The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

Title Page, Plate 1

Plate 1 is the title page and consists only of the title and an illustration. The design shows the Blakean Hell, that is, the fiery creative energy surging up from the abyss below the surface of the earth. Two nude figures embrace at the bottom of the abyss, likely a Devil and an Angel, thus showing the marriage of Heaven (reason) and Hell (energy and desire). Other smaller embracing figures as well as single figures rise up in the flames. They are ready to invigorate the dullness and passivity of the cloudy surface world—the “Heaven” of the “good,” as opposed to the “Hell” of the “evil” below it—which lacks energy.

The illustration shows a couple walking sedately and a man who kneels as he plays a musical instrument while a woman reclines in front of him. The trees are leafless, but there is also a group of soaring birds in the top right-hand corner, likely representing the liberated, expansive senses or the imagination. The letters HEAVEN and HELL are written in stern-looking capital letters, but the letters of MARRIAGE are in a more elaborate and decorative script and suggest dynamic interaction.

“The Argument,” Plates 2-3

A free-verse poem titled “The Argument” begins on Plate 2.