William Blake Biography

Want to read the rest of this paper? Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay and over 50,000 other term papers

as Cradle Song illustrate Blake's fond memories for his upbringing by his mother (Pettinger, Tejvan). Although always a well read and intelligent man, Blake left his home schooling and attended the Henry Pars Drawing Academy for five years. The artists he admired as a child included Raphael, Michelangelo, Giulio, Romano and Dürer. He started writing poetry at the age of twelve and in 1783 his friends paid for his first collection of verses to be printed, which was entitled "Poetical Sketches" and is now seen as a major poetical event of the 18th century. Despite his obvious talents as a poet, his official profession was as an engraver because he could not afford to do a painter's apprenticeship and therefore began his apprenticeship with the engraver James Basire in 1772. After completing his apprenticeship six years later, he joined the Royal Academy of Art. At this point his art and engraving remained separate; he wrote and drew for pleasure and simply engraved to earn a living. ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays. Write better papers. Get better grades. Already a member? Login

CITE THIS PAGE: