The New apocalypse : the radical Christian vision of William Blake

241 Pages·2000·0.98 MB·English

by  Blake

The New Apocalypse

The New Apocalypse
The Radical Christian Vision of William Blake
Thomas J. J. Altizer
Philosophical and Cultural Studies in Religion
The Davies Group, Publishers Aurora, Colorado
The New Apocalypse: The Radical Christian Vision of William Blake
©1967, The Michigan State University Press. ©2000, Thomas J. J. Altizer
All rights reserved. No part of the contents of this book may be reproduced, stored
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Altizer, Thomas J. J.
The new apocalypse: the radical Christian vision of William Blake.
p. cm. – (Series in philosophical and cultural studies in religion)
Originally published: [East Lansing]: Michigan State University Press, 1967. With new
pref.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-0888570-56-3 (alk. paper)
1. Blake William, 1757-1827–Religion. 2. Christianity and literature–England–His-
tory–18th century. 3. Christian poetry, English–History and criticism. 4. Apocalyptic
literature–History and criticism. 5. Radicalism in literature. I. Title. II. Series.
PR4148.R4 A78 2000
821’.7–dc21
00-035845
Credit is given to the Westminster Press for material originally appearing
in The Gospel of Christian Atheism (1996).
Cover design by The Davies Group. Digital image is from The Book of Urizen, Copy G, Plate 6,
The William Blake Archive and the Library of Congress. Copyright© 1998 the William Blake
Archive. Used with permission.
Printed in the United States of America
Published 2000. The Davies Group Publishers, Aurora CO 80044-0140
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
For Jane and Nell

Contents
Abbreviations for Works of William Blake ix
Introduction xi
I Fall
I Dialectic and Fall 1
II God 3
III Nature 7
IV Perception and the Senses 11
V Sex and the Body 15
VI Reason 21
VII Space and Ulro 29
VIII Religion 33
IX The Female 43
II Redemption
I The Age of the Spirit 51
II Incarnation and Kenosis 57
III Atonement and Luvah 68
IV Creation 78
V The Female 87
VI Generation and Regeneration 94
III History
I History and Vision 101
II Paradise and History 107
III Cosmos and History 113
IV God and History 120
V Jesus 128
VI States and the Individual 136
IV Apocalypse
I America 143
II Dialectic and Apocalypse 151
III Mysticism and Eschatology 164
IV Self-annihilation 176
V Christ and Antichrist 191
V Afterword 201
Notes 211
Index 219

Abbreviations
For the Works of William Blake
Citations from the engraved works of Blake contain references, first to the number of
the plate, and then to the line or lines on the plate (e.g., J. 10:10); citations from the
manuscripts of Blake are either to the line of the manuscript (e.g., F.Z. I, 10) or to
the original page number of Blake’s notebook (e.g., V.L.J. p. 70). All of this material
may be found in Sir Geoffrey Keynes edition of the Complete Writings of William Blake
(Nonesuch and Random House, 1957). The dates of composition given below are
taken from A Blake Bibliography by G. E. Bentley, Jr., and Martin K. Nurmi (University
of Minnesota Press, 1964).
A. America (engraved), 1793
B.U. The First Book of Urizen (engraved), 1794
E. Europe (engraved), 1794
E.G. “The Everlasting Gospel” (manuscript), 1818 (probably)
F.Z. “Vala” or “The Four Zoas” (manuscript), 1795-1808 (probably)
J. Jerusalem (engraved), 1804-1807-1820 (probably)
M. Milton (engraved), 1804-1808 (probably)
M.H.H. The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (engraved), 1790-1793
S .E. Songs of Experience (engraved), 1794
S.I. Songs of Innocence (engraved), 1789
V.D.A. Visions of the Daughters of Albion (engraved), 1793
V.L.J. “Vision of the Last Judgement” (manuscript), 1810