THE MAN:
William Blake was born in 1757 to a modest family in London where he lived most of his life. He attended school only long enough to read and write and was then home schooled. As a teen he was apprenticed as an engraver, an art that he pursued throughout his life in his art and in his published books.
Although Blake was deeply spiritual and greatly influenced by the Bible, he decried organized religion of all kinds. He claimed to have received visions, even angelic visitations, throughout his life. His work, both in art an literature, is so singularly unique that few comparisons can be made between him and any other creative soul. Nonetheless, his influence has been lasting for those inspired by his enigmatic and visionary poetry.
Two of his most frequently published poems seem to draw from opposite spiritual impulses and images - that of the lamb and the tiger.
THE LAMB
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Gave thee life & bid thee feed.
By the stream & o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing wooly bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice!
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Little Lamb I'll tell thee,
Little Lamb I'll tell thee!
He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb:
He is meek & he is mild,
He became a little child:
I a child & thou a lamb,
We are called by his name.
Little Lamb God bless thee.
Little Lamb God bless thee.
THE TIGER
TIGER, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?
And what shoulder and what art
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand and what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
When the stars threw down their spears,
And water'd heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?
Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
THE MEMORIAL:
When William Blake died in 1827 he was buried in the historic Bunhill Fields Burial Ground which had become a final resting place for other nonconformists, such as Susannah Wesley, mother of John and Charles Wesley, founders of the Methodist Church, and John Fox founder of the Quakers. Other literary figures interred near William Blake's memorial are John Bunyan, author of the classic religious allegory Pilgrim's Progres and Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe.
NEAR BY LIE THE REMAINS OF
THE POET-PAINTER
WILLIAM BLAKE
1757 - 1827
AND OF HIS WIFE
CATHERINE SOPHIA
1762 - 1831
The exact location of Blake's unmarked grave is not known, but this simple headstone is as near as can be determined. It is in a courtyard area of the cemetery which has been preserved as an public open space and park for nearly 150 years since it's closure to burials. The maker also bears the name of his wife, Catherine, who assisted and supported him in his artistic life.
The cemetery/park is open form 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 on weekdays and until 7:00 on weekends.