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William Blake's Poetry A Reader's Guide.

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Roberts, Jonathan. 2007. William Blake's Poetry A Reader's Guide. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group. $75.00 hc. $14.95 sc. xii + 124 pp.

The strengths of Jonathan Roberts's William Blake's Poetry largely depend upon the uses to which it is put. The volume is Roberts's contribution to Continuum's Reader's Guides Series, which Continuum promotes as "clear, concise and accessible introductions ... ideal for undergraduate students." With this goal in mind Roberts's book is an almost ideal introductory guide for undergraduate students first coming to Blake: clearly and concisely written, short and accessible, inexpensive in its paperback issue, and effective in orienting newcomers to Blake's work to pertinent background knowledge as well as different critical approaches to Blake. Roberts also provides one or two study questions at the end of every chapter. However, Blake scholars seeking original, groundbreaking, or even challenging readings of Blake will be disappointed in what appears to be his simple overview of historical and interpretive issues relevant to the interpretation of Blake.

Roberts accomplishes his task in five short chapters. The first, "Contexts," provides historical and biographical background to Blake's poetry, placing him in relationship...

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