William Blake, an "ante litteram" psychogeographer

William Blake, although he cannot be considered a psychogeographer in the modern sense of the term, as the concept of psychogeography was declined many years later, demonstrated a profound interest in human experience within the environment and explored the relationship between the individual and the surrounding space in his works.

Blake was a visionary poet, and his sensitivity to nature and the outside world is evident in many of his writings. 

His poetry often reflects a deep connection with the environment and nature, where man is immersed. For example, in his poem "London" (1794), part of the collection "Songs of Experience", Blake explores life in the city.

"I wander thro' each charter'd street,

Near where the charter'd Thames does flow,

And mark in every face I meet

Marks of weakness, marks of woe."

Blake describes himself wandering the streets of London and observing the people he meets. He identifies "signs of weakness, signs of affliction" in people's faces, highlighting his ability to perceive the hidden hardships and sufferings within the urban environment. 

William Blake's "London" explores the city of London during the Industrial Revolution, highlighting the conditions of oppression, corruption and misery that afflict society. Blake paints a dark and desperate portrait of the urban environment with words.

In the psychogeographic analysis, we can consider how the poem captures the atmosphere and emotional experience of the city. The images of suffering, oppression and desolation evoked by Blake can be interpreted as a reference to urban psychogeography, which examines the impact of environmental conditions on the human psyche.

For example, the use of the words "charter'd" and "charter'd Thames" can suggest a sense of confinement and restriction, highlighting the grip of society and institutions over people's lives. This can be related to the idea of psychogeographic "drift", in which individuals try to free themselves from the shackles of society and imposed norms, freely exploring the urban space.

Although Blake has not directly influenced modern psychogeographic thinking, some authors have noted the relevance of his writings in the context of psychogeography. In "The Poetics of Space" (1958), the French writer Gaston Bachelard observes how Blake explored the symbolic dimension of the natural environment and how his writings can be interpreted in relation to the perception and imagination of space.

Furthermore, some scholars have highlighted the connection between Blake's thinking and psychogeography in the context of both's interest in exploring the boundaries between real and imaginary. For example, in the essay "William Blake: A Literary Life" (2005), John Beer points out that Blake's worldview offers a perspective that goes beyond mere realism and that can be linked to the fundamental ideas of psychogeography.

In "Into the mystic - Visions of paradise to words of wisdom ... an homage to the written work of William Blake" (accessed on 22/09/2022), Neil Spencer cites Iain Sinclair, one of the most important psychogeographers of our time. 

"...William Blake of Soho. Child Blake seeing angels in a tree on Peckham Rye. Naked Blake reciting Paradise Lost in a leafy Lambeth bower. Blake the engraver, in old age, walking to Hampstead. Blake singing on his deathbed in Fountain's Court. Blake, lying with his wife Catherine, in Bunhill Fields. Blake the prophet. Blake the psychogeographer. Blake the red-cap revolutionary, watching Newgate burn. Blake the happy-clappy revivalist of Glad Day, banging a tambourine with Michael Horowitz. Blake, at the last night of the proms, burning in the mad eyes of sentimental imperialists...."

(Sinclair, I. cited by Spencer, N., October 22, 2000)

Blake's poems are strongly influenced by his walks around London: 

"My Streets are my, Ideas of Imagination"

 (Blake W., Jerusalem, Plate 34 (30), The Complete Poems, Penguin Books, 2004 ed.)

Sinclair is fascinated by the almost mystical relationship that Blake has with the territory and, in particular, with London:

"So the landscape of London physically affects him and it

becomes part of him. And that was the sense that I got

from the very start of my engagement with Blake and his

prophetic books. "

(Sinclair, I., BLAKE’S LONDON: THE TOPOGRAPHIC SUBLIME, The Swedenborg Society,  Swedenborg House, 20-21, Bloomsbury Way, London WC1A 2TH)