Blake's comic brilliance has been variously dismissed as the nervous ramblings of a neglected genius, the tomfool doodles of a distracted youngster, or a crude tool for destabilizing textual authority. But, for the eighteenth century, comedy played a pivotal role in debates on aesthetics, education, spirituality and morality. This exciting new study blends a close reading of Blake's early work with fascinating historical research to demonstrate that the comic was an essential component of Blake's artistic Vision.

Nick Rawlinson is Lecturer in English at Queen Mary and Westfield College at the University of London.