ABSTRACT
Blake is one of the poets who believe that, as Wallace Stevens says, the only subject of poetry is poetry itself, and that the writing of a poem is itself a theory of poetry. He interests a critic because he removes the barriers between poetry and criticism. He defines the greatest poetry as 'allegory addressed to the intellectual powers', and defends the practice of not being too explicit on the ground that it 'rouzes the faculties to act'. His language in his later prophecies is almost deliberately colloquial and 'unpoetic', as though he intended his poetry to be also a work of criticism, just as he expected the critic's response to be also a creative
one. He understood, in his own way, the principle later stated by Arnold that poetry is a criticism of life, and it was an uncompromising way. For him, the artist demonstrates a certain way of life: his aim is not to be appreciated or admired, but to transfer to others the imaginative habit and energy of his mind. The main work of criticism is teaching, and teaching for Blake cannot be separated from creation.
