Another week goes by. I'm not reading this book the way I originally proposed--each page as computer wallpaper for a 24-hour period--more like a week. That's fine, I guess. But it's important to specify how exactly I am reading.
I should also say that part of my reading experience is going back to the Blake Archive to compare the page I'm focusing on with the page that came before and after. Which is a very codex thing to do, I suppose, but not something I specified when I began my reading.
Finally, I want to note that I originally began this reading project as a way to reflect on technologically-enhanced spiritual reading/experience. I'm finding, so far, that this book is not really conducive to this project so far. As en emblem book, without a strong narrative--or without a narrative with strong religious/spiritual content--it's difficult to experience this book as one might approach typical "spiritual reading." Of course, I should probably define my terms ("spiritual" and "reading"). But I'm afraid if I attempted such definition, I'd be here all night.
Let me reflect a little on this plate, which I've been sitting with, and before, for a week. Maybe it is a spiritual experience after all, in that this plate is entitled "Water." Cheating a little, peaking ahead to the next plate--which is entitled "Earth"--I believe I see a pattern. The book proper beginning with the four elements. This is, actually, a spiritual experience for me at the moment, in that my spiritual expression lately has been "earth-based," or pagan, and a key part of pagan ritual (at least in the Celtic, or "Wiccan" tradition) is to begin by "casting the circle," by invoking the directions, the four main directions being associated with one of the four elements. In this case, in the tradition I have been following, water is associated with the West, earth with the East, fire with the South, air with the North. Traditionally the circle is cast beginning in the East, where the sun rises. Blake is beginning in the West, which is appropriate to his contrarian spirit, I suppose.
I will not push this much further at this point. It would be hard to argue that Blake, who gave a definitely negative spin to the Druidical, or the pagan, in his illuminated books (particularly Jerusalem) is some kind of neo-pagan. Still, it's an interesting thing to think about.
What more about this plate? The inscription under the title ("Water"): "Thou Waterest him with Tears." And the image: a muscular, naked man, not young, beardless but long haired, sitting on a rock at the base of a tree, while rain pours down upon him from above. He stretches forth his hands under the rain, as if he has just noticed it's raining, coming out of a revery.
Once again, the inscription and the image seem to be working at odds. The inscription is in pseudo-Biblical or religious language ("Thou", "Waterest him"), but there is nothing particularly religiously iconographic about the image. No religious symbols in the background; the figure unbearded (one of Blake's favorite iconographic signifiers as the bearded male). The figure is not in ecstasy (another iconographic signifier), or himself (or any other god figure) crying (as we see so often in the illuminated books).
In the previous plate I said I didn't know what to make of it because it was so surreal. In this plate, I don't know what to make of it because it's so un-surreal. I find it a well-designed emblem, but, as I said, the inscription kind of ruins it as an emblem. If I wanted to use it (and, as in previous plates, publishing information--"published by W Blake" etc.--appears on the plate, indicating that Blake wanted to offer it as a stand-alone imprint), I might ask that the inscription be covered over, leaving only the image, since it seems so odd.
Or then I might just wait until I read the whole book before making any such order. I still can't get any purchase (excuse the pun) on this book, but then I've learned by now that being without purchase on Blake is central to reading (or attempting to read) Blake.
Posted by jeb at November 16, 2004 9:51 PM | TrackBack