Illustrations to Milton's "Comus"

The poetry of John Milton was important to Blake as both poet and artist from his earliest years. As he told John Flaxman in a letter of 12 September 1800, "Milton lovd me in childhood & shewd me his face" (Erdman page 707). Several early drawings, such as the Satan, Sin, and Death of c. 1780 (Butlin 101), were probably inspired by Milton. In 1790-92, Blake loosely sketched several illustrations to Paradise Lost in his Notebook (Butlin 201; see Related Works, below). He composed his first series of water colors illustrating one of Milton's poems in 1801 when the Rev. Joseph Thomas commissioned the eight designs for Comus (Butlin 527) presented here. This commission and its date are established by John Flaxman's comment in a postscript to Blake in a letter to William Hayley of 31 July 1801: "The Revd. Joseph Thomas of Epsom desires you will at your leisure, make a few sketches of the same size [as each other], which maybe any size you please from Milton's Comus for Five Guineas" (Butlin volume 1, page 373). Thomas later acquired (very probably on commission) a set of twelve water color illustrations to Paradise Lost in 1807 (Butlin 529) and six water colors illustrating "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity" in 1809 (Butlin 538). In about 1815, Blake produced another set of Comus designs for his patron Thomas Butts (Butlin 528). This later group pictures the same eight subjects, but with many significant differences in motifs and in the positions and portrayals of characters from the poem.

Here, as usual in his work as an illustrator of other poets' works, Blake paid close attention to the text, but this disciplined approach did not preclude his own interpretations. For example, Milton ends his masque with joyous dance and song, but Blake ends his illustrations on a more serious note, as indicated by the facial expressions of all six figures. The selection of passages to illustrate in itself reveals Blake's emphasis on unusual states of consciousness, including trances and visions.

Blake's literary response to the life and works of John Milton finds its fullest expression in the illuminated book Milton a Poem (c. 1804-10; see Related Works, below).