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Los, Enitharmon and Orc c.1795 Plate 21 from The First Book of Urizen 1794 relief etching, colour-printed (monotype) with opaque pigments; later watercolour, and pen and ink finish (NGV 43) Felton Bequest, 1920 1028-3 National Gallery of Victoria The First Book of Urizen shares with Blake's other Prophetic Books his central belief that the Creation was a fall from grace which allowed the domination of reason over the poetic imagination. Urizen [reason] is the law giver who weaves the 'Net of Religion'. His counterpart is Los, who stands for the Imagination. Los's pity for Urizen causes his sexual division as a result of which Enitharmon comes into being. The child of their union is Orc who embodies Energy and the spirit of rebellion. In this illustration Los is depicted, bound with the chain of his passions, looking jealously at Orc, while Orc looks up lovingly at his mother, Enitharmon. |