An Analytical View on William Blake's The Book of Thel

This paper examines William Blake's innovative synthesis of visual and textual elements in Plate 2 of "The Book of Thel" (1789) to illuminate his theological-artistic vision. Through analysis of the plate's compositional strategies and variations across different copies, the research reveals how Blake's integration of image and text transcends conventional boundaries between material and spiritual expression. The Thel-Lily dialogue serves as a pivotal moment where the apparent binary of innocence and experience dissolves into a nuanced spiritual dialectic. By positioning Thel in a liminal space between states of consciousness, Blake creates a theological framework where childlike wonder coexists with profound understanding. The paper contributes to religious aesthetics discourse by demonstrating how Blake's visual-textual synthesis challenges traditional theological distinctions between spirit and matter, offering new pathways for understanding the interplay between divine revelation and human perception.