William Blake was a poet and visual artist who embodied all that is the spiritual nature of man and did so through pure and untainted art. A master of not only the English language, but also the language of the gods, Blake was ostracized, as the general public had trouble with his linear, gothic, and often edgy style of both writing and painting.
             Born near Golden Square in London on November 28, 1757, William Blake was a precocious youth. Blake's parents were very religious and were quite devoted to the obscure Swedenborgian sect of Christianity, under the principals of which William was raised. Not only was William a bright child and was born in a holy time for the Swedenborgians, but he began to have "spiritual" visions at a young age, including "God on the rooftops of London" and "angels in the trees." William's parents were very pleased with him and they bore another child when William was three years old, who they named Robert. Much like his brother, Robert had visions, often the same or similar to those of William.
             Even without the aid of a formal education, William grew to become a thriving intellectual: "Thank God I was never sent to school, to be flogged into following the style of a fool." Rapidly it became more and more apparent to those surrounding William that he was gifted in both his writing and artistic skills, and his parents supported him by purchasing art supplies to aid young William's practice. At the age of 12, William was apprenticed to an engraver named Ryland, although after one day Blake left his service saying, "I do not like the man's face, it looks as if he will live to be hanged." Sure enough, only a few years later, Blake received word that in fact Ryland had been hanged for forgery. After leaving Ryland, Blake apprenticed himself to another engraver named Basire. Basire was an extremely skilled artist and their time together later enabled Blake to publish his own works.
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