Contraries and Human Existence - William Blake and Cleansing the Doors of Perception

Perception is cleansed in the struggles of life, William Blake realised, as his own life was lived between heaven and hell, innocence and experience, vision and labour. Opposites are the energy that bring the power to see through surfaces to Eternity. Blake offers maps that chart the transformation from the narrow sight of Ulro to the full embrace of divine vision.In this talk I consider Blake's use of verse and imagery to awaken our consciousness; the critique he developed of the mechanical ...