This study should be of interest to the scholar and aficionado alike. It uncovers a thematic unity within Blake's early work: his far reaching use of humour. Although often dismissed as a product of his eccentricity, the author argues the comic was an essential key to Blake's concept of Vision. With special reference to Bakhtin's theory of the carnivalesque, this book offers new readings of many of Blake's works, demonstrating how he was influenced by contemporary theatre, verbal and visual satirists and the Shakespearean clown.

This study uncovers a vital thematic unity within Blake's early work: his far-reaching use of humor. Although often dismissed as a product of his eccentricity, the comic was an essential key to Blake's concept of Vision. With special reference to Bakhtin's theory of the carnivalesque, this book offers new readings of Blake's works, demonstrating how he was influenced by contemporary theatre, verbal and visual satirists and the Shakespearean clown.

Blake's comic brilliance has been variously dismissed as the nervous ramblings of a neglected genius, the tomfool doodles of a distracted youngster, or a crude tool for destabilizing textual authority. But, for the eighteenth century, comedy played a pivotal role in debates on aesthetics, education, spirituality and morality. This exciting new study blends a close reading of Blake's early work with fascinating historical research to demonstrate that the comic was an essential component of Blake's artistic Vision.