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The A-Z of William Blake: K is for King Edward The Third

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From: The Independent - London
Date: 20001117
Author:Kevin Jackson

THOUGH MUCH of Blake's writing takes the form of dramatic exchanges between various beings or entities, his only true attempt at a work for the stage was his uncompleted early work, King Edward the Third, a pseudo-Shakespearean account of the English preparation for the battle of "Cressy" (ie, Crecy) in 1346.

For many years, it was assumed that Blake's play was straightforwardly patriotic, a bellicose warming-up for the imminent war with France in 1778; but more recent critics have suggested that it was always intended ironically, as a tacit condemnation of Edward's bloodthirstiness and ...

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