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In William Blake’s “America: a prophecy”, among the Revolutionaries specifically mentioned by name, besides Blake’s known friend Thomas Paine, and prominent leaders such as Washington and Franklin, are Joseph Warren and Ethan Allen. Why were those two specifically mentioned by Blake?
In particular, in the first lines of Plate 14, Blake writes; “In the flames stood & view’d the armies drawn out in the sky Washington Franklin Paine & Warren Allen Gates & Lee
All other figures mentioned make sense for someone like Blake to mention in “America: A Prophecy”. Washington was the military leader of the revolution, and Blake also mentions two other major Generals in the continental army, Horatio Gates and Charles Lee, who led some of the most crucial victories in battle, Charleston and Saratoga, in the war effort. Franklin was one of the most prominent political and philosophical leaders of the revolution, and certainly the one most active in Europe during the war. Paine was, on top of being a major philosophical leader of the revolution, a friend of Blake who was active in the same radical political circles in England as him. Even some of the omissions make sense; for instance, Blake does not mention John Adams, whose conservatism was the antithesis of Blake’s radicalism.
Why then, did Blake choose to specifically mention Joseph Warren (who is mentioned multiple times), and Ethan Allen? Both of these men are/ were considerably more obscure than other figures in the revolution Blake did not mention (most notably Thomas Jefferson, whom Blake should have had every reason to mention, as he was a predominant intellectual leader during the revolution, and was a friend of Paine). Allen’s inclusion in particular is baffling to me, as unlike Warren, whom while layed somewhat obscure played a leading role in the years leading up the the war in Massachusetts, Allen only is notable for one major battle, and then he proceeded to be imprisoned for the majority of the war.
Is there any specific reason for why someone like Blake would mention Warren and Allen and not the much more prominent Thomas Jefferson in a poem from 1793?
#entertainment
In particular, in the first lines of Plate 14, Blake writes; “In the flames stood & view’d the armies drawn out in the sky Washington Franklin Paine & Warren Allen Gates & Lee
All other figures mentioned make sense for someone like Blake to mention in “America: A Prophecy”. Washington was the military leader of the revolution, and Blake also mentions two other major Generals in the continental army, Horatio Gates and Charles Lee, who led some of the most crucial victories in battle, Charleston and Saratoga, in the war effort. Franklin was one of the most prominent political and philosophical leaders of the revolution, and certainly the one most active in Europe during the war. Paine was, on top of being a major philosophical leader of the revolution, a friend of Blake who was active in the same radical political circles in England as him. Even some of the omissions make sense; for instance, Blake does not mention John Adams, whose conservatism was the antithesis of Blake’s radicalism.
Why then, did Blake choose to specifically mention Joseph Warren (who is mentioned multiple times), and Ethan Allen? Both of these men are/ were considerably more obscure than other figures in the revolution Blake did not mention (most notably Thomas Jefferson, whom Blake should have had every reason to mention, as he was a predominant intellectual leader during the revolution, and was a friend of Paine). Allen’s inclusion in particular is baffling to me, as unlike Warren, whom while layed somewhat obscure played a leading role in the years leading up the the war in Massachusetts, Allen only is notable for one major battle, and then he proceeded to be imprisoned for the majority of the war.
Is there any specific reason for why someone like Blake would mention Warren and Allen and not the much more prominent Thomas Jefferson in a poem from 1793?
#entertainment
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