BLAKE and the Assimilation of Chaos BLAKE and the Assimilation of Chaos Christine Gallant PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS PRINCETON, NEWJERSEY I S 97 Copyright © 1978 by Princeton University Press Published by Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, Guildford, Surrey All Rights Reserved Library of Congress Cataloging tn Publication Data will be found on the last printed page of this book Publication of this book has been aided by a grant from the Paul Mellon Fund of Princeton University Press This book has been composed in V.I.P. Garamond Clothbound editions of Princeton University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and binding materials are chosen for strength and durability Printed in the United States of America by Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey Listen, I will tell thee what is done in moments to thee unknown. JERUSALEM 1.7.29 Acknowledgments JL would like to thank here those who have helped me along the way as I wrote this book: James Scoggins, Professor of English at Virginia Poly technic Institute and State University, whose open-minded encouragement of a critical approach not at all his own kept me writing in the early days; David Erdman, equally and generously tolerant, whose per ceptive questions led me to see that Blake explored social as well as psychological Chaos; and my husband James, also a writer, with whom I enjoyed so many battles about language and style. Furthermore, he did the dishes. Contents Acknowledgments vii Abbreviations xi Introduction 3 ONE. Myth and Non-Myth 9 TWO. The Balance of Archetypes in The Four Zoas 48 THREE. The Reassumption of Ancient Bliss 95 FOUR. Going Forth to the Vintage of Nations 116 FIVE. Beyond Myth, Beyond Non-Myth 155 Bibliography 187 Index 197