William Blake as Visionary Poet

William Blake is often celebrated as a visionary poet due to his unique blend of mysticism,
spirituality, and vivid imagination in his poetry. Blake claimed to have mystical experiences and
visions throughout his life, which deeply influenced his writing. At age 10, Blake claimed to
have seen a tree full of angels. When his brother died, Blake claims to have seen his brother’s
spirit rising from his body. Later, he created many paintings of people long dead or of unreal
creatures. He claimed that they appeared to him in his visions. His belief in the importance of
imagination and spiritual world led him to create a personal mythology, complete with complex
characters and cosmology.

Mystical Visionary: Blake’s visionary poetry was characterized by his belief in the mystical
and the supernatural. He claimed to have had spiritual experiences and encounters with heavenly
beings, which profoundly influenced his work. These visions often guided his creative process,
and he saw himself as a medium between the earthly and spiritual realms.

Personal Mythology: Blake developed a unique and elaborate personal mythology in his
works. He introduced characters like Urizen, Los, and Orc, who represented different aspects of
the human condition and the spiritual world. This mythology served as a backdrop for exploring
complex philosophical and metaphysical concepts in his poetry.

Imagery and Symbolism: Blake’s poetry is replete with rich and symbolic imagery. He
frequently used vivid and striking visuals to convey his ideas.

The Imagination as a Source of Truth: Central to Blake's visionary poetry is the idea
that the human imagination is a powerful tool for understanding reality. He believed that
imagination could reveal deeper truths that reason alone could not grasp. This is evident in his
famous quote, "I must create a system or be enslaved by another man's; I will not reason and
compare: my business is to create."

The Tyger
The Tyger" is a poem by visionary English poet William Blake, and consists entirely of questions
about the nature of God and creation, particularly whether the same God that created vulnerable
beings like the lamb could also have made the fearsome tiger. The tiger becomes a symbol for
one of religion's most difficult questions: why does God allow evil to exist?
Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
The poem is permeated with a sense of mysticism and spirituality. Blake invokes the imagery
of the "forests of the night" and ponders the tiger's creation in "distant deeps or skies." This
reflects his visionary curiosity about the divine origins of such a fearsome creature.
"In what distant deeps or skies..."

Sick Rose
“The Sick Rose” is a story about Blake’s vision of human experience.
Blake has used destruction of rose’s innocence through symbolism and imagery to illustrate the
greed and avarice of the experienced heart and soul. In a night of deluge, the secret sensual
pleasure overwhelms the rose’s bed of crimson Joy. The writer here depicts the virgin rose’s loss
of chastity through this imagery. The worm is a reference to the serpent that tempted Adam and
Eve in the Bible.
Under the guise of symbolism, the assimilation of all of these symbolism and imagery has
shaped the world of experiences.
"O rose, thou art sick!"

The poison Tree

The poem is famous for the poet’s use of symbolism coupled with mysticism. William Blake, in
A Poison Tree, condemns the emotions of hatred and dislike. He criticizes those who harbour
malice for others.
In "The Poison Tree," Blake demonstrates his visionary capacity by delving into human
psychology. He presents the paradox that openly expressing anger to a friend resolves the issue,
while concealing anger toward a foe allows it to fester and grow. This keen insight into the
human psyche highlights his visionary exploration of the complexities of emotions and
relationships.
"I was angry with my friend;
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.”
Blake employs symbolism and allegory in "The Poison Tree." The tree symbolizes suppressed
anger, which grows and bears deadly fruit when unresolved. This use of symbolism allows him
to convey a profound moral and psychological message in a concise and vivid manner.
"And I watered it in fears,
Night and morning with my tears;
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles."