Jerusalem: Blake, Parry, and the Fight for Englishness

The famous poem "Jerusalem" by William Blake, set to music by Hubert Parry in 1916, has become an emblem of Englishness in the past century. However, when Blake first engraved his lines in his epic work, Milton a Poem, he had been tried for sedition. The poem is a contested vision of England's green and pleasant land, and this book explores the history of the poem and the music from Blake's original verses to its use in political controversies such as the 2016 Brexit vote.

Format: Hardback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 14 July 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press

The iconic stanzas from William Blake's renowned poem, "And did those feet in ancient time," have become an emblem of Englishness over the past century. Composed by Hubert Parry in 1916 and renamed "Jerusalem," this hymn has been widely celebrated at sporting events, public and private ceremonies, and, of course, as part of the Last Night of the Proms. However, it is important to note that when Blake first engraved these lines in his epic work, Milton a Poem, he had been tried for sedition. Similarly, although Parry was commissioned to compose his music as part of the war effort by the organization Fight for Right, he soon removed permission for that group to perform his hymn and instead gave the copyright to the women's suffrage movement.

Jerusalem, therefore, presents a much more contested vision of England's green and pleasant land than is often assumed. This book delves into the history of the poem and its music, tracing its origins from Blake's original verses written in Felpham to the turmoil of the First and Second World Wars, its recording history in the late twentieth century, and its use in political controversies such as the 2016 Brexit vote. As an anthem for both the left and the right, Blake's own vision of what it meant to build Jerusalem in England is both strange and familiar to many who invoke it. This book explores the deep complexities of what Englishness means into the twenty-first century.

Weight: 432g
Dimension: 146 x 224 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780192845870