Both America: A Prophecy and its sequel, Europe: A Prophecy, deal with the upheavals of Blake's own time. In Europe the troubles are traced back to the misunderstanding of the true message of Christianity. Under the baleful influence of the harsh law-giving deity Urizen, Europe develops a repressive and materialistic society that eventually provokes the violent reaction of the French Revolution. The magnificent frontispiece shown here, one of Blake's most famous designs, shows Urizen measuring out the material world. Dividers, a traditional attribute of God as creator, were frequently used by Blake as an image of soulless construction, as in Newton.
William Vaughan