I used The William Blake Archive this semester for school, and I couldn’t help but notice what an awesome resource it is. I wanted to share it with all of you.
When you arrive at the site, you’ll find that the main page is the navigation menu. You may get a “not secure” warning on your browser, but this isn’t really an issue since you won’t be entering any private information onto the site, just browsing. Your main browsing options are:
Illuminated Books, Commercial Works, Prints and Prints in series, Drawings and Paintings, Manuscripts and Typographic Works, Works in Preview, and all works. You’ll find Blake’s poetry, prose, illuminated printing, and visual art here. I used this section to check out the illuminated version of his poem and to talk about how it changes the context of the poem when you read it.
Or use the Search – This section allows you to search the archive by title, keyword, and image.
At the bottom of the page, you have even more options.
What’s New – a handy news section that keeps you on top of what’s going on with the archive.
About Blake – here you can learn about William Blake’s work and check out his biographical details.
Resources for Further Research – This section allows you to further your research into Blake at your fingertips.
About the Archive – learn all about the archive, its curators, and a handy FAQ.
I think it is really awesome that thanks to technology the illuminated works of William Blake are accessible to a much wider audience. I hope you’ll check them out today!
http://www.blakearchive.org/blake/
You’ll also want to check out the illustrated William Blake Quarterly: https://blakequarterly.org/index.php/blake
~Amanda