"O Why Was I Born with a Different Face": Diverse Trends and Tendencies of Blake Reception

The article gives a brief survey of the chequered critical history of Blake reception, from the beginning to our day. Four major trends are outlined: 1. detection of basic documents 2. appropriation and interpretation 3. professionalisation of Blake studies; assimilation of the oeuvre into the canon of the mainstream of English literature 4. rediscovery of "dangerous" Blake; defacing the monument erected by previous scholars. As Blake's work is peculiarly available, and simultaneously peculiarly resistant, to recent changes to critical awareness, special attention is paid to three of the most distinctive tendencies and debates that define the past two decades of Blake scholarship: deconstruction, new-historicism and feminist argument.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]