# data[].attributes.body
William Blake was born in London in 1757 into a lower-class family. At the age of ten he was sent to a drawing school and was then apprenticed to an engraver. In 1778, he enrolled at the new Royal Academy of Art, and in 1782 set up a print-seller’s shop. Writing and the visual arts were always closely associated for him, in fact, when he published his first collection of poetry, Songs of Innocence, in 1789, the poems were engraved; he also illustrated each one with a picture that was its visual counterpart, like the famous The Lamb and The Tyger. In 1794, he published his Songs of Innocence and of Experience, in a combined volume. Between the 1790 and 1804 he published many “prophetic” books, such as The French Revolution, America: A Prophecy, Europe: A Prophecy and The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. His complex symbolism and personal reworking of myth, biblical and historical materials are best exemplified, however, in his paintings and engravings. Blake chose to accept poverty and obscurity rather than compromise his artistic vision. An exhibition of his paintings was a failure, and he lived in obscurity for the rest of his life, supported by a small group of faithful friends. He died in 1827.

# data[].attributes.body
Blake’s personality and poetry mark the beginning of the Romantic Age. He reacted violently against all traditional forms. Politically, he was in favour of both the French Revolution and American Revolution. Many of Blake’s poems, like The Chimmery Sweeper, are a criticism of the suffering of the poor and oppressed. He openly attacked such national institutions as the Church of England and the monarchy. Blake saw the culture he lived in, its philosophy, its politics, its social organisation, its art, as an instrument for the oppression of men who are born without power, under a kind of intellectual and social tyranny.
Blake’s poetry is difficult because of his use of complex symbols. The use of symbols came naturally to Blake, who believed that the physical world could be read as the book of God. To him, a lamb or tiger, a chimney sweeper or a London street were symbols of a supra-natural reality; they were never to be taken at their face value. On the other hand, his language and syntax are fairly simple. He often adopts an apparently naive style, using a plain, Anglo-Saxon vocabulary, as well as repetitions, refrains and regular stress patterns which are typical of ballads, children’s songs and hymns.

# data[].attributes.body
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Gave thee life & bid thee feed.
By the stream & o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing wooly bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice:
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee

Little Lamb I'll tell thee,
Little Lamb I'll tell thee:
He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb:
He is meek & he is mild,
He became a little child:
I a child & thou a lamb,
We are called by his name.
Little Lamb God bless thee.
Little Lamb God bless thee.

# data[].attributes.body
Tyger Tyger. burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies.
Burnt the fire of thine eyes!
On what wings dare he aspire!
What the hand, dare sieze the fire?

And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp,
Dare its deadly terrors clasp!

When the stars threw down their spears
And water'd heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Tyger, Tyger burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

# data[].attributes.body
In this poem we can see that William Blake is not talking about the tiger, he uses the tiger as a symbol, same for the lamb. By putting the lamb in his poem, Blake reminds us that the tiger and the lamb are created by the same god, and yet they are so different. In addition, he proposes a contrast between experience and innocence.
All the questions in the poem are left unanswered because the poet wants to leave the readers in a questioning mentality. All of these questions on the unanswerable things are thought to make us reflect about life, death, good and evil.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
William Blake: Poet, Artist & Visionary - a genius of early Romanticism in England

# data[].attributes.body
1824/1827

# data[].attributes.body
1824/1827

# data[].attributes.body
1805/1810

# data[].attributes.headline
The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun

# data[].attributes.subject
The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun

# data[].attributes.body
1805/1810

# data[].attributes.headline
The Great Red Dragon and the Beast from the Sea

# data[].attributes.subject
The Great Red Dragon and the Beast from the Sea

# data[].attributes.body
1805/1810

# data[].attributes.headline
The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in Sun

# data[].attributes.subject
The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in Sun

# data[].attributes.body
1805/1810

# data[].attributes.body
"The Great Red Dragon" paintings are a series of watercolour paintings made between 1805 and 1810. It was during this period that Blake was commissioned to create over a hundred paintings intended to illustrate books of the Bible. These paintings depict "The Great Red Dragon" in various scenes from the Book of Revelation. Blake was a visionary printmaker, painter, and poet influenced by the Bible also because of his deep religiousness. Inspired by the Book of Revelations, he transformed a classical male nude into a seven-headed dragon, identified with Satan. In "The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in Sun", one of his most famous  paintings, the Great Red Dragon attempts to snatch a woman’s son. The frightened woman, praying for divine intervention, has been interpreted as the Virgin Mary, Israel and the Church.