The poet inspired by emancipation and revolution

Reviews and culture

Author Judy Cox spoke to Socialist Worker about her reissued book William Blake – The Scourge of Tyrants

Blake’s revolutionary contributions are often deliberately overlooked. Blake lived from 1757 to 1827 and wrote during the rise of industrial capitalism, the British Empire, and the French Revolution.

“People consider Blake’s poetry to be complex and difficult. Some of his later works are.”

“But Blake’s early work is deeply politically engaged – and it tells us something about the struggle against oppression and for emancipation,” Judy told Socialist Worker.

Blake’s work clearly shows that he is “on the side of the oppressed and opposed to war and empire.”

“Blake also wrote a lot about sex, sexual freedom, liberation and women. He was in favor of masturbation and sex, not just the missionary position,” Judy says.

“In pre-Victorian times he was very horrified by the criminalisation of love. He wrote The Garden of Love, a vigorous plea for sexual freedom from the Church.”

In recent years, more research has also been conducted into Blake’s attitude towards slaves in the Caribbean.

“He created famous illustrations with incredibly powerful images of the horrors of slavery,” Judy added.

In 1794, Blake published the poem London in which he wrote about “manacles forged by the mind.”

“It speaks to alienation, our lack of power and the chains that are forged in our heads,” Judy said.

“For example, why didn’t the English follow the French after the revolution? Blake hated the Church, the aristocracy and imperialism.

“In 1780, rioters in London burned down Newgate Prison and freed the prisoners.

“Blake was in the crowd. Afterwards, people painted ‘King Mob’ on the walls.”

But Blake’s work is often “taken out of the context of the time in which he wrote.”

“Blake was engaged in very practical debates. He was attacked by people like the anti-revolutionary Edmund Burke for his support of the French Revolution.

“He was not isolated or ‘gloriously mad,’ as the poet William Wordsworth said.

“He was engaged and involved in the politics of his time. He wore a red cap, a

symbol of support for the revolution even though it was dangerous to do so.

Judy explained that the weakening of politics “happens to all great revolutionary artists.”

“Blake is portrayed as a lonely eccentric who spoke to angels. But he withdrew to face the failure of his political hopes.

“He was at risk of persecution and many of his fellow radicals were forced into exile in America.”

Judy argues that isolating Blake from his politics “makes him a different poet.”

“His poetry is full of what it means to have one’s creativity sucked away by machines, by dark satanic mills.

“Jerusalem in particular is an articulate protest against this. England’s ‘second national anthem’ is not a nationalist poem.

“When you peel back the imagery, Blake says Jesus couldn’t go down among the cloudy hills – the imagery of oppression – and we have to unfold the revolution.

“This shows that we must fight for a different future: Jerusalem is a utopian society where people are free from slavery and oppression.”

Judy hopes the book will provide a better understanding of “the context of the revolutions that inspired Blake.”

“It is truer and more meaningful than art in isolation – it cannot be separated from society.

“And Blake speaks to us again. We can draw inspiration from someone who stood up to the industrialization that destroys us and the oppression that limits our lives – and to the joyful idea of ​​what revolution is.”