William Blake tackled serious issues with his poetry. Many critics
             consider him to be a revolutionary thinker with the ideas he presented at a
             time when social, religious, and political oppression ran rampant in
             England. When we explore gender structures and social customs that
             contributed to ideology in the eighteenth century, we find a rigid system
             of relations between women and men. Often we discover power is distributed
             unevenly and unfairly. Blake's writings reveal a visionary concerned with
             the value of humanity and, on a deeper level, the sexual emancipation of
             women. This paper will examine issues of gender and sexual difference in
             Blake's two poems, "The Visions of the Daughters of Albion" and "The
             When analyzing these poems, we discover a recurring ideology that each
             individual has the responsibility of reaching his or her own potential.
             However, when examined within the feminist scope, social and religious
             tenets prevented this from occurring. Blake often viewed such customs,
             which led to strict moral codes, as restrictive. In addition, these
             restrictions were often a direct result of strict political and religious
             ideology. As a result, Blake expressed compassion toward those who
             suffered as a result of such oppression. Blake believed that any force,
             which prevented an individual from reaching his or her potential, was evil.
             He also recognized that most political, religious, and social customs had a
             particularly negative effect on women.
             Matters of patriarchy and privilege voiced very little concern for women
             in the eighteenth century. These matters make sexual politics in "The
             Visions of the Daughters of Albion" and "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell"
             of great importance because of how religious, political, and social customs
             interact with each other. Undoubtedly, Blake was concerned with oppression
             and its victims. He turns his revolutionary thoughts in...