While Blake was the Poetic Genius defined, he was also a philosopher, radical, and great thinker. If we ignore the prophetic and epic qualities of Blake's own written and engraved works, we discover further intended meanings on a social and political level. Blake's Jerusalem is an example in which social ideas shine through the epic tale of Albion. In this work, Blake's love-hate relationship with his native England is expressed through the tensions between characters. As another example, we may look toward Blake's "London" in his Songs of Experience. Here, once again, Blake comments on the city he both loves and hates.

Some of Blake's influences and those he influenced are easily traced. If we look toward his own Marriage of Heaven and Hell, Blake tells us, on plate 3, "And lo! Swedenborg is the Angel sitting at the tomb; his writings are the linen clothes folded up." We see that Blake identifies the teachings of Emmanuel Swedenborg but, later he replaces those ideas with his own. Swedenborg's thought appears to serve as a springboard for Blake's expansive vision.

Swedenborg was a highly respected Swedish scientist and philosopher of the 18th century. Though Swedenborg was so accomplished, nevertheless, he was also incomplete. About the middle of his life, Swedenborg began to document various visions that appeared to him and ultimately, those visions which involved the teachings of the Lord. Supposedly, the Lord chose Swedenborg to be the human connection between heaven and earth. For the rest of his life, Emmanuel Swedenborg served the purposes of his God and developed an ability to predict the future. It is that ability that propelled him to fame for his teachings.

While Blake acknowledges Swedenborg's thoughts, he later reveals what he perceives as limitations in Swedenborg's teachings. Blake also thought much about religion and its status withing society. It is within his two works "There is no Natural Religion" and " All Religions Are One," that Blake tackles his own views on the role of religion in society and the individual life.

While we can not possibly give justice to all of Blake's multitudinous ideas here, we may acknowledge that Blake's ideas range throughout a wide scope of subjects and vary from the radical to the practical. Blake was indeed, no ordinary thinker. We would like to encourage future students to consider Blake in a way that not only challenges their own views and opinions about the world but, their opinions about the man himself.

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