ABSTRACT

The Critical Heritage gathers together a large body of critical sources on major figures in literature. Each volume presents contemporary responses to a writer's work, enabling students and researchers to read for themselves, for example, comments on early performances of Shakespeare's plays, or reactions to the first publication of Jane Austen's novels.
The carefully selected sources range from landmark essays in the history of criticism to journalism and contemporary opinion, and little published documentary material such as letters and diaries. Significant pieces of criticism from later periods are also included, in order to demonstrate the fluctuations in an author's reputation.
Each volume contains an introduction to the writer's published works, a selected bibliography, and an index of works, authors and subjects.
The Collected Critical Heritage set will be available as a set of 68 volumes and the series will also be available in mini sets selected by period (in slipcase boxes) and as individual volumes.

chapter |27 pages

Introduction

part I|15 pages

Blake's Life

chapter 1|6 pages

General comments

1826, 1827, 1855

chapter 2|2 pages

External events

1757–1812

chapter 3|2 pages

Politics

1804, 1805

chapter 4|4 pages

Visions

1761–1825

chapter 5|2 pages

Madness

1841, 1805, 1830

chapter 6|2 pages

‘He is always in Paradise'

1825–60

part II|27 pages

Writings

chapter 7|3 pages

Reviews of Malkin's account of Blake (1806)

1806, 1807

chapter 8|3 pages

General comments

1807–38

chapter 9|2 pages

Poetical Sketches (1783)

1828, 1784

chapter 10|1 pages

The Book of Thel (1789)

1839

chapter 11|1 pages

The French Revolution (1791)

1827

chapter 12|11 pages

Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1789, 1794)

1811–63

chapter 13|3 pages

America (1793) and Europe (1794)

1828

chapter 14|5 pages

Descriptive Catalogue (1809)

1809–47

chapter 15|2 pages

Jerusalem (1804–?20)

1811–28

part III|13 pages

Drawings

chapter 16|13 pages

General comments

1780–1865

part IV|63 pages

Engraved Designs

chapter 17|2 pages

General comments

1791–1863

chapter 18|1 pages

Salzmann, Elements of Morality

1791

chapter 19|2 pages

Burger, Leonora (1796)

1796

chapter 20|1 pages

Cumberland, Thoughts on Outline (1796)

1796

chapter 22|7 pages

Young, Night Thoughts (1797)

1796–1830

chapter 23|2 pages

Hayley, An Essay on Sculpture (1800)

1800

chapter 25|4 pages

Hayley, Life…of William Cowper (1803)

1801–4

chapter 26|1 pages

Hayley, Triumphs of Temper (1803)

1803

chapter 28|3 pages

Hayley, Ballads (1805)

1805, 1806

chapter 29|29 pages

Blair, The Grave (1808)

1805–63

chapter 31|3 pages

Virgil, Pastorals (1821)

1821–63

chapter 32|1 pages

Remember Me! (1825, 1826)

1825

chapter 33|5 pages

Illustrations of the Book of Job (1826)

1826–45

chapter 34|2 pages

Blake's Illustrations of Dante (?1838)

1824–?32

part V|73 pages

General Essays on Blake

part VI|50 pages

Forgotten Years References to William Blake 1831–62 1