Constructive Vision and Visionary Deconstruction: Loss, Eternity and the Productions of Time in the Later Poetry of William Blake [Hardcover]

Peter Otto (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 11, 1991 | ISBN-10: 0198117515 | ISBN-13: 978-0198117513

Focusing on the tension in Blake's poetry between doubt and belief, this book offers a new account of the way Blake's major prophecies work and of the strategies they employ. Offering a radically new reading of Milton and Jerusalem, Otto argues that the autonomous, world-forming imagination is subject to visionary deconstruction. He demonstrates that rather than subordinating existence to perception, the poems attempt to induce their readers to action.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'certainly good for intense and intellectually demanding reading' Blake/An Illustrated Quarterly, Summer 1991

'Leading us, passage by passage, through Blake's two most difficult poems, he often has illuminating things to say ... many readers, particularly those still struggling to come to terms with Milton and Jerusalem, will find Otto highly useful as an interpreter who, eschewing eccentricity, speaks in Blake's own vein rather than in some alternative to it ... he excels in the use and explication of symbolic images.' Brian Wilkie, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, MLR,88.3, 1993

'In his engaging discussion of Milton he shows how critics have tended to base their readings on an ethic of self-fulfilment that the 'Bard's Song' is actually designed to deconstruct. His exploration of the 'three classes of men; defined in the poem ... is likely to have a lasting influence on approaches to the work. Otto's discussion of time ... brings a new sophistication to a subject that Blake criticism has tended to handle in a makeshift fashion.' Andrew Lincoln, University of London, Literature and Theology, Vol. 7, No. 4, Dec '903

'an important book that should be read by all Blake critics' Wordsworth Circle, Autumn 1993, Vol. XXIV, No. 4

'Otto's emphases permit him some most illuminating expositions of difficult texts, such as the Bard's song from Milton.' Edward Larrissy. University of Keele. Notes and Queries. Sept '94

About the Author

Peter Otto is at University of Melbourne.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (April 11, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198117515
• ISBN-13: 978-0198117513
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,023,605 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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