Volum 31, issue 1 of The Merton Journal has a new paper by Rebecca Gould, "Art and Selfhood: Thomas Merton on William Blake":
As a graduate student in Columbia University's Department of English
and Comparative Literature, Thomas Merton was an avid reader. Having
enrolled in graduate school immediately after his undergraduate studies,
Merton looked forward to completing a doctorate and entering a career
in academia. His goals shifted, of course, when he instead departed
Columbia with a Master's degree and devoted himself entirely to his faith.
Immediately preceding that transition, Merton completed a Master's
thesis on William Blake.
Merton titled his 1939 Master of Arts thesis, 'Nature and Art in
William Blake: An Essay in Interpretation.' As Furlong summarizes, 'His
method in his thesis was to use the esthetic ideas of St. Thomas Aquinas
(as interpreted by Jacques Maritain) as a touchstone by which to test
Blake's thought.' Though Blake is the primary subject of analysis,
Merton's thesis does not dwell on close reading of either Blake's writing
or visual art. Instead, Merton highlights Blake's mysticism and defends it
passionately, claiming it as part of Christian thought. Also, Merton
demonstrates more interest in the philosophy of art than in the features
of any particular piece of artwork; for Merton, Blake epitomizes a
pinnacle of artmaking because of how his work derives from imagination
rather than from naturalistic copying. In his own summary of his thesis,
Merton explains that, 'What it amounted to was a study of Blake's
reaction against every kind of literalism and naturalism and narrow,
classical realism in art, because of his own ideal which was essentially
mystical and supernatural.' Merton's focus on Blake's philosophy reveals
his own growing commitment to spirituality and contemplation, which
would soon become key elements of his faith practice.
Rebecca Gould teaches English literacy at the International Community High School in the Bronx, NY. .
"Art and Selfhood: Thomas Merton on William Blake" can be downloaded from the The Thomas Merton Society (open access).