Reimagining the Nation: Visionary Community and the National Identity in Blake’s Jerusalem

Abstract

William Blake’s short lyric “And did those feet in ancient time,” later titled Jerusalem, has long held a paradoxical place in British cultural and national identity. This research paper argues that William Blake used his poetry to challenge the cultural, industrial, and political norms and changes of his time. While different revolutions were taking place simultaneously, and while England Christians led monarchy lived in abundance and riches, people were living in poverty, disaster and illness, hence Blake uses a language that brings forward not only mythic imagery to challenge conventional notions of English national identity, but also proposing a prophetic vision, which is both imaginative and ethical in terms of his nation. Blake uses the art of poetry and engraving to raise a voice and call for collective moral effort and striving for one purpose: the hope of restoring the nation’s status as a great country, in which people would live in prosperity and abundance. Making England green again echoes Ezekiel’s prophetic voice in which dry bones are brought to life, symbolising the possibility of national and spiritual revival. The poem critiques industrial modernity (“dark Satanic mills”) even as it calls for the construction of a new symbolic “Jerusalem” through inner transformation and collective moral striving. This analysis aims to demonstrate that any change in ideology will affect national identity and people’s lives. Artists and poets play a crucial role in raising awareness and becoming the voice of the people to address such matters, often in a radical tone.