8Regarded by a contemporary as a "brilliant eccentric whose works skirted the outer fringes of English art and literature," William Blake (1757-1827) is today recognized as a major poet and artist. This collection of 104 poems, carefully chosen by noted Blake scholars David and Virginia Erdman, reveals the lyricism, mystical vision, and consummate craftsmanship that have earned the poet his preeminent place with both critics and the general public. Among the selections included here are "Proverbs of Hell" from The Marriage of Heaven and Hell ― a satire on religion and morality considered Blake's most inspired and original work; "A Song of Liberty," "The Argument," "The Mental Traveller," "Gwin, King of Norway," "The Land of Dreams," "William Bond," "To the Evening Star," and many more.