William Blake's Family Life

William Blake was born on November 28, 1757 to James Blake and Catherine Harmitage Blake. He was the oldest of seven children, which two died in infancy. The youngest, Robert Blake, born in 1767 became Blake’s favorite sibling. Even though Blake lived in the city, he was within walking distance of the fields, hills, and rustic villages bordering London where he spent most of his time. When Blake was as young as four years old, he started to manifest visions such as seeing God “put his head to the window”. Blake’s parents didn’t encourage these visions and his insistence almost led to a beating by his father because he believed Blake was lying. Another one of these visions occurred when Blake was nine years old and it consisted of him looking up at a tree “filled with angels”. Even from a young age Blake was a boy with a high temper and for this physical punishment was useless against him. Blake’s father didn’t force him to attend school for which Blake was glad for. Having been basically self-taught, Blake did however receive instruction in drawing, painting, and engraving, which his father saw as marketable skills and encouraged him.

On August 18, 1782 Blake married Catherine Sophia Boucher, who signed the marriage register with an X. Under her husband’s guidance she became an assistant and disciple. Even though it was a stable and successful marriage, they didn’t have any children. Once Catherine commented, “I have very little of Mr. Blake’s company; he is always in Paradise.” This may be one of the reasons they never had children.

When Blake withdrew from his small print-selling shop with the partnership of James Parker that only lasted the year of 1784 because of Blake’s fiery temper, he attacked him along with the Mathews with his work of An Island in the Moon. As a result, in 1785 he, Catherine, and Robert moved to Poland Street. Robert joined the family while they still lived at 27 Broad Street. Blake had difficulty succeeding as an independent engraver while training Robert in drawing, painting, and engraving. During the winter of 1787, Robert fell ill and died, most likely of tuberculosis of the lungs, after being cared for by Blake for 14 nights and days without sleep at his brother’s bedside. As Robert died, Blake saw his spirit rise up and go through the ceiling, “clapping his hands for joy”. Exhausted and clearly depressed, Blake slept for three straight days and nights. He felt Robert’s spirit visit him and in a dream Robert taught him the secret of stereotype printing.

Blake’s life was marked by conflict, lack of widespread recognition, and lasting success. This would end on August 12,1827 in a two room flat house owned by relatives of his wife, Catherine, because there William Blake passed away. Catherine died four years later. In Blake’s final years he found a small group of disciples who wrote about his death: “Just before he died his countenance became fair. His eyes Brighten’d and He burst out Singing of the things he saw in Heaven.”