William Blake, Visions of the Daughters of Albion

David Punter (University of Bristol)
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The central action of Visions of the Daughters of Albion is clear. The maiden Oothoon, accepting love, goes fearlessly to her lover Theotormon, but her happiness is short-lived. She is raped by a figure of violence, Bromion, but worse, Theotormon thereafter regards her as defiled; in his jealousy he ties Oothoon and Bromion back to back, and it is with this unmoving scene that the poem concludes. What, then, is the poem about? At one level, it is clearly about sexual jealousy and about double standards. In the last part of the poem, Oothoon has a long and very powerful speech on these themes:

I cry, Love! Love! Love! Happy, happy love, free as the mountain wind!
Can that be love that drinks another as a …

230 words

Citation: Punter, David. "Visions of the Daughters of Albion". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 July 2001 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8636, accessed 29 March 2024.]

8636 Visions of the Daughters of Albion 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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