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William Blake's Auguries of Innocence

Blake Sounds: The Poetry of William Blake

Release Date: 02/17/2025

William Blake's The Book of Thel show art William Blake's The Book of Thel

Blake Sounds: The Poetry of William Blake

The Book of Thel is one of the first books of illuminated poetry to be printed by William Blake. Written by Blake in 1789, it tells the story of Thel, a virgin shepherdess burdened by her sense of mortality, who seeks meaning for her life by talking with the creatures of the Vale of Har where she lives. Narrated by Jason Whittaker.

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William Blake's The Everlasting Gospel show art William Blake's The Everlasting Gospel

Blake Sounds: The Poetry of William Blake

While less well known than some of Blake's other longer lyrics such as Auguries of Innocence, The Everlasting Gospel does contain some of his most famous, or even infamous, lines. One of the most radical poems by one of the most radical of artists, this work throws traditional Christianity upside down and considers Christ's doctrine as the escape from moral law and the fulfilment of a new testimony of human divinity. Narrated by Jason Whittaker.

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William Blake's America a Prophecy show art William Blake's America a Prophecy

Blake Sounds: The Poetry of William Blake

William Blake's epic poem America a Prophecy introduces two of his most enduring characters, Orc and Urizen, who fight each other as the spirits of revolution and oppression in the American War of Independence. One of Blake's best known works, it is also one of the best examples of his prophetic style combined with a narrative retelling of one of the most famous events in history. Narrated by Jason Whittaker.

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William Blake's Auguries of Innocence show art William Blake's Auguries of Innocence

Blake Sounds: The Poetry of William Blake

Auguries of Innocence is one of Blake's best-known and best-loved verses, with its opening invocation to see a world in a grain of sand. It has been quoted and recited many times in music, films and video games, but the entire poem is also a cry for social and spiritual justice, the auguries of the title being an omen of the better world that Blake wished to see. Narrated by Jason Whittaker.

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Auguries of Innocence is one of Blake's best-known and best-loved verses, with its opening invocation to see a world in a grain of sand. It has been quoted and recited many times in music, films and video games, but the entire poem is also a cry for social and spiritual justice, the auguries of the title being an omen of the better world that Blake wished to see. Narrated by Jason Whittaker.