William Blake: Poetical Sketches

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Description

Poetical Sketches was the first and only volume of William Blake's poetry printed in his lifetime. Long unavailable in its entirety as a single volume, this edition is reproduced from an extremely rare copy of the original 1783 book that contains corrections to the printed text handwritten by Blake himself. The writings range from work written in Blake's twelfth year up to that of his twentieth and are all stamped with his unique vision. This beautiful book also contains an introduction by Robin Hamlyn, who considers the history of the book itself and the place it has in Blake's pursuit of fame.

Reviews

"'It is singular that, for formed style and purely literary qualities, Blake perhaps never afterwards equalled the best things in this youthful volume...' - Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1863) 'The songs in this volume give evidence of so rare a gift of poetical judgement, such exquisite natural sense and art...' - Algernon Charles Swinburne (1868)"

Author Bio

Robin Hamlyn is a curator at Tate Britain with special responsibility for William Blake.