Publisher Description
William Blake is a seminal figure in the history of poetry of the Romantic Age. A brilliant poet, his wide ranging genius also extended to the visual arts—he was a masterful printmaker and engraver as well. Blake was a nonconformist who privileged imagination over reason in all aspects of his art, and though this caused some critics of his time to think him insane, ultimately his poetry has endured and can reveal truths about our world today.
In this audiobook, extracts from the complementary Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience are read by the remarkable Sir Ralph Richardson.
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About William Blake
William Blake (1757–1827) was an English poet, artist, and printmaker. Although largely unrecognized during his lifetime, he is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age. He is held in high regard by critics for his expressiveness and creativity and for the philosophical and mystical undercurrents within his work. He produced a diverse and symbolically rich body of works that embraced the imagination as “the body of God” or “human existence itself.” Reverent of the Bible but hostile to the Church of England, he was influenced by the ideals and ambitions of the French and American revolutions, as well as by such thinkers as Emanuel Swedenborg.
About Ralph Richardson
Sir Ralph Richardson (1902-1983) was one of the greatest
actors of the twentieth century English theater, ascending to the height of his
profession in the mid-1930s when he became a star in London's West End. He
became the first actor of his generation to be knighted in 1947. Along with
Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud, he is considered one the greatest English
actors of the generation.