1+ < h1 > William Blake </ h1 >
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3+ < p >
4+ 17 south molton street< br >
5+ London< br >
6+ W1K 5QT< br >
7+ UK< br >
8+ </ p >
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10+ < hr >
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12+ < p > William Blake (28 November 1757 - 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised
13+ during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic
14+ Age. What he called his "prophetic works" were said by 20th-century critic Northrop Frye to form "what is in proportion
15+ to its merits the least read body of poetry in the English language".[2] His visual artistry led 21st-century critic
16+ Jonathan Jones to proclaim him "far and away the greatest artist Britain has ever produced".[3] In 2002, Blake was
17+ placed at number 38 in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons.[4] While he lived in London his entire life, except
18+ for three years spent in Felpham,[5] he produced a diverse and symbolically rich collection of works, which embraced the
19+ imagination as "the body of God"[6] or "human existence itself".[7]</ p >
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21+ < p > Although Blake was considered mad by contemporaries for his idiosyncratic views, he is held in high regard by later
22+ critics for his expressiveness and creativity, and for the philosophical and mystical undercurrents within his work. His
23+ paintings and poetry have been characterised as part of the Romantic movement and as "Pre-Romantic".[8] In fact, he has
24+ been said to be "a key early proponent of both Romanticism and Nationalism".[9] A committed Christian who was hostile to
25+ the Church of England (indeed, to almost all forms of organised religion), Blake was influenced by the ideals and
26+ ambitions of the French and American revolutions.[10][11] Though later he rejected many of these political beliefs, he
27+ maintained an amiable relationship with the political activist Thomas Paine; he was also influenced by thinkers such as
28+ Emanuel Swedenborg.[12] Despite these known influences, the singularity of Blake's work makes him difficult to classify.
29+ The 19th-century scholar William Michael Rossetti characterised him as a "glorious luminary",[13] and "a man not
30+ forestalled by predecessors, nor to be classed with contemporaries, nor to be replaced by known or readily surmisable
31+ successors".[14]</ p >
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