Blake and Antiquity

The classic book on William Blake as prophet of the New Age

William Blake inhabited a remarkable inner world, one that he brought vividly to life in his poetry, painting, and printmaking. Blake and Antiquity situates this brilliant and enigmatic artist within the Western esoteric canon, revealing his indebtedness to Neoplatonism, the Gnostics, alchemy, astrology, and the mystical Cabbala. Kathleen Raine has carefully selected representative images from Blake’s works to show how he rejected conventional orthodoxy and went in search among the occult traditions of antiquity for symbols that might expand the mind’s awareness into a spiritual state where space, time, and even death are transcended. Indispensable reading for Blake lovers, Blake and Antiquity is the pivotal work that changed forever our understanding of Blake’s genius.