William Blake, Poetical Sketches

David Punter (University of Bristol)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.06: English Writing and Culture of the Romantic Period, 1789-1837.
Vol. editors: Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Daniel Robinson (Widener University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1783

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poem collection

Resources

The Poetical Sketches are Blake's earliest poetry, thought to have been written between 1769 and 1778. Some of them, including the odes to the seasons, are reminiscent of eighteenth-century nature poetry; others, like 'Fair Elenor' and 'Gwin, King of Norway', are rewritings of ancient ballads; the 'Imitation of Spenser' is precisely what it says it is; and 'King Edward the Third' is a version of Shakespearean drama. However, Blake's distinctive themes of love and jealousy, together with very early versions of some of his mythological figures, can be glimpsed in the delicately constructed songs 'How sweet I roam'd from field to field' and 'Love and harmony combine', while the 'Mad Song' looks directly forward to the Songs of …

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

145 words

Citation: Punter, David. "Poetical Sketches". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 July 2001 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2646, accessed 25 November 2024.]

Save this article