Jerusalem: From William Blake to Hubert Parry

In 1804, William Blake composed the opening stanzas to his prophetic epic, Milton a Poem. Those lines which begin "And did those feet" have become more famously known as the hymn Jerusalem. While the hymn, however, is often sung as a tribute to traditional patriotism, Blake's own opinions of Great Britain - then at war with France - were very different. This podcast explores the circumstances in which he wrote his stanzas, as well as answering questions as to the poem's meaning. It also looks at how Blake's lines were rediscovered and reinterpreted as a nationalist celebration, how they came to be set to music by Sir Hubert Parry as the hymn Jerusalem, and how Parry turned against their use in the nationalist cause and instead gave the copyright to Millicent Fawcett to become the hymn of the Women Voter.
Narrated by Professor Jason Whittaker at the University of Lincoln, additional music is provided by the Heinz Chapel Choir from the University of Pittsburgh, and the script is adapted from the book Jerusalem: Blake, Parry and the Fight for Englishness (Oxford University Press, 2022).
PLEASE NOTE: This is a re-recording of previous versions of this video to remove visual effects that viewers found caused visual disturbance.

[@lessismore4470]

Thank you, all of this is very interesting. More, please. Greetings from Poland.

[@astrogumbo]

wow

[@leeshiflett1863]

These wild Christian mystics are super fun.

[@WilliamBlakePoetry]

Hello Zoavision. My name is William Blake and a few years ago I had a epic poem titled ‘The Liberation of Albion’ published. In short it is the Blakean mythos expounded in a more easily intelligible manner. I took many liberties and added much of my own thinking, and Blake is not my only influence - but he is the most apparent. If you would be interested in reading it - to see how Blake is being understood and interpreted by a modern poet - it is available from most book sellers online. Alternatively, if you live in the UK I would be happy to send you a copy for free. Please let me know if you are interested, or have any questions about the work. Many thanks for the work you do on this channel.

[@ZoavisionMedia]

Thank you - I will order a copy.

[@WilliamBlakePoetry]

Thank you. If you want to discuss the work further, let me know and I would be happy to share my email address with you. I also have a couple of shorter Blake inspired poems up here on KZbin if you are interested.

[@user-fb2ff6rn9t]

Siblylle Erie ,ought to be easy

[@ZoavisionMedia]

As a friend and colleague of Sibylle, I don’t actually understand what this comment means. Could you explain, please?