William Blake

Introduction & Top Questions
Visions of eternity
Blake’s religion
Education as artist and engraver
Career as engraver
Marriage to Catherine Boucher
Death of Robert Blake
Career as an artist
Patronage of William Hayley and move to Felpham
Charged with sedition
Blake’s exhibition (1809–10)
Blake as a poet
Last years
Reputation and influence

Quotes References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

Titania, Oberon, and Puck illustrated by William Blake

William Blake, watercolour portrait by John Linnell; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

At a Glance

William Blake summary

Quizzes

Illustration of "The Lamb" from "Songs of Innocence" by William Blake, 1879. poem; poetry

A Study of Poetry

4:043 Dickinson, Emily: A Life of Letters, This is my letter to the world/That never wrote to me; I'll tell you how the Sun Rose/A Ribbon at a time; Hope is the thing with feathers/That perches in the soul

Famous Poets and Poetic Form

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) only confirmed photograph of Emily Dickinson. 1978 scan of a Daguerreotype. ca. 1847; in the Amherst College Archives. American poet. See Notes:

Poetry: First Lines

"The Tyger" from the combined volume of the Songs of Innocence and of Experience by William Blake, ca. 1825; relief etching printed in orange-brown ink and hand-colored with watercolor and gold.(poems, poetry)

Who Wrote That? (Part 1) Quiz

Tate Modern extension Switch House, London, England. (Tavatnik, museums). Photo dated 2017.

Can You Match These Lesser-Known Paintings to Their Artists?

Related Questions

How did Alexander Gilchrist’s 1863 biography change William Blake’s reputation?
How did Emanuel Swedenborg influence William Blake’s religious thought?
How did William Blake describe the visions he experienced from childhood?
How did William Blake say that Robert taught him the method of illuminated printing?
How did William Blake teach Catherine Boucher to assist with his artistic work?
How did William Blake’s family background influence his early education?
How did William Blake’s visions inspire his poems and drawings?
How did illuminated printing combine William Blake’s poetry and visual art?
How did the death of William Blake’s brother Robert affect his art and poetry?
How do “The Lamb” and “The Tyger” serve as contrasting symbols in William Blake’s poetry?
How do the poems in Songs of Innocence portray childhood and vulnerability?
How does Songs of Experience respond to the poems in Songs of Innocence?
How does William Blake connect Los with imagination in his prophetic works?
How does William Blake connect Urizen with reason in his prophetic works?
How does William Blake’s poem “London” describe suffering in the city?
How long did William Blake apprentice with engraver James Basire?
What was displayed at William Blake’s 1809–10 exhibition in London?
When and where was William Blake born?
When did William Blake begin working as an independent engraver?
When did William Blake marry Catherine Boucher?
Where did William Blake live during his childhood in London?
Where did William Blake study drawing before becoming an engraver?
Where was William Blake buried after his death in 1827?
Which artists did John Linnell introduce to William Blake during his final years?
Which authors and musicians were influenced by William Blake’s poetry and art?
Which book by Mary Wollstonecraft did William Blake illustrate with his own designs?
Which engraving skills did William Blake learn during his apprenticeship?
Why did James Basire send William Blake to Westminster Abbey?
Why did William Blake become an apprentice to James Basire?
Why did William Blake criticize religion when it was connected to government power?
Why was William Blake largely ignored or ridiculed during his lifetime?
Why was William Blake not sent to a regular school as a child?
What is William Blake’s poetry about?
What is William Blake’s legacy?
What were Sir Walter Scott’s influences?
What did Sir Walter Scott write?
What jobs did Sir Walter Scott have?
Why is John Keats important?
What was John Keats’s childhood like?
What was John Keats’s occupation?
What did John Keats write?
Why is Albrecht Dürer so famous?

Visual Arts Painting Painters

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External Websites

Poetry Foundation - William Blake
Online Library of Liberty - William Blake: An Introduction
Poets.org - Biography of William Blake
Humanities LibreTexts - William Blake (1757-1827)
Art UK - William Blake
Art in Context - William Blake - Artist William Blake's Paintings and Illustrations
Poetry Archive - William Blake
BBC - William Blake: The greatest visionary in 200 years
Official Site of Blake Society
J. Paul Getty Museum - William Blake: Visionary
TheArtStory - William Blake
Historic UK - Biography of William Blake
The Met - William Blake (1757Â–1827)

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

William Blake - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

William Blake

English engraver, artist, and poet

Written by

G.E. Bentley

Emeritus Professor of English, University of Toronto. Author of Blake Records, The Stranger From Paradise: A Biography of William Blake, and others.

G.E. Bentley

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 25, 2026 •History

William Blake (born Nov. 28, 1757, London, Eng.—died Aug. 12, 1827, London) was an English engraver, artist, poet, and visionary, author of exquisite lyrics in Songs of Innocence (1789) and Songs of Experience (1794) and profound and difficult “prophecies,” such as Visions of the Daughters of Albion (1793), The First Book of Urizen (1794), Milton (1804[–?11]), and Jerusalem (1804[–?20]). The dating of Blake’s texts is explained in the Researcher’s Note: Blake publication dates. These works...

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