ABSTRACT
The desire of Man being Infinite the possession is Infinite & himself Infinite. The infinite nature of desire, of the individual, of "every thing," is asserted in both dramatic and non-dramatic contexts in William Blake's work. This chapter argues that the conflict reveals the limited vision of those who promote the revolution and casts some doubt on their ability to escape the hierarchical power structures with which they contend. In depicting the Bastille and individual revolutionaries, Blake adopts popular stereotypes which recall the theatrical displays and political caricatures that appeared in London in the first months of the crisis. Blake's attempts to portray contemporary revolutions as movements that might liberate desire must obscure the political issues at stake. By the time the first book of The French Revolution was set up in type, two of the other revolutionary heroes celebrated in it had lost some of their public appeal.
