What Did William Blake Think He Could See Sometimes, That Others Could Not See ?

William Blake saw "visions" almost every day, and these are the basis of most of his paintings as well as a lot of his poetry. His wife was used to him asking her to get his painting equipment in a hurry, so he could record the angelic and other beings of his vision.

This tendency started in childhood; he was once terrified by what he thought was a vision of God, and his horrific picture "the soul of a flea" is also thought to be based on a vision.

To him it was just a fact of life that no two people see the same thing. As he put it: "A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees." He once told a friend that every time he looked at the sun he saw angels dancing round it. Whatever the sources of Blake's "visions" for him there was nothing odd or surprising in the things he saw - it was just his view of the world.

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