‘Glad Day’ – William Blake [update]

 Glad Day, print from engraving, 11”x8”,
also known as The Dance of Albion or Albion Rose

"This above all," Polonius advised his son, "To thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man."

Good advice. Advice encouraging us to look within, to find and kindle our own spark, the thing that makes us who we are; that "divine presence within" of which William Blake once spoke.

It is the very beginning of becoming an individual who values their liberty.  The same spirit that makes a bunch of soccer players from the edge of the world want to test themselves against the best in the world, no matter the result.**

William Blake himself was what you might call an untrained artist—a Renaissance Man who conquered poetry, illustration, engraving, draughting, writing and painting—and he had that same spirit himself, in spades.

In the mythical story of the founding of Britain, Albion was a Giant son of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. In Blake’s complex mythology, Albion is the primeval man—the man from whom the human spirit flows.

* Of course, being a print the final finish can vary hugely, e.g.,

** UPDATE: And what a result!  “Winston Reid scores in the final seconds of extra time on Day 5 of the World Cup to pace New Zealand to a 1-1 tie with Slovakia at Royal Bafokeng Stadium…” and go equal top of their group!!  A glad day for sure!! Go New Zealand!!! Woo hooo!!!!