This section contains 1,770 words (approx. 5 pages at 400 words per page) |
Aubrey holds a Ph.D. in English and has published many articles on twentieth-century literature. In this essay, Aubrey discusses how Milosz's discovery of the poetry of William Blake influenced his poetic vision in "Song of a Citizen" and other poems.
In his book The Land of Ulro (1984), Milosz reveals his high regard for the English romantic poet William Blake (1757-1827). Milosz first discovered Blake's poetry in Warsaw during World War II. Working as a janitor at the university library, which was closed to the public, he taught himself English and read a few of Blake's poems that he found in an anthology. Milosz writes, "In those times and in that landscape so inhospitable to a child's awe before the miraculous, Blake restored to me my earlier raptures, perhaps to my true vocation, that of lover."
Later in his life, Milosz would study Blake's work, including his...
This section contains 1,770 words (approx. 5 pages at 400 words per page) |