreciate their sensuality.
Some of my favorite lines (or proverbs from hell, as he calls them):
If the fool would persist in his folly he would become wise
The bird is a nest, the spider a web, man friendship.
What is now proved was once only imagined
Always be ready to speak your mind and a base man will avoid you.
As the caterpillar chooses the finest leaves to lay her eggs on so the priest lays his curse on the fairest joys.
Prisons are built with stones of law, brothels with bricks of religion.
And finally some images of the beautiful text: (Which I tried adding to the post for a long time before giving up! So go through the links if you like)
https://ibb.co/fFYnDk
https://ibb.co/bOJb65
https://ibb.co/iMVCeQ
The text can be a little hard to get your head around, but in general, Blake paints himself as the prophet preaching for the unity of heaven and hall, or more concretely the soul and the body. It's a particularly interesting view considering it came out of a time where following the pleasures of the body was a one-way ticket to hell.
Some interesting trivia about the writer:
He invented a new way of printing which allowed for more ways of intertwining painting with letters. He said he got the idea from the ghost of his dead brother in a dream!
He claimed he was seeing visions since he was 10!
He was a great feminist and he thought his wife to read and write, she was also the person who did a lot of the watercolours in his books. He also suggested that they would bring a mistress to live with them. His wife, surprisingly, did not go for that.
Allegedly, he was also a nudist. Apparently, him and his wife both had a penchant for walking in their grounds naked to really appreciate their sensuality.
Some of my favorite lines (or proverbs from hell, as he calls them):
If the fool would persist in his folly he would become wise
The bird is a nest, the spider a web, man friendship.
What is now proved was once only imagined
Always be ready to speak your mind and a base man will avoid you.
As the caterpillar chooses the finest leaves to lay her eggs on so the priest lays his curse on the fairest joys.
Prisons are built with stones of law, brothels with bricks of religion.
And finally some images of the beautiful text: (Which I tried adding to the post for a long time before giving up! So go through the links if you like)
https://ibb.co/fFYnDk
https://ibb.co/bOJb65
https://ibb.co/iMVCeQ
Not my favourite thing. I definitely prefer his songs of innocence and experience over this. Though there are some very interesting and (at that time) ground-breaking thoughts in here that are cool to think about.
challenging
dark
I loved this. Then ideas in it. I like poetry like this. You should go and read it now.