William Blake's religious vision : there's a methodism in his madness / Jennifer G. Jesse.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jesse, Jennifer G.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Blake, William, 1757-1827--Criticism and interpretation.

Blake, William.

Blake, William, 1757-1827--Religion.

Blake, William, 1757-1827.

Religion.

Criticism and interpretation.

Physical Description:

xiv, 297 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Md. : Lexington Books, [2013]

Summary:

In this innovative study, Jennifer G. Jesse challenges the prevailing view of Blake as an antinomian and describes him as a theological moderate who defended an evangelical faith akin to the Methodism of John Wesley. She arrives at this conclusion by contextualizing Blake's works not only within Methodism but also in relation to other religious groups he addressed in his art, including the Established Church, deism, and radical religions. Further, she analyzes his works by sorting out the theological "road signs" he directed to each audience. This approach reveals Blake engaging each faction through its most prized beliefs, manipulating its own doctrines through visual and verbal guideposts designed to communicate specifically with that group. She argues that, once we collate Blake's messages to his intended audiences-sounding radical to the conservatives and conservative to the radicals-we find him advocating a system that would have been recognized by his contemporaries as Wesleyan in orientation. This thesis also relies on an accurate understanding of eighteenth-century Methodism: Jesse underscores the empirical rationalism pervading Wesley's theology, highlighting differences between Methodism as practiced and as publicly caricatured. Undergoing this project is Jesse's call for more rigorous attention to the dramatic character of Blake's works. She notes that scholars still typically use phrases like "Blake says" or "Blake believes," followed by some claim made by a Blakean character, without negotiating the complex narrative dynamics that might enable us to understand the rhetorical purposes of that statement as heard by Blake's respective audiences. Jesse maintains we must expect to find reflections in Blake's works of all the theologies he engaged. The question is this: What was he doing with them, and why? In order to divine what Blake meant to communicate, we must explore how those he targeted would have perceived his arguments. Jesse concludes that by analyzing the dramatic character of Blake's works theologically through this wide-angled, audience-oriented approach, we see him orchestrating a grand rapprochement of the extreme theologies of his day into a unified vision that integrates faith and reason. Book jacket.

Contents:

I Introduction

1 The Problem of Blake's Religion 3

2 The "Rough Basement": Foundational Issues 23

3 Urizen and Los: Diagnostic Tropes for Theological Therapy 51

II Reason as Definitive of Religion

4 Blake and Natural Religion 69

5 Rationalist Road Signs: The Bible and Creation 83

6 Blake and the Established Church 99

7 Anglican Road Signs: Christology and Atonement 109

III Reason as Destructive of Religion

8 Blake and the Religious Radicals 129

9 Radical Road Signs: Sin and the Last Judgment 153

IV Reason as Redemptive of Religion

10 Blake and the Religious Moderates 185

11 Methodist Road Signs: Justification and Sanctification 215

V Reading Blake Theologically

12 All Religions Are One 247

13 Whose Madness? 269.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

9780739177907

0739177907

9780739177914

0739177915

OCLC:

809411791