What is it Like to be a Blake? Psychiatry, Drugs and the Doors of Perception

Abstract

The study of William Blake by professionals has become so complex that now only amateurs are apt to take on an innocent, risky question like the following: What are we to make of Blake’s claim that he had visions? Was he simply trying to mystify an ordinary perceptual and imaginative process, or should he be understood more literally? And if so, what meaning can plausibly be attached to the experiences he called visions? Should they be considered genuine spiritual intervention? An unusual brain chemistry wired to produce LSD-like effects spontaneously? A mental disorder conducive to hallucination and delusion?