In this poem, Blake takes a big step toward the massive mythology he was to roll out in the next few years. The original intention of this poem was to present the French Revolution in both historic and mythic terms in seven sections. Only the first section is extant and there is debate as to whether or not more was written and not published or if Blake, no stranger to bailing on projects, only wrote the first book. The poem as it exists now has a lot of energy; Blake was a strong supporter of both the American & the French Revolutions and you can tell that he’s feeling the genuine world-shaking history he’s living through. There’s a lengthy debate/discussion of various forms of government. Real historical figures are present, as are fictional creations of Blake’s own. 3 stars.
tl;dr – historical fact meets mythological fiction in this incomplete poem by Blake; a far cry from his latter mythology, but an interesting move in that direction. 3 stars.