Deeper than they appear, but can by thoroughly enjoyed at their lyric level. Brief enough to memorize within a couple of reads. These small puzzles marked the kickoff to a new way of writing. Much of it driven by the surrounding cultural chaos - 1790s Europe was the radical 60's of the time. No muddy Woodstock, but both France and Ameica in midst THE BIG political revolutions. Violent transformation as part of human destiny. On this side of the pond we would become the feared Vietnam for the Brits - "if the Americas go solo, well it's too good a redwhiteandblueprint for the rest of the muggles." They guessed right - with three quick generations our whole political world was inverted. Blake's writing in a time with that kind of tension between one order and perhaps total chaos, and he's remarkably aware of that power.
Add to his cocktail a spiritual deep-dive of modernist proportions. He read literally everything in the 'Inspiration' section, both old school Indian Vedas as well as edgy new agers like Jakob Boehme and Swedenborg. But he wasn't a dabler, he was on a quest - searching for others who had spoken with angels. By halftime, he had pretty much inveted his own system of thought as well as a mythology rich enough to run a culture on. Unlike other lazy idea people, he also happened to include pictures which are as equally profound. 100 years later heavy-hitter Yeats tipped his hat to him, republished him into the 20th century, and then Jim Morrison gave him a nudge in naming 'The Doors' after a book titled after one of his lines.
When I get a moment, I'll iPodify selections of some of the longer, later works.
