Blake's first printed work,Poetical Sketches(1783),is a collection of apprentice verse,mostly imitating classical models.The poems protest against war,tyranny, and King George III's treatment of the American colonies.He published his most popular collection,Songs of Innocence,in 1789 and followed it,in 1794,with Songs of Experience.Some readers interpret Songs of Innocence in a straightforward fashion,considering it primarily a children's book,but others have found hints at parody or critique in its seemingly naive and simple lyrics.Both books of Songs were printed in an illustrated format reminiscent of illuminated manuscripts.The text and illustrations were printed from copper plates,and each picture was finished by hand in watercolors. Blake was a nonconformist who associated with some of the leading radical thinkers of his day,such as Thomas Paine and Mary Wollstonecraft.In defiance of 18th-century neoclassical conventions,he privileged imagination over reason in the creation of both his poetry and images,asserting that ideal forms should be constructed not from observations of nature but from inner visions.He declared in one poem,"I must create a system or be enslaved by another man's."Works such as "The French Revolution"(1791),"America,a Prophecy"(1793),"Visions of the Daughters of Albion"(1793),and "Europe,a Prophecy"(1794)express his opposition to the English monarchy,and to 18th-century political and social tyranny in general.Theological tyranny is the subject of The Book of Urizen(1794).In the prose work The Marriage of Heaven and Hell(1790-93),he satirized oppressive authority in church and state,as well as the works of Emanuel Swedenborg,a Swedish philosopher whose ideas once attracted his interest. In 1800 Blake moved to the seacoast town of Felpham,where he lived and worked until 1803 under the patronage of William Hayley.He taught himself Greek,Latin, Hebrew,and Italian,so that he could read classical works in their original language. In Felpham he experienced profound spiritual insights that prepared him for his mature work,the great visionary epics written and etched between about 1804 and 1820.Milton(1804-08),Vala,or The Four Zoas(1797;rewritten after 1800), and Jerusalem(1804-20)have neither traditional plot,characters,rhyme,nor meter.They envision a new and higher kind of innocence,the human spirit triumphant over reason. Blake believed that his poetry could be read and understood by common people,but he was determined not to sacrifice his vision in order to become popular.In 1808 he exhibited some of his watercolors at the Royal Academy,and in May of 1809 he exhibited his works at his brother James's house.Some of those who saw the exhibit praised Blake's artistry,but others thought the paintings "hideous"and more than a few called him insane.Blake's poetry was not well known by the general public,but he was mentioned in A Biographical Dictionary of the Living Authors of Great Britain and Ireland,published in 1816.Samuel Taylor Coleridge,who had been lent a copy of Songs of Innocence and of Experience,considered Blake a"man of Genius,"and Wordsworth made his own copies of several songs.Charles Lamb sent a copy ofBlake's first printed work, Poetical Sketches (1783), is a collection of apprentice verse, mostly imitating classical models. The poems protest against war, tyranny, and King George III's treatment of the American colonies. He published his most popular collection, Songs of Innocence, in 1789 and followed it, in 1794, with Songs of Experience. Some readers interpret Songs of Innocence in a straightforward fashion, considering it primarily a children's book, but others have found hints at parody or critique in its seemingly naive and simple lyrics. Both books of Songs were printed in an illustrated format reminiscent of illuminated manuscripts. The text and illustrations were printed from copper plates, and each picture was finished by hand in watercolors. Blake was a nonconformist who associated with some of the leading radical thinkers of his day, such as Thomas Paine and Mary Wollstonecraft. In defiance of 18th-century neoclassical conventions, he privileged imagination over reason in the creation of both his poetry and images, asserting that ideal forms should be constructed not from observations of nature but from inner visions. He declared in one poem, "I must create a system or be enslaved by another man's." Works such as "The French Revolution" (1791), "America, a Prophecy" (1793), "Visions of the Daughters of Albion" (1793), and "Europe, a Prophecy" (1794) express his opposition to the English monarchy, and to 18th-century political and social tyranny in general. Theological tyranny is the subject of The Book of Urizen (1794). In the prose work The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790-93), he satirized oppressive authority in church and state, as well as the works of Emanuel Swedenborg, a Swedish philosopher whose ideas once attracted his interest. In 1800 Blake moved to the seacoast town of Felpham, where he lived and worked until 1803 under the patronage of William Hayley. He taught himself Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and Italian, so that he could read classical works in their original language. In Felpham he experienced profound spiritual insights that prepared him for his mature work, the great visionary epics written and etched between about 1804 and 1820. Milton (1804-08), Vala, or The Four Zoas (1797; rewritten after 1800), and Jerusalem (1804-20) have neither traditional plot, characters, rhyme, nor meter. They envision a new and higher kind of innocence, the human spirit triumphant over reason. Blake believed that his poetry could be read and understood by common people, but he was determined not to sacrifice his vision in order to become popular. In 1808 he exhibited some of his watercolors at the Royal Academy, and in May of 1809 he exhibited his works at his brother James's house. Some of those who saw the exhibit praised Blake's artistry, but others thought the paintings "hideous" and more than a few called him insane. Blake's poetry was not well known by the general public, but he was mentioned in A Biographical Dictionary of the Living Authors of Great Britain and Ireland, published in 1816. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who had been lent a copy of Songs of Innocence and of Experience, considered Blake a "man of Genius," and Wordsworth made his own copies of several songs. Charles Lamb sent a copy of