All Human Forms (1952)

Title

All Human Forms (1952)

Student Commentary:

This plate from Jerusalem appears at "The End of the Song of Jerusalem.” The emphasis is on the central image of two figures, male and female, who are embracing. Their arched posture creates the appearance that they are in a whirlwind of fire. The female figure’s hair disappears into the fire, while the male is protected by his halo from the fire touching him at all. Yet the overwhelming message is of unity as the poem identifies “All Human Forms” as one in “the Life of Immortality.” This image from the 1952 facsimile should be compared to the colored facsimile in the library’s collections from 1951. Without full color, some of the drama of the image is lost, but overall the message may be even more powerful in its simple unity of color.

Links:

Detailed View of Image at the William Blake Archive

About this Book

Source

William Blake@Union Digital Collection