The Marriage of Heaven and Hell is one of William Blake's books, a series of texts written in imitation of biblical books of prophecy, but expressing Blake's own intensely personal Romantic and revolutionary beliefs. Like his other books it was published as printed sheets from plates etched with both texts and illustrations. The plates were then coloured by Blake and his wife Catherine. At least nine remaining copies of the work exist today. William Blake in an 1807 portrait by Thomas Phillips William Blake (November 28, 1757–August 12, 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. ... A chained book in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University A book is a collection of paper, parchment or other material with text, pictures, or both written on them, bound together along one edge, usually within covers. ... Romanticism was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in late 18th century Western Europe. ...

Background

The work was composed in London between 1790 and 1793, in the period of radical ferment and political conflict immediately after the French Revolution. The entire book is written in prose, except for the opening "Argument" and the "song of Liberty." 1790 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1793 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The French Revolution (1789–1799/1804) was a vital period in the history of France and Europe as a whole. ... An argument in literature is a brief summary, often in prose, of a poem or section of a poem or other work. ...

The book describes the poet's visit to Hell, a device adopted by Blake from Dante's Inferno and Milton's Paradise Lost. As several others of his works, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell was influenced also by the mysticism of Swedenborg. Medieval illustration of Hell in the Hortus deliciarum manuscript of Herrad of Landsberg (about 1180) Hell, according to many religious beliefs, is a place or a state of pain and suffering. ... Dante in a fresco series of famous men by Andrea del Castagno, ca. ... Ajani shown holding a copy of The Divine Comedy, next to the entrance to Hell, the seven terraces of Mount Purgatory and the city of Florence, with the spheres of Heaven above, in Michelinos fresco. ... Milton redirects here. ... Title page of the first edition Paradise Lost is an epic poem by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. ... Mysticism from the Greek μυστικός (mystikos) an initiate (of the Eleusinian Mysteries, μυστήρια (mysteria) meaning initiation[1]) is the pursuit of achieving communion or identity with, or conscious awareness of, ultimate reality, the divine, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, or insight; and the belief that such experience is an... Emanuel Swedenborg, 75, holding the manuscript of Apocalypsis Revelata (1766). ...

Citation

(Plate 4 )

THE VOICE OF THE DEVIL

All Bibles or sacred codes, have been the causes of the following Errors.

1. That Man has two real existing principles Viz: a Body & a Soul.
2. That Energy, call'd Evil, is alone from the Body, & that Reason, call'd Good, is alone from the Soul.
3. That God will torment Man in Eternity for following his Energies.

But the following Contraries to these are True.

1. Man has no Body distinct from his Soul; for that call'd Body is a portion of Soul discern'd by the five Senses, the chief inlets of Soul in this age.
2. Energy is the only life and is from the Body and Reason is the bound or outward circumference of Energy.
3. Energy is Eternal Delight.

Proverbs of Hell

Unlike that of Milton or Dante, Blake's conception of Hell is not as a place of punishment, but as a source of unrepressed, somewhat Dionysian energy, opposed to the authoritarian and regulated perception of Heaven. Blake's purpose is to create what he called a "memorable fancy" in order to reveal to his readers the repressive nature of conventional morality and institutional religion, which he describes thus: The Birth of Tragedy (Die Geburt der Tragödie aus dem Geiste der Musik, 1872) is a 19th Century work of philosophy by Friedrich Nietzsche. ... The term authoritarian is used to describe an organization or a state which enforces strong and sometimes oppressive measures against the population, generally without attempts at gaining the consent of the population. ... Heaven is an afterlife concept found in many religions or spiritual philosophies. ... Morality refers to the concept of human ethics which pertains to matters of good and evil —also referred to as right or wrong, used within three contexts: individual conscience; systems of principles and judgments — sometimes called moral values —shared within a cultural, religious, secular, Humanist, or philosophical community; and codes... An institution is a group, tenet, maxim, or organization created by a group of humans. ...

The ancient Poets animated all sensible objects with Gods or Geniuses, calling them by the names and adorning them with the properties of woods, rivers, mountains, lakes, cities, nations, and whatever their enlarged & numerous senses could perceive.

And particularly they studied the genius of each city & country, placing it under its mental deity;

Till a system was formed, which some took advantage of & enslav'd the vulgar by attempting to realize or abstract the mental deities from their objects: thus began Priesthood;

Choosing forms of worship from poetic tales.

And at length they pronounc'd that the Gods had order'd such things.

Thus men forgot that All deities reside in the human breast.

In the most famous part of the book, Blake reveals the Proverbs of Hell. These display a very different kind of wisdom from the Biblical Book of Proverbs. The diabolical proverbs are provocative and paradoxical. Their purpose is to energise thought. Several of Blake's proverbs have become famous: It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. ... The Book of Proverbs is one of the books of the Ketuvim of the Tanakh and of the Writings of the Old Testament. ...

"The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom;

The tigers of wrath are wiser than the horses of instruction;

One law for the lion and ox is oppression"

Blake explains that,

"Without Contraries is no progression. Attraction and Repulsion,

Reason and Energy, Love and Hate, are necessary to Human existence.

From these contraries spring what the religious call Good & Evil.

Good is the passive that obeys Reason. Evil is the active springing

from Energy."

During a visit to a "printing house in hell," Blake learns that diabolic printing is conducted with corrosives (that is by etching). This method helps to "cleanse the doors of perception." Blake promises to adopt this "infernal method" in his own works back on earth. Earth (IPA: , often referred to as the Earth, Terra, the World or Planet Earth) is the third planet in the solar system in terms of distance from the Sun, and the fifth largest. ...

The book ends with a series of revolutionary prophesies and exhortations, climaxing into a fierce proclamation for the different peoples of the world to break the bonds of religious and political oppression.

Interpretation

Blake's text has been interpreted in many ways. It certainly forms part of the revolutionary culture of the period. The references to the printing house suggest the underground radical printers producing revolutionary pamphlets at the time. Ink-blackened print workers were jokingly referred to as "printing devils," and revolutionary publications were regularly denounced from the pulpits as the work of the devil.

In contrast, the book has been interpreted as an anticipation of Freudian and Jungian models of the mind, illustrating a struggle between a repressive superego and an amoral id. It has also been interpreted as an anticipation of Nietzsche's theories about the difference between slave morality and master morality. Sigmund Freud His famous couch Sigmund Freud (May 6, 1856 - September 23, 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of the psychoanalytic school of psychology, a movement that popularized the theory that unconscious motives control much behavior. ... Carl Gustav Jung Carl Gustav Jung (July 26, 1875 – June 6, 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and founder of the neopsychoanalytic school of psychology. ... In his theory of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud sought to explain how the unconscious mind operates by proposing that it has a particular structure. ... In his theory of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud sought to explain how the unconscious mind operates by proposing that it has a particular structure. ... Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 – August 25, 1900) (IPA: ) was a German philologist and philosopher. ... One of the themes of Friedrich Nietzsches works was master morality vs. ... One of the themes of Friedrich Nietzsches works was master morality vs. ...

Influence

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell is probably the most influential of Blake's works. Its vision of a dynamic relationship between a stable "Heaven" and a dynamic "Hell" has fascinated theologians, aestheticians and psychologists. Aldous Huxley took the name of one of his most famous works, The Doors of Perception from this work (and The Doors took their name from Huxley's work). Huxley's contemporary, C. S. Lewis wrote The Great Divorce about the divorce of Heaven and Hell, in response to Blake's Marriage. It has also inspired many artists and musicians, notably Ulver, who used the work as the lyrical basis for their double album Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Interestingly, an allusion from The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, depicting Aristotle's skeleton, is present in Wallace Steven's poem Less and Less Human, O Savage Spirit. Theology (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason) means reasoned discourse concerning religion, spirituality and God. ... Aesthetics (or esthetics) (from the Greek word αισθητική) is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty. ... A psychologist is a scientist and/or clinician who studies psychology, the systematic investigation of the human mind, including behavior and cognition. ... Aldous Leonard Huxley (July 26, 1894 – November 22, 1963) was an English writer who emigrated to the United States, living in Los Angeles until his death in 1963. ... The Doors of Perception is a 1954 book by Aldous Huxley detailing his experiences when taking mescaline. ... The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles by keyboardist Ray Manzarek, vocalist Jim Morrison, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger. ... Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis, was an Irish author and scholar. ... The Great Divorce : A Dream is a work of fantasy by C. S. Lewis (ultimately deriving its impetus from his Christian beliefs). ... Look up artist in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A musician is a person who plays or composes music. ... Ulver (Norwegian for Wolves) is an experimental musical ensemble from Norway that started out making folk-inspired black metal and neo-classical folk music. ... Themes from William Blakes The Marriage of Heaven and Hell is the fourth album by Norwegian experimental group Ulver. ... Wallace Stevens Wallace Stevens (October 2, 1879 – August 2, 1955) was a major American Modernist poet. ...

External links

• The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (text and images of the plates)
• The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (text and images of the plates)