(I think this is the correct place to write a blog post — if I’m wrong, I’m really sorry.)

The book I’d like to discuss is Night-Thoughts on Life, Death, & Immortality, authored by Edward Young and illustrated by William Blake.

In the historical context, this book is relatively lackluster. It was made in 1797, setting no historical landmarks (a la the Gutenberg Bible), and never considered a historical staple in book history (a la The Nuremberg Chronicle). Its attraction was more of a personal one. The use of narrative illustration juxtaposed on word, fiction or poetry in particular, has always intrigued me greatly, and Night-Thoughts is a splendid example in this regard. William Blake is always a favorite, and his sinuous, energetic watercolor engravings seemed a perfect match for Young’s poetic venture through themes of death and mortality. I’ve researched the book since I first saw it, and am pleased to know that Blake’s gigantic project (537 watercolor illustrations, 200 of which were replicated through engravings) has at last been drawing the historical eye in recent years.

Of course, the other books offered in this set offered illustrations; and the Micrographia and the Encyclopedie both boasted engravings earlier than Night-Thoughts did. The reason I focus on Night-Thoughts in particular goes beyond my appreciation for poetry, fondness for William Blake, and personal attachment to watercolor paintings. Unlike the two non-fiction texts mentioned above, Night-Thoughts is entirely unclinical with its treatment of its illustrations. I adore it when images and text are entangled inexplicably, so that they resemble a single symbiotic organism; I loathe the dividing line. The nature of Blake’s illustration was one of rich liveliness, and they rarely were contained on the pages. The figures would crawl up the edges of the poetry above them, intrude into paragraphs, fall down margins. The spontaneity this creates is both brilliant to leaf through and, narratively speaking, the perfect treatment of Young’s poetry. I’d be interested to know if examples of similar word-illustration combinations existed in that time period.

– Evanleigh Davis