William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age.
one of the greatest artist Britain has ever produced
he lived in London his entire life
He is well known for his creativity and idiosyncratic views.
His paintings and poetry have been characterised as part of the Romantic movement and "Pre-Romantic"
his headstrong temperament, He attended school only long enough to learn reading and writing then he enrolled in drawing classes
his early work in poetry displays knowledge of Ben Jonson and Edmund Spenser.
Blake's first collection of poems, Poetical Sketches, was printed around 1783. After his father's death, William and former fellow apprentice James Parker opened a print shop in 1784, and began working with radical publisher Joseph Johnson.
Blake's marriage to Catherine was close and devoted until his death. Blake taught Catherine to write, and she helped him colour his printed poems.
The earlier work is primarily rebellious in character and can be seen as a protest against dogmatic religion .
Blake's later writings show a renewed interest in Christianity. Blake retained an active interest in social and political events throughout his life, and social and political statements are often present in his mystical symbolism.
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Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine was born on January 29, 1737. He was an English-American political activist. Paine lived in France for most of the 1790s, becoming deeply involved in the French Revolution. He wrote the Rights of Man (1791), in part a defence of the French Revolution against its critics. His attacks on British writer Edmund Burke led to a trial and conviction in absentia.
His passion was again sparked by revolution, this time...