Madness and Blake's Myth

Paul Youngquist provides a systematic study of the relationship between mental instability and the poetic vision of William Blake in Madness and Blake's Myth, Volume 1. While modern critics often attempt to separate Blake's artistic genius from suspicions of insanity, this scholarly work argues that madness is central to his thematic content and dramatic method. This English poetry analysis examines how Blake's mythic structures reflect the dissociation of a unified mind, moving from his early lyrics to his complex late epic-prophecies.

Drawing upon clinical and philosophical inquiries, the text explores how Blake transforms mental suffering into a metaphor for the Fall. Madness and Blake's Myth, Volume 1 suggests that Blake's sophisticated mythology serves a therapeutic function, acting as a psychological defense against the very instability he dramatizes. This volume offers a rigorous reexamination of a major figure in European poetry and the psychological complexities behind his literary achievements.