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). In about 1815, Blake produced the second set of Comus designs presented here (Butlin 528). These were acquired, and probably commissioned, by Thomas Butts, Blake's main patron for his paintings and water colors. The approximate date of composition is established by stylistic considerations (see Butlin). This later group pictures the same eight subjects as the Thomas set, but with many significant differences in motifs and in the positions and portrayals of characters from the poem. When offered at auction in 1853, the Butts set were sold "with the artist's descriptions," apparently on separate leaves, like those accompanying Blake's illustrations to Milton's "L'Allegro" and "Il Penseroso" (Butlin 543). These descriptions are untraced.

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).