"The Angel" by Celia Levetus

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The Angel

Celia Levetus

Illustration for Blake, Songs of Experience.

Source: Bromhead 237

H. W. Bromhead picks this illustration out as being one of those "not ... likely to be overlooked" (239). [Commentary continues below.]

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Blake's short lyric begins: "I Dreamt a Dream! what can it mean? / And that I was a maiden Queen: / Guarded by an Angel mild:/ Witless woe, was ne'er beguil'd!" Alas, the maiden Queen in this dream takes advantage of the comforting angel until it leaves her to her own devices. When he returns, she has found the strength to confront life, but she is older now, and there is a sad sense of the loss of innocence.

Levetus shows the angel apparently at the point of recognising it is time to leave her.... The beautiful, protective covering of his wings will be withdrawn, the sleep signified by the framing poppies will be over, and life awaits the dreamer. The maiden's rich, fur-trimmed costume takes us back to the medieval tastes of the Pre-Raphaelites, while the swirling lines of the composition speak of the coming wave of Art Nouveau.

Bibliography

[Ultimate source] Blake, William. Songs of Experience. London: Wells, Gardner, Darton and Co, 1899.

Bromhead, H. W. "An Illustrator of Blake." Art Journal. Vol. 62 (1900). Internet Archive. 237-39. Contributed by the Getty Research Institute. Web. 7 August 2020.

Art Journal. Vol. 62 (1900). Internet Archive. 237-39. Contributed by the Getty Research Institute. Web. 7 August 2020.

Created 7 August 2020