About the Author

William Blake (1757-1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. Apprentice to a master engraver, Blake studied at the Royal Academy under the guidance of Joshua Reynolds, before later engraving and publishing Songs of Innocence in 1789 and the contrasting Songs of Experience in 1794.