In Conversation with Annalise Volpone – Recording

In his early prophetic works, Blake presents his own creation myth, which reinterprets Genesis and critically examines contemporary medical discourse on generation and birth. In this conversation, I would like to explore a specific trope that emerges from Blake’s depiction of imagination and (artistic) creation: partus mentis, the parturition of the mind. This concept serves both as a metaphor for describing imagination and creativity, and as the process through which the Human Form Divine is revealed. Partus mentisÂoriginates from classical tradition, including mythology and Plato’s philosophy. Traces of this tradition appear in Blake’s own reworking of the metaphor, where he also responds to medical theories and practices regarding generation and life. Through partus mentis, Blake reinforces the analogy between the womb and the brain, which was commonly employed in the medical and literary fields in the long eighteenth century. Finally, Blake’s account of the formation of the human body, which is inseparable from human imagination, poses an ontological challenge. Blake’s embodied imagination blurs the boundaries between the inside and the outside, making them increasingly permeable and indistinct.