The Book of Urizen: A Facsimile in Full Color (Dover Fine Art, History of Art) [Paperback]

William Blake (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dover Fine Art, History of Art | Publication Date: July 9, 1997

One of Blake's most interesting and powerful creations — a parody of the book of Genesis in which the righteous figure of God is replaced by that of Urizen, the "dark power." Included are 27 hand-colored plates rich in energy and monumental grandeur, along with a printed transcription of the poem.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The Book Of Urizen
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (July 9, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486298019
• ISBN-13: 978-0486298016
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #407,100 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #7 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Arts & Photography > Art > Religious
  • #70 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Anthologies
  • #79 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Single Authors > British & Irish

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Customer Reviews

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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible depiction of the rise of the human body, May 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Book of Urizen: A Facsimile in Full Color (Dover Fine Art, History of Art) (Paperback)

Blake's "The [First] Book of Urizen" is an incredible poetical and visual depiction of the rise of the flesh and the implications of being bound to our bodies. Particulalry interesting because the book manages to depict an occurance that, according to Blake himself, is impossible to describe. The use of the metaphorical tool of a mythology by the book comes as close as one could expect from a peice of writing to achieving this depiction (the rest, appropriately enough, is up to our imagination). It is this undertaking of what seems to be an impossible task (that of attempting to represent the metaphysical through the physical) that shows this poem's bravery.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Glued binding, April 14, 2010

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Bardolph - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Book of Urizen: A Facsimile in Full Color (Dover Fine Art, History of Art) (Paperback)

I was disappointed to find that this book is not "A Dover Book designed for years of use," like my old Dover copy of Songs of Innocence, which has a sewn binding and opens flat. This Book of Urizen will not open flat without breaking. The reproductions are very good, though.

I would like to see an edition of Blake with the text in the plates sharpened up so that we can actually read it. I wonder if anyone will ever dare to undertake that task.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reproduction of color plates and text, June 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Book of Urizen: A Facsimile in Full Color (Dover Fine Art, History of Art) (Paperback)

A small book but of good value. Very useful to see the full color plates that Blake had designed along with the text. The combination of the two increased my enjoyment of the work. The poetry is a bit obtuse and requires multiple readings to really extract what Blake was saying.