Semester
Summer
Date of Graduation
2008
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MA
College
College of Creative Arts
Department
Art History
Committee Chair
Janet Snyder.
Committee Co-Chair
Rhonda Reymond
Committee Member
Kristina Olson
Abstract
The central theme of this thesis is the visual analysis of William Blake's art in connection to the available mythological and religious texts by which Blake constructed his own artificial mythology. This analysis will include explorations into Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, Jewish and Hindu myth as well as Christian and mystic texts. The various works or "books" by Blake will be the visual basis, specifically The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790), his later "prophetic" work Jerusalem, the Emanation of the Giant Albion (1820) and his last completed work The Illustrations of the Book of Job (1825). This thesis will affirm that Blake was heavily influenced by the various mythological symbolisms around him, which were incorporated and at times quoted, directly in his own work.
Recommended Citation
Cunningham, Teresa L., "William Blake's artificial mythology and quotations from world mythos" (2008). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 806.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/806