Living at a time of great innovation and industrial change in 18th century England, William Blake was not just a poet - he was a painter, an engraver, a mystic and even a proponent of the idea that marriage is a type of slavery for women. Many people, regarding the puzzlingly simple verse that Blake penned, consider his poetry to be firmly entrenched in the children's literature genre, but a closer examination of his simplest lines reveal much that is lurking beneath the surface. The Poems of William Blake introduces readers to a man who was deeply influenced by his church's literature, while also actively attempting to dismantle its power.