Illustration to Milton`s Paradise Lost 1807

William Blake created this watercolor illustration for Milton's Paradise Lost during a time of significant social and political upheaval. Blake, living through the American and French Revolutions, questioned authority and celebrated individual expression. In this image, Blake challenges traditional representations of good and evil. We see a powerful, almost mournful God presiding over the fallen angels, who are cast down into a fiery abyss. Blake was deeply interested in the psychology of rebellion, and his interpretation of Milton often aligns with the rebellious spirit of Romanticism. Blake subverts Milton's narrative by focusing on the emotional and psychological states of figures like Satan, portraying them with a complexity that invites empathy. Blake once said, "The reason Milton wrote in fetters when he wrote of Angels & God, and at liberty when of Devils & Hell, is because he was a true Poet and of the Devil’s party without knowing it." Blake’s work is a reminder of the power of art to question dominant narratives and explore the ambiguities of human experience. It asks us to consider who we identify with.