William Blake was born in London and lived through the American and French Revolutions. The horrors and chaos that ensued are a major influence on his writings: for example his poem London tells of the conditions in which he was living in during the time. He wrote the poem to bring light to the problems that society was facing and to influence change. During his childhood William had an artistic imagination and on one occasion he told his parents a story about a tree filled with angels, who's wings were as bright as stars. In response to this William's father was going to beat him, but was stopped by his mother. Later his parents encouraged William's artistic abilities and enrolled him in Pars' drawing school. His parents could not afford to keep him enrolled past the age of fourteen so they apprenticed him to a master engraver. After working as an engraver William enrolled himself in the Royal Academy at the age of 21 and later became a journeyman engraver. During this time he engraved illustrations for Don Quixote and Ladies' Magazine. After William's father died he used the money to open his own print seller shop and to move next door to his family's home. His shop ended up being unsuccessful and his closet brother Robert died, this was one of the hardest parts of his life and a was a changing point in his writing career. He later developed "illuminated writing" and said that he brother Robert was the one who taught him. One of the biggest influences of William's life was the time he was caught up in a riot and ended up being at the front of the mob when the Newgate Prison was burned. William had seen many tragedies in his life and compared the conditions that people had to life in with those in France which led to the French Revolution. He wanted the poem to spark change and to prevent what happened in France from happening in London.
Read more at: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/william-blake
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