Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Colin Louva and I'm Katie Blake. Spotlight uses a
special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no matter
where in the world they live. Imagine a painting of an old man.
The man is crouching on the edge of the sun. All around him there
is only darkness. There is nothing but this man and an empty world.
In his hand, the man holds a tool called as This is a tool
people use to create perfect circles on paper. Builders use them to design buildings.
Usually compasses are made of steel, but this compass is made of gold,
and the man is not using it on paper. He draws with the
compass on the emptiness around him. His long white hair blows in the wind.
This is a painting called Ancient of Days. It is by the English
poet and painter William Blake. Blake painted it in seventeen ninety four. The
painting shows Blake's version of the creation of the universe. Here, a being
like the Christian God designs the world from nothing. Like many people of his
time, Blake was a Christian. But Blake was also very different than the
people around him. He believed he could see angels. He said that the
dead spoke to him. These beliefs made him difficult to work with. People
did not value his poetry and art during his life, but his beliefs also
made his work some of the most beautiful and interesting of that time. Today's
spotlight is on William Blake. William Blake was born in seventeen fifty seven in
London, England. His family was not wealthy. His father made clothing and
was not always well paid, but he had enough money to let his children
follow their interests. It became clear early on that Blake was good at art.
He would spend hours looking at paintings in the market. He loved them
so much that he wanted to become an engraver. Engraving was a way of
cutting images into wood or metal. Engravers would then color these images with wet
paint. Then they could put these images onto paper. Blake became the student
of a master engraver. It was clear even then that he had a lot
of talent. But Blake also started seeing things at an early age. As
a young child, Blake was wandering in a field. He looked up at
a tree to see angels flying in the branches. The angels shocked Blake and
filled him with wonder. Ann Malcolmson wrote about William Blake. He ran to
tell his family what he had seen. His father decided that the time had
come for the boy to learn the difference between imagination and reality. He threatened
to hit him for lying. His mother, however, took his side when
she questioned him about his experience. He described the angels as looking like thoughts
he had seen them in his orgination, but the feeling words vivid. We
do not know if Blake really saw these things. We do not know if
he only imagined them. We do not know if he saw something he could
not explain. But Blake strongly believed he saw them. As he grew up,
he saw other religious things. They would shape his work powerfully. He
would even develop his own version of Christian belief because of these visions. Much
of his art presented these things he saw that others could not. Blake's odd
religious beliefs made it difficult for him to find work. Sometimes this was because
people found him too strange, but mostly Blake did not want to do work
for money. He did not like other people telling him what he could and
could not make so Blake and his family often lived in poverty. When he
did find work, he had a hard time doing what he was asked to
do. Doctor John Trustler was a successful writer. He was also a member
of the Church of England. Trustler asked Blake to work for him. He
asked Blake to work under a set of directions, but Blake did not follow
them. After finishing his work, he wrote to doctor Trustler. I attempted
every morning for two weeks to follow your directions, but I found all of
my attempts were unsuccessful. So I decided to show an independence that I know
will please you better. I will not follow the path of another, however
wonderful that path may be at any rate. My excuse must be. I
could not do anything else. It was out of my power. Doctor Trustler
was not happy with Blake's new direction. He told Blake the images were not
realistic. Trustler refused to have Blake work for him again. But though Blake
was not wealthy, he continued to make his own art. He created his
own way of engraving on copper, and he began writing poetry. Blake created
many books of poetry, and he would make images to go along with his
poems. Some of these books were about the future as Blake imagined it,
but he also wrote poems about love and wonder. One of Blake's best known
poems is called the Tiger. It is from his book Songs of Innocence and
Experience. Nick Page reads part of Blake's poem, Tiger Tiger 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 sees the fire?
When the stars threw down their spears and watered Heaven with their tears, did
he smile his work to see? Did he who made the lamb make thee?
Blake's poem speaks about the creation of a tiger. He compares the process
to making steel or iron. This process, called forging, is dangerous.
It needs a lot of heat and strength. Blake wonders who could create such
a powerful thing? He asks who would have that kind of strength. Blake
died in eighteen twenty seven Heaven. At that time few people knew who he
was, but soon Blake's work gained wider recognition. People saw his paintings as
strange when he was alive, but today we recognize that these works are one
of a kind. Blake's paintings are powerful markers of faith and creativity. His
poems also influenced many writers, but Blake did not seem to care about popularity.
He believed in his art, and he believed in the things he saw.
He felt it was important to express what he believed, and he worked
toward doing this with everything he had. Blake saw his faith and creativity as
one united thing. His creativity built his faith, His faith guided his creativity.
Is there a link between faith and creativity? Are they similar? How
are they different? The writer of this program was Dan Christman. The producer
was Michio Ozaki. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and the
United States. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight.
You can listen to this program again and read it on the internet at www
dot Radio English dot net. This program is called The Divine Imagination of William
Blake. You can also get our programs delivered directly to your Android or Apple
device through our free official Spotlight English app. We hope you can join us
again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye,