Monday, November 10, 2014

Hughes' Jerusalem 4



Early Plate of Jerusalem
Here is another one:

Plate 4 of Jerusalem
I haven't found a discussion in Hughes of the first two Plates -without text. On page 163 is a '1' with this heading (actually about Plate 4):

"Albion Rejects the Call of the Divine Humanity and 'Chaos is Come Again"

(On page 51 the same heading appears - at the beginning of Blake's text.)

The 'Call of Jesus' comes to the fallen Albion, but is rejected in a host of ways: "unbelief, rationalism, selfishness, possessiveness, and jealousy". He has fallen asleep to Ulro.  His emanation (actually Jerusalem)  has left him  because he jealously tried  to keep her.

Put in another way Albion refused to use his imagination and become spiritually blind.

Hughes attempts to describe the shape of 'this world': pure materialism with every man against Man; every man for himself and interested in things rather than faith or love.

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