In The Evolution of Blake's Myth, Sheila A. Spectorestablishes the dimensions of the myth that structures Blake's thought. She demonstrates how Blake used the myth hermeneutically, as the horizon of expectations for interpreting not only his own work, but the Bible and the visionary texts of others, as well.
"Easily the major work of 2020 is Sheila A. Spector's The Evolution of Blake's Myth, which builds on her sizable scholarship on Blake, Kabbalah, and the esoteric tradition."
Wayne C. Ripley, Blake, An Illustrated Quarterly 55.1
"This ambitious and wide-ranging book represents the culmination of Sheila Spector's work on Blake and the esoteric tradition. As Spector points out, the study of Blake's relation to esoteric tradition has suffered from adverse critical prejudice since about the mid-twentieth century. Spector's book promises to revive the topic, bringing to it the sophistication about Blake (particularly his art) borne out of the last fifty years of Blake scholarship, as well as the wealth of her own knowledge and study."
Laura Quinney, Brandeis University
"Nobody knows more than Sheila Spectre about Blake's relation to kabbalah and esoteric traditions. In The Evolution of Blake's Myth, Spectre traces Blake's rejection of exoteric myth and ways of thinking, and his development of a symbolic system based on esoteric traditions. Examining the interaction of illumination and text, Spectre treats Blake's plates as "image acts," the work of a "compositor" who organizes the input of the visualizer, who creates the illuminations, and the verbal narrator, who provides the words. In these image acts, Spectre charts how Blake's shift from exoteric to esoteric systems influenced the form of his own composite art, as well as the development of alternative symbolic forms and functions. The result is a fascinating discussion of parallels between Blake's work and Kabbalistic lore."
Paul Yoder, The University of Arkansas at Little Rock
