This is the reprint of the edition published in 1797, with engravings of William Blake. The poem itself, enormously popular in the 18th century, is now shrouded in obscurity, and it stays in print only due to Blake's illustrations. But despite of its unpopularity, I found it quite enjoyable. It is best read in one sitting, without interrupting the constant flow of ideas and thoughts. It is a meditation, at once introspective and all-encompassing, a contemplation of Death, Time, Friendship, and Immortality of man. Granted, it does tend to drag on too much in the last chapter, but the first ones are so good they're worthy of being memorized. Blake's engravings, surrounding the text as a frame, capture the essense of the poem and at the same time enhance it, adding to it even more depth. The poem's abstract concepts take shape, making some passages more memorable. (This edition includes a commentary on the pictures' symbolism.) The book is worth getting for the engravings alone; it is a work of art in every sense of the word.

I thoroughly enjoyed this tape. Beautiful poetry read by beautiful voices. It's wonderful for playing in the car on long journeys, it could even be the perfect antidote to road rage. Very relaxing.

The best of William Blake (and then some!), taken off the shelf, dusted off and propped up for the rest of eternity to consider. From the aphorisms of "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell" (required reading) to the later prophetic books, it's Blake in all of his...Blakeness. And let's give a hand to Kazin for his fantastic Introduction to one of the heavy-hitters of the Western tradition.

I am a principal in an urban school district and I found Blake's words to ring so true--urban girls are an especially "silenced" and misunderstood group. I think all urban teachers and administrators should read this book to learn how we can learn more about the students we teach. Blake shows us how we can, through writing in the classroom, actually help students to think of alternatives to violence.

A timely and well-written book! Highly recommended!

Dover has done the reading world an enormous favor by keeping books like this available in low-cost editions. Poems like "The Little Black Boy," The Chimney Sweeper," and "The Lamb" are among the sweetest, saddest lyrics ever penned by a poet in English. Reading these poems in an edition that provides facsimile color reproductions of the original watercolor plates (painted individually by hand) helps in our perception of them. These poems were meant to be absorbed visually. Branches, vines and leaves weave through the lines as we read. Of course children can appreciate the sentiment and charm of the poems, but older readers will see their sharp social criticism as well, especially when balanced against matching poems in Blake's "Songs of Experience." This book has my favorite pastoral lyics in the language. It is a permanent contribution to the spirit of humankind.

The scholarship that works through this book is obviously one of love and devotion of many many years. Bentley's sorting out of events in Blake's life is amazingly well researched - it is the first Blake biography that does not have that usual blur of focus that leaves one more mystified than enlightened. Blake's contemporaries, friends, enemies, patrons, etc. are all given voice through their own extant letters, articles . . - this contextualizes him beautifully and clears the field of critical debris that has grown out over the centuries. In fact, it is Bentley's sober critical eye (of fairness) which is so refreshing - his sense of balance is impeccable. Only a lifetime lover of Blake could hit so consistently true tones. But if you're arriving to this book looking for critical scholarship of the work and myth than you're walking through the wrong door. This book is not about the minutae of the work (see Northrop Frye for that) - it assumes already that one is also a lover and "understander" of the work. This book is about the man - written and informed, of course, by the man's work, but is a book about Blake's life - not a treatise on Urthona. Yes, I recommend this book. Walk on in and stroll around.

I was introduced to this picture book in my Children's Literature class. The illustrations are vivid and thought provoking. This book is a beautiful extension of William Blake's classic poem and I reccommend it for children of all ages.

I recommend that any fan of William Blake buy this volume and the other 5 in the series. The books are beautiful, large, and handsomely bound. Each book is reproduced in full color, using a six-color printing process rather than the standard four. The pages are heavy, opaque and have a gorgous lustre indicating very high quality paper. The text of each book accompanies the color reproductions in standard typeface with very competent commentary to boot.

Edward Ahearn, honored University Professor at Brown University, here commits to paper subjects he has examined through reading and teaching. To deal with the visionary, he makes the obligatory stop through Blake, whose fiery social conscience and mythological incoherence made him the template for future literary "visionaries": Nerval and Lautreamont among the French; Burroughs; and the voices of Dadaism and Surrealism. As some of these writings are impenetrably concentrated, and outright antagonistic towards the reader, it is Ahearn's task to bridge the reader and these fictions, in order to communicate his own analyses of them. This task he handles with the same directness and precision of his college lectures, along with the exactness of a critic who presupposes some familiarity with these texts. As a work of criticism and of writing, an achievement

Deftly edited by Robert N. Essick (Professor of English, University of California - Riverside), Visions of the Daughters of Albion is a full color reproduction of William Blake's classic literary blend of verse and art, which was first printed in 1793. Enhanced with a straightforward, easy-to-read, separate transcription of Blake's poem, drawings from Blake's sketchbook related to the final work, and an extensive and erudite literary commentary on the images plate-by-plate, Visions Of The Daughters Of Albion is the definitive edition of a timeless classic and would grace the collection of any academic reference library or William Blake enthusiast.