Blake Against the Machine: Radical Individualism

Abstract

Visionary poet William Blake denied himself social and commercial capital by refusing to conform to the cultural consciousness of newly-industrialized England. Positioning divinity in individuality, Blake's unconventional humanistic poetry would not be embraced until after his death in 1827. Blake's ideology strongly correlates with that of the contemporary punk movement on the basis of indiscriminately valuing individuality over oppressive capitalist institutions, being socially othered on the basis of nonconformity, and maintaining a DIY ethos, particularly in creating and distributing engraved books of his own poetry and art akin to the zine culture of our modern era. The connection between Blake and punk is further substantiated by the echoing humanistic themes between Blake's poetry and punk song lyrics, as well as the explicit references to Blake in the literary work of artists connected to and influenced by the punk movement. A revolutionary and unrelenting individualist, the spirit of Blake persists today in the punk movement as it shares his vision of an ideal world which rejects socially-imposed inhibitions and embraces the divine individuality of humanity.