Blake's Religion

Paper Summary:

This paper outlines the specific religious view of William Blake. It traces Blake's influences to various sources, such as the Christian Bible, Buddhism, and the texts of Emmanuel Swedenborg and John Milton. Its main thesis states that Blake believes that humanity itself holds more importance than the traditional view of God as creator, lawmaker, and punisher. The paper makes use of many primary and secondary sources.

From the Paper:

"When reading the works of William Blake, it quickly becomes apparent that the texts are rife with Blake's strong opinions on social issues, especially those on religion. As rebellious as Blake proved to be, it is not surprising that he made it a point to rail against any religion that would impose restriction on the human imagination through any sort of rule, dogma, or rationale. Blake's own belief draws from two fundamental Christian ideas, those of divinity in man (as in Jesus Christ) and the importance of forgiveness of sins. Blake uses these principles to back up his personal opinion, which holds humanity to be the center of the universe, not God; this is hinted at in many of Blake's works, and is fully realized in arguably his greatest achievement, Jerusalem."

Sample of Sources Used:

• American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 4th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000.
• Bloom, Harold, ed. Modern Critical Views: William Blake. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1985.
• Damrosch Jr., Leopold. "Los and Apocalypse." Bloom 159-171.
• Bloom, Harold. Blake's Apocalypse: A Study in Poetic Argument. New York: Cornell University Press, 1963.
• Erdman, David V., ed. The Complete Poetry & Prose of William Blake. New York: Anchor Books, 1988.

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