Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion

work by Blake

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June 29, 2026

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Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion is a major prophetic work by the English artist and poet William Blake. Written between approximately 1804 and 1820, it is one of his most ambitious and complex poems.12

The work is deeply rooted in Blake's personal mythology, featuring characters like Urizen, who represents reason and law, and Los, who embodies imagination. Blake intended Jerusalem to be a spiritual and imaginative awakening, aiming "To open the immortal Eyes / Of man inwards into the worlds of thought; into Eternity". It explores themes of spiritual redemption, the struggle against oppressive reason, and the creation of a new, unified spiritual England. Blake's unique method involved etching his text and illustrations onto copper plates, then printing, coloring, and selling them himself.312

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William Blake
Blake as a poet
…but never published), Milton, and Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion. In them, his myth expands, adding to Urizen (reason) and Los (imagination) the Zoas Tharmas and Luvah. (The word zoa is a Greek plural meaning “living creatures.”) Their primordial harmony is destroyed when each of them attempts to…
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…but never published), Milton, and Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion. In them, his myth expands, adding to Urizen (reason) and Los (imagination) the Zoas Tharmas and Luvah. (The word zoa is a Greek plural meaning “living creatures.”) Their primordial harmony is destroyed when each of them attempts to…
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English literature
Blake, Wordsworth, and Coleridge
…narratives of Milton (1804–08) and Jerusalem (1804–20). Here, still using his own mythological characters, he portrayed the imaginative artist as the hero of society and suggested the possibility of redemption from the fallen (or Urizenic) condition.
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…narratives of Milton (1804–08) and Jerusalem (1804–20). Here, still using his own mythological characters, he portrayed the imaginative artist as the hero of society and suggested the possibility of redemption from the fallen (or Urizenic) condition.
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ploce
…death?” from William Blake’s poem Jerusalem (1804), in which the word sleep is used as both a verb and a noun. The term also refers to such repetition in general, as in the phrases “pin the pin on” or “dance the dance.” Compare anadiplosis.
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…death?” from William Blake’s poem Jerusalem (1804), in which the word sleep is used as both a verb and a noun. The term also refers to such repetition in general, as in the phrases “pin the pin on” or “dance the dance.” Compare anadiplosis.
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