The Four Zoas: William Blake’s Exercise in Perception and Experience
William Blake’s take on time and space insists on the power of individual perception and experience and dismisses the scientific and mathematical explorations of reality. Blake rejected the scientific expression of an observable Universe as a sole resource of experience. Blake believed that the natural Universe is limited and bound to the intricacies of natural law that seeks to observe, measure, and explain a shared Universal experience among (wo)men.
He rejected this universality, preferring to align his vision and artistic abilities with the beauty and power of the individual — asserting that each person’s experiences are their own and not shared along a rational model of existence. Blake was certain that science was a limiting resource, to embrace the rational constructs of a limitless Universe is to curtail any imaginative dance that we could partake with Creation.
The internal world for Blake is a highly individualized experience, incapable of truly being shared with others; perceived against the backdrop of the sum total of a person’s experiences, beliefs, and perceptions. The internal life, Blake insisted, exists independent of the Scientific Method and is one governed by creativity and is realized in dynamic terms.
Focusing on the psychological aspects of Blake’s philosophy, rather than the religious, the Four Zoas represents 4 separate entities/faculties that combine to give birth to human consciousness through the division that occurs during the fall of primitive man (Albion). Keep in mind that this is not exhaustive and the details of Blakes Mythoverse are extensive.
- Urizen: reason and convention (emanation — Ahania: pleasure)
- Urthona: creativity and inspiration (emanation — Enitharmon: poetic inspiration and beauty)
- Luvah: passion and love (emanation — Vala: nature)
- Tharmas: sensation (emanation — Enion: sexual urge)
All of this is not to say that Blake did not believe in the concepts of time / space, he simply did not agree that through these concepts, reality is realized. Instead, he asserted that through time and space, reality came into being — a reality that is one of perception, an aggregate of experiences and is realized as it happens or visited in memories. Blake outlines how reality is created and woven by the Four Zoas in plate 98 of Jerusalem:
This is where Blake’s philosophy caught my interest, the idea that through imagination, things are perceived as they really are. If perceived through rational lens, things are only understood as they relate to one another. Simply put, imagination brings to life what we experience — it gives meaning, vision, and depth to experiences and objects; it ignites within us a flame of unparalleled perception and experience.
So what of existence? Blake asserted that through perception, existence is continuously being created. It is through cognitive and spiritual perception that the world is given order and meaning. Truly, this is an exercise in “if a tree falls in the forest…”
Blake’s philosophy is wildly complicated, beautiful to consider, and deeply illuminative. I’m still grappling to understand the complexities of his supporting mythologies but feel that my basic understanding of his outlook on existence, perception, and meaning are congruent with the way I have come to see experiences.
Alienating at times, beautiful in others, the notion that we do not share experiences, that each perception is uniquely yours is fascinating. I find it hard to believe that anyone could argue that perception is a unique undertaking — but I do find Blake’s assertion that the imagination/Eternity is wholly separate from the rational/quantifiable a bit harder to fully accept.
As our understanding of cosmic connections and scientific observations become more robust, I believe it’s fair to say that the imagination and eternal is a function that works congruently with that of the rational and quantifiable — they exist hand-in-hand.
Does one govern another? Is there a guiding hand behind all of this? I don’t know, but I do know it is important to respect spiritual and religious notions and scientific law and reason. I believe that the unification of the two translates to meaning, fulfillment, and consciousness and that (un)fortunately, this cannot be shared as a real experience.
Instead, we have guides — Truth-Seers and Seekers in the form of Artists and Poets. Stay tuned, there will be a part 2 that looks at this unification of realms and the Divine Conductor that illuminates meaning for the masses.
Enjoy the poem below by yours truly and pair it with:
