William Blake (November 28, 1757 – August 12, 1827) was an English poet, printmaker and painter who achieved scant recognition in his lifetime but is now regarded as seminal to the Romantic Age in both poetry and the visual arts.  His work in both disciplines was highly expressive, original and singular, with undertones of prophecy and mysticism as well as a private mythology with complex symbols that make it difficult to classify.  The visionary dimension of his vision is well captured in William Rossetti’s description of him as a glorious luminary. He was born in London to a family of some means; his father, a hosier, provided copies of drawings of Greek antiquities which Blake copied as a child.  He was apprenticed to an engraver at age 14 and then enrolled at the Royal Academy at age 21.   In 1784 he opened a print shop with fellow apprentice James Parker and began working with publisher Joseph Johnson, activity which led him to associate with leading intellectual dissidents of the day such as theologian Joseph Priestly, artist John Henry Fuseli, feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, and revolutionary Thomas Paine.  He was considered somewhat mad by some, owing to his radical beliefs, which combine a deep reverence for the Bible but animosity towards organized religion. In addition to his own verse, he is known for his illustrations of Dante’s Divine Comedy and Milton’s Paradise Lost. He was ranked 38^th by the BBC in 2002 on its list of the 100 Greatest Britons.