Representation and Repetition in William Blake’s Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion

Authors:

Pages: 153-160
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/FOGY7024

Abstract:

Taking its cue from Goldsmith’s opposition between representation and apocalypse, in what follows I want to suggest that part of the mythical narrative that unfolds in Jerusalem occupies a borderline space between representation and repetition, and it is in this space that the Benjaminian now-time (Jetztzeit) of the poem constitutes itself. Out of the myriad motifs and storylines in the poem, I will focus on the relationship between Los – arguably the central character of Blake’s mythos in this poem – and his spectre. I believe that an analysis of this nexus will illustrate my point about the constitutive borderline space between representation and repetition.

Keywords:

Blake, Benjamin, representation, repetition, spectre, apocalypse

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