Atlanta Holy Innocent School

Atlanta Holy Innocent School

Atlanta Holy Innocent School

William Blake was a poet, painter, mystic, engraver and visionary. He is best-known for Songs of Innocence (1789) and Songs of Experience (1794), and recognized as one of the most original and important English poets. He used his famous process of illuminated printing to illustrate his poems.

Early Life of William Blake

Blake was born on November 28, 1757, in London, England, the son of a simple tradesman. Aged four, he told his parents that he saw God put his head in the window. He never attended school but despite this he acquired a wide knowledge of languages, the Bible and English poetry. In his early teens he was apprenticed to an engraver, from whom he learned the skills that were to earn him his living.

Spiritual, Mystic and Visionary

Blake was an intensely spiritual man. Many people thought he was insane, having claimed to see objects ordinarily unseen or inanimate objects move. He had visions of angels and ancient figures from the Bible. He nurtured the belief that imagination should be encouraged as an important human experience.