Beneath the beguiling simplicity of Blake's poetry lies a world of implication and symbolism which this collection of essays attempts to fathom and explain.

Beneath the beguiling simplicity of Blake's poetry lies a world of implication and symbolism which this collection of essays attempts to fathom and explain.

First published in 1982 this book provides a bibliography of commentary, criticism, and scholarship on the works of William Blake. It covers the period from Northrop Frye’s Fearful Symmetry in 1947 to 1980. The criticism is organised according to eleven classifications in order to help direct the research of students and scholars and each chapter is preceded by an introductory essay in order to guide the reader.

Reader's Guide Literature in English provides expert guidance to, and critical analysis of, the vast number of books available within the subject of English literature, from Anglo-Saxon times to the current American, British and Commonwealth scene. It is designed to help students, teachers and librarians choose the most appropriate books for research and study.

The Critical Heritage gathers together a large body of critical sources on major figures in literature. Each volume presents contemporary responses to a writer's work, enabling students and researchers to read for themselves, for example, comments on early performances of Shakespeare's plays, or reactions to the first publication of Jane Austen's novels. The carefully selected sources range from landmark essays in the history of criticism to journalism and contemporary opinion, and little published documentary material such as letters and diaries. Significant pieces of criticism from later periods are also included, in order to demonstrate the fluctuations in an author's reputation. Each volume contains an introduction to the writer's published works, a selected bibliography, and an index of works, authors and subjects. The Collected Critical Heritage set will be available as a set of 68 volumes and the series will also be available in mini sets selected by period (in slipcase boxes) and as individual volumes.