First posted Jan 2010
This post follows the thread in these two posts related to Plate 62 of Jerusalem:
ALBION & LOS
SEVEN EYES OF GOD
Perhaps Plate 62 of Jerusalem
is an attempted summation of Blake's myth up to that point. Putting all
of the Old Testament and New Testament allusions in the text, as well
as connecting the picture to text on Plate 33 that falls much earlier in
the story, points toward an amalgamation of various threads.
COLORED IMAGE: Jerusalem, Plate 62, Albion and Los
Library of Congress |
In the Illumination on Plate 62, we have an example of how Blake presents the explicit and implicit simultaneously. The explicit is invariably the lessor of his communications. Although the seven spots direct us to the Eyes of God, there is a suggestion of twelve spots. The implied twelve suggests the Zodiac and other instances of twelve entities for which we may seek associations.
The picture itself goes beyond the stated imagery of the text on either Plate 62 or Plate 33. In the introduction to William Blake's Circle of Destiny,
Percival presents the overall theme of his book: that when the long
cycle comes to an end, it renews (repeats) itself if error is not cast
off, or it reaches the Last Judgment which ends all temporal things.
Percival sees Blake presenting the whole of the cycle: from the
undifferentiated status of Eternity to the Apocalypse where time ends -
in all its aspects of politics, science, history, sociology, psychology
and religion.
Through the images incorporated in this picture of Albion, Blake may be suggesting a turning point in cosmic events. The ouroboros
(seen as a snake around Albion's head) as a representation of cyclical
experience reminds us that Albion may break the cycle or repeat it. The
peacock feathers surrounding the head remind us that this is a point of
transition. The Eyes of God tell us that Albion is under the protection
of the Eternals though he has not returned from the world of time. The
twelve eyes point to the Zodiac, another image of cyclical movement.
(Percival is able to correlate the stages traversed in Blake's myth with
passage through the signs of the Zodiac in Chapter VIII of his book.)
Using
alchemical symbolism, Percival makes this observation: "The feminine
mercury passes from black to white through an intermediate stage in
which all the colors assert themselves. The symbol of this stage is the
peacock's tail. The appearance of this symbol is a good omen; it means
that the fire is doing its work, that death is awakening into life, or,
as Paracelsus puts it alchemically, 'it showeth the workings of the
philosopher's mercury on the vulgar mercury."' (Page 206)
Just
as Blake wanted us to think of the events of the Old and New Testaments
as we read the words of the text, in the illumination he is calling to
our minds the seven days of creation, the twelve tribes of Israel, and
whatever associations with the numbers seven and twelve which we may
have from our reading of history, literature and numerology. The feet,
cold to the point of blue death, are surrounded by the fires of
destruction and redemption. And what about how Albion grasps the stone
tenaciously? The face of fear, anguish and confusion suggests an
agonizing decision making process like that undergone by Jesus in the
Garden.
Jerusalem, Plate 33 [37], (E 179)
"And One stood forth from the Divine Family &,said
I feel my Spectre rising upon me! Albion! arouze thyself!
Why dost thou thunder with frozen Spectrous wrath against us?
The Spectre is, in Giant Man; insane, and most deform'd.
Thou wilt certainly provoke my Spectre against thine in fury!
He has a Sepulcher hewn out of a Rock ready for thee:
And a Death of Eight thousand years forg'd by thyself, upon
The point of his Spear! if thou persistest to forbid with Laws
Our Emanations, and to attack our secret supreme delights
So Los spoke: But when he saw blue death in Albions feet,
Again he join'd the Divine Body, following merciful;
While Albion fled more indignant! revengeful covering"
Blake bombards us with images, as he makes us ask the question, "Which direction will Albion choose?"
Thanks to Jim and Mark for ideas included in this post.
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