He then informed Brutus that what he had just told him was the origin of the giants of Albion and how the island had been named and with the story of Albina and her sisters revealed all of his questions had been answered. Then he urged him to let the fight with Corineus begin, having no doubt that he would be killed whoever won and ended his narrative. Trojan Britain Because Geoffrey of Monmouth's work was regarded as fact until the late 17th century, the story appears in most early histories of Britain. Wace, Layamon, Raphael Holinshed, William Camden and John Milton repeat the legend and it appears in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene. [34] William Blake was a British poet, painter, and printmaker who lived from 1757 to 1827. He is known for his unique style of combining poetry and visual art, as well as his radical political and religious beliefs. Blake’s work often explored themes of spirituality, social injustice, and the human condition. He was largely unrecognized during his lifetime, but his influence on the Romantic movement and subsequent generations of artists and writers has been significant. Blake’s most famous works include “Songs of Innocence and of Experience,”“The Marriage of Heaven and Hell,” and “Jerusalem.” Context and Setting Interpretations and criticisms of William Blake’s “Visions of the Daughters of Albion” have varied greatly over the years. Some critics have praised the poem for its feminist themes and its critique of societal norms, while others have criticized it for its perceived misogyny and its confusing symbolism. One interpretation of the poem suggests that it is a commentary on the oppression of women in Blake’s time, with the daughters of Albion representing the oppressed female population. Others have argued that the poem is a critique of the sexual double standard and the objectification of women. Despite the varying interpretations and criticisms, “Visions of the Daughters of Albion” remains a powerful and thought-provoking work that continues to inspire discussion and debate. Symbolism and Imagery William Blake’s artistic vision was one that was deeply rooted in his spiritual beliefs and his desire to challenge the societal norms of his time. His work often featured themes of rebellion, freedom, and the power of the individual. In “Visions of the Daughters of Albion,” Blake explores the idea of female empowerment and the struggle for women to break free from the constraints of a patriarchal society. Through his vivid imagery and poetic language, Blake creates a powerful and thought-provoking work that continues to resonate with audiences today. His artistic vision was one that was ahead of its time, and his legacy continues to inspire artists and thinkers around the world. The Significance of the Poem Today

She revealed how her sisters had all sworn to carry out the plan in secret and had made her swear the same and told him how terrified she was of them. Her husband loved her dearly and he knew she loved him and would never do anything to hurt him. He told her not to say a word to anyone and he would deal with it himself. The very next day he took her to see her father and told her to tell him what she had told him. Confession Ranging over some 1,200 years of poetic achievement, the Imperium Anthology of English Verse presents the greatest poems in our native tongue, “at once so earthy and so noble.” Beginning with the Old English scops and ending in the 20th century, the volume you hold in your hands includes many dialect poems as well as long poems in their entirety, and is sure to delight the newcomer to poetry and to surprise the enthusiast. Delve into this anthology and be proud of your language without a shred of trepidation. To be born to the English tongue is surely one of the greatest privileges of birth there is.This picture is the frontispiece of Visions of the Daughters of Albion. It shows (from right to left) Bromion, Oothoon and Theotormon. To make sure he knew exactly what they planned and that they knew his own opinion of the matter their father interviewed them separately. He told them their behaviour was unacceptable and subverted the very fabric of the state and the society of his realm. He left them in no doubt that he thought they had brought shame on him and shame on themselves. None of his daughters showed any remorse or shame and it seemed to him they attempted to find spurious reasons for their behaviour in a vain attempt to defend and justify it. Overall, ‘Visions of the Daughters of Albion’ is a powerful exploration of the theme of oppression. Through his vivid imagery and powerful language, Blake forces us to confront the ways in which patriarchal structures can be both cruel and insidious, and to consider the ways in which we can work to dismantle them. The Theme of Innocence and Experience

saw no God. nor heard any, in a finite organical perception; but my senses discover’d the infinite in every thing, and as I was then perswaded. & remain confirm’d; that the voice of honest indignation is the voice of God, I cared not for consequences but wrote. (E38) Thirdly, and again interrelatedly, the poem is often framed as a polemic against social restrictions, described as early as 1912 as an “outburst against restrictive law and reason” (Allardyce Nicoll 112). However, as with the sexual revolution of the 1960s, blind spots relating to power and agency meant that it was sometimes not questioned whose restrictions were lifted. Often liberated access to the female body is celebrated, rather than “the liberating joys of sexuality” for women (Ellis 26). Brian Wilkie, for example, claims that “Blake doubtless hates in women what Oothoon calls ‘hypocrite modesty’ (6.16) not only because it limits women’s erotic potential but also because it limits men’s sexual enjoyment of women” (83). Grounding Blake’s work in antinomian tendencies is a reminder that his concept of freedom differs from modern libertarian formulations of licence. [8] Cox registers confusion as to the difference, asking “if freedom isn’t doing what one likes, then what is it?” (123). To illustrate the distinction, Hill describes an antinomian in 1746 said to have rejected all moral laws: “When asked the obvious succeeding question,” Hill writes wryly, “‘Have you a right to all the women in the world?’ he replied, tactfully, ‘Yes—if they consent’” (224). Perhaps the recruitment of Blake to an agenda of sexual entitlement has certain parallels with the way in which “[m]uch of Ranter libertinism was taken over by restoration rakes” (Hill 22). As Thompson notes, the antinomian impulse might “lead to strange consequences in the unbalanced mind” (26-27). The ‘freedom’ celebrated in the poem will have serious limitations unless we pay attention to Oothoon’s celebration of agency in diverse forms outside the self, and opposition to ideologies that frame other beings as resources. Firstly, a tradition dominant for much of last century has presented Visions as a “hymn to free love” whereby sexual experience is eternally redemptive of fallen materiality (Bloom, E900). Raine claims that Oothoon “knows the spiritual nature of love, and eloquently defends Platonic love, ‘free’ love, whose laws are based upon the nature of the soul as the Platonists conceived it” (1.166). This summarises the problem nicely: that ‘free’ love is seen to be timeless and “spiritual,” thus the body is always “defiled” already, and must be tutored by fallen experience and transcended. As Otto explains, “If the fallen world can be redeemed by a simple turn to the imagination, there is no need to analyse its causes, mechanisms, or structures…one could [then] argue that the violence of the fallen world is redemptive” (8). This is what numerous readers have done. [5] Bloom refers to “the sexual awakening [Bromion] has brought about in his victim” (E901) and describes Oothoon as “having enjoyed the sexual act, though it was a rape” (anthologised in Romantic Poetry 45). He glosses Oothoon’s call for the eagles to “Rend away this defiled bosom”— a self-harming reflection of Theotormon’s body-negating asceticism— as a display of sexual enjoyment designed to manipulate Theotormon (E901). Michael G. Cooke describes the violent results as “an act of enlargement and love” (110). Robert P. Waxler writes how “entrance into sexual passion could lead the feminine consciousness to grace” (50). These perspectives, which as Goslee notes, assume that “sexual experience is so essentially good that it leads to a liberating imaginative experience” (114), rely upon a mutually exclusive distinction between mind/spirit and matter. [6] “Oothoon’s degrading experience of sex asserts the holiness of her love,” writes Stephen Cox in 1992 (113). Cox argues that in Visions “Blake hardens his dualism” in distinguishing between the “repellently sensuous” and “defiled body,” and the “undefiled soul,” which in his formulation benefits from sexual violence. In his version of Visions, “every form of sexual joy can be a legitimate form of ‘Love’,” because delight is “incorruptible” (117, 113). Cox supports this with Wollstonecraft’s statement “I discern not a trace of the image of God in either sensation or matter,” aligning this with Blake’s view of the senses (119). The problem with Blake’s depiction of rape, Cox writes, is that “no matter what Oothoon may say against common notions of reason and sense, she will retain the reader’s sympathy” (123). Williams calls Oothoon’s statement “I am pure,” “seemingly nonfactual” (86). These critical arguments would collapse if the central section of the poem were fully considered in the context of Bromion and Theotormon’s actions, as the poem’s dissection of dualistic perception would undermine their own critical assumptions. Oothoon is one of the central characters in William Blake’s “Visions of the Daughters of Albion.” She is a young woman who is trapped in a society that does not value her autonomy or her desires. Oothoon is a symbol of the oppression that women faced in Blake’s time, and her story is a powerful critique of the patriarchal structures that dominated society. Despite her struggles, Oothoon is a strong and resilient character who refuses to be silenced. She is a reminder that even in the face of adversity, women have the power to resist and fight for their rights. Thel and Oothoon In 2010, artist Mark Sheeky donated the 2008 painting "Two Roman Legionaries Discovering The God-King Albion Turned Into Stone" to the Grosvenor Museum collection. [35] See also [ edit ]Mellor, Anne K. "Blake's Portrayal of Women." Blake: An Illustrated Quaterly 16.3 (1982-83): 148-155. Print. In his 2nd century Geography, Ptolemy uses the name Ἀλουΐων ( Alouiōn, "Albion") instead of the Roman name Britannia, possibly following the commentaries of Marinus of Tyre. [13] He calls both Albion and Ierne in Ancient Greek: νῆσοι Βρεττανικαὶ, romanized: nēsoi Brettanikai, lit.'British Isles'. [14] [15] Towards the ending of the work, we still find “Theotormon sits / Upon the margind ocean conversing with shadows dire” (Blake 224). Examining this in relation to Plate 1 of Visions (figure 3), the relation between being trapped in the allegorical cave is apparent. Theotormon still cannot overcome the socially accumulated knowledge indoctrinated from society’s institutions; he is still “conversing with shadows” (Blake 224). Thus, the cave is the entrapping cultural ideologies of gender, keeping those who cannot emancipate themselves chained to their principles.

They vowed they would be no man’s possession and instead would be the rulers of all men regardless of their status. To further these vows they plotted together in secret and hatched a most extreme plan. At the same time and on the same night they would murder their husbands as they lay in bed next to them asleep and unaware. Michel, Francisque, ed. (1862), "Appendix I: De Primis Inhabitatoribus Angliæ", Gesta Regum Britanniæ: a metrical history of the Britions of the XIIIth century, Printed by G. Gounouilhou, pp.199–214The "soft American plains" are Oothoon's body and the physical land that Bromion shows no remorse desecrating. The "swarthy children of the sun" are the slaves he has control over. Bromion's philosophy is based on power derived from material possession and exploitation. Even sexuality is a means of domination, as after he rapes Oothoon he proclaims, "Now thou maist marry Bromion's harlot"(2.2). It is assumed that Bromion is speaking to Theotormon when he adds, "and protect the child of Bromion's rage" (2.2-3). By raping Oothoon, Bromion not only takes her virginity, but acquires her as his possession. Even though she is passed on to Theotormon, she has been had by Bromion and remains his. Barthes’ understanding of the body as a collection of idiosyncratic impulses helps explain how Oothoon’s argument is for particularity, not liberalism or what Thompson called “supercelestial visionary mystery” (46) When the youngest sister returned to her husband she became ill with worry and fear. She became so upset that her husband, who loved her as much as she loved him, asked her why she appeared so distressed and asked directly if it was something he had done, or not done, that had so upset her. She broke down in his arms and told him all about the murderous plan. In tears she confessed that she was meant to kill him but could not because she loved him so much. According to Gogmagog the story of the origin of the giants of Albion began 3,970 years after the world began. In a country now called Greece there ruled a very powerful king. This king was very noble and very righteous and the head of a strict patriarchal state and society. His queen was a very beautiful woman and they had a very happy marriage and were blessed with thirty beautiful daughters who were said to be very tall in some accounts. The giant confessed he did not know all their names but knew the eldest, tallest and most influential of these was named Albina. Murder prevailed and the island of Britain ran red with giant’s blood and still they fought among themselves until only twenty-four giants remained. Gogmagog then told Brutus that with his arrival with his Trojans followers they could not match the weapons used against them and had no answer to their numbers. He reflected that with all of his kind dead he had been captured and given the choice of being killed there and then, or face Corineus in single combat to the death and he chose the latter.