Sarah Haggarty – författare

Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1794) is William Blake's best-known work, containing such familiar poems as 'London', 'Sick Rose' and 'The Tyger'. Evolving over the author's lifetime, the collection was printed by Blake himself on his own press.This Reader's Guide:- Explains the unique development of Songs as an illuminated book- Considers the earliest reactions to the text during Blake's lifetime, and his gathering posthumous reputation in the nineteenth century - Explores modern critical approaches and recent debates- Discusses key topics that have been of abiding interest to critics, including the relationship between text and image in Blake's 'composite art'Insightful and stimulating, this introductory guide is an invaluable resource for anyone who is seeking to navigate their way through the mass of criticism surrounding Blake's most widely-studied work.

The idea of the gift, in contrast to concepts of commercial exchange or the exercise of self-interest at the expense of social ties, is integral to the ways in which William Blake thought about his art, and the production and dissemination of his work. Sarah Haggarty offers a sophisticated and thorough account of the idea of the gift in Blake's writing and designs, examining both the theoretical implications of the term, and the way it plays out in specific textual and visual contexts within Blake's works. Elegantly written, thoughtful and closely argued, this book explores particular passages with great dexterity and in a style that enables the reader to participate in the experience of discovering the significance of 'the gift' for understanding Blake's work.

William Blake, poet and artist, is a figure often understood to have 'created his own system'. Combining close readings and detailed analysis of a range of Blake's work, from lyrical songs to later myth, from writing to visual art, this collection of thirty-eight lively and authoritative essays examines what Blake had in common with his contemporaries, the writers who influenced him, and those he influenced in turn. Chapters from an international team of leading scholars also attend to his wider contexts: material, formal, cultural, and historical, to enrich our understanding of, and engagement with, Blake's work. Accessibly written, incisive, and informed by original research, William Blake in Context enables readers to appreciate Blake anew, from both within and outside of his own idiom.

The idea of the gift, in contrast to concepts of commercial exchange or the exercise of self-interest at the expense of social ties, is integral to the ways in which William Blake thought about his art, and the production and dissemination of his work. Sarah Haggarty offers a sophisticated and thorough account of the idea of the gift in Blake's writing and designs, examining both the theoretical implications of the term, and the way it plays out in specific textual and visual contexts within Blake's works. Elegantly written, thoughtful and closely argued, this book explores particular passages with great dexterity and in a style that enables the reader to participate in the experience of discovering the significance of 'the gift' for understanding Blake's work.