The First Book of Urizen

work by Blake

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June 26, 2026

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The Book of Urizen is a work by William Blake that tells the story of Urizen, a godlike character who personifies reason and law. Blake believed Urizen to be the deity his contemporaries truly worshipped. The narrative explores Urizen's struggle against chaos that arises from the loss of a true human spirit. Blake first introduced Urizen in his "Prophetic Books," including The Book of Urizen (1794), and later expanded on his story in other works. An engraving from Europe, a Prophecy depicts Urizen as a scientist using compasses to create the Earth.1

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William Blake
…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 he etched, printed, coloured, stitched, and sold, with the assistance of his devoted wife, Catherine. Among his best…
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…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 he etched, printed, coloured, stitched, and sold, with the assistance of his devoted wife, Catherine. Among his best…
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English literature
Blake, Wordsworth, and Coleridge
…rise was set out in The First Book of Urizen (1794) and then, more ambitiously, in the unfinished manuscript Vala (later redrafted as The Four Zoas), written from about 1796 to about 1807.
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…rise was set out in The First Book of Urizen (1794) and then, more ambitiously, in the unfinished manuscript Vala (later redrafted as The Four Zoas), written from about 1796 to about 1807.
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