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Vala, or The Four Zoas is one of the uncompleted prophetic books by the English poet William Blake, begun in 1797.The eponymous main characters of the book are the Four Zoas (Urthona, Urizen, Luvah and Tharmas), who were created by the fall of Albion in Blake's mythology.
The long, unfinished poem properly called Vala, or The Four Zoas expands the significance of the Zoas, but they are integral to all of Blake's prophetic books.. Blake's painting of a naked figure raising his arms, loosely based on Vitruvian Man, is now identified as a portrayal of Albion, following the discovery of a printed version with an inscription identifying the figure. [2]
Another work, Vala, or The Four Zoas (1797), begun while Blake was residing in Felpham, was abandoned in draft form; of this abandoning by Blake, Northrop Frye has commented that "[a]nyone who cares about poetry or painting must see in [Vala ' s] unfinished state a major cultural disaster". [3]
In the mythological writings of William Blake, Vala is an Emanation and the mate of Luvah, one of the four Zoas, who were created when Albion, the primordial man, was divided fourfold. She represents nature while Luvah represents emotions. Originally with Luvah, she joins with Albion and begets the Zoa Urizen
Urthona's background and origins are described in Vala, or The Four Zoas. The work describes the relationship between Los and Urthona and how the Emanations of Urthona and Los operate. It also describes his regeneration at the Final Judgment. Blake's poem Milton a Poem describes aspects of Urthona, such as his connection to the North and to ...
The relationship of the four Zoas, as depicted by Blake in Milton a Poem. The longest elaboration of this private myth-cycle was also his longest poem, The Four Zoas: The Death and Judgment of Albion The Ancient Man, written in the late 1790s but left in manuscript form at the time of his death.
The first appearance of Luvah is in The Book of Thel, but he is not mentioned again until Vala, or The Four Zoas.The history of Luvah's origins, war on Albion, and his involvement as Orc are described in Vala along with descriptions of his return to his Luvah state after the Final Judgment.
It consists of nine books, referred to as "nights". These outline the interactions of the Zoas, their fallen forms and their Emanations. Blake intended the book to be a summation of his mythic universe. Blake's Four Zoas, which represent four aspects of the Almighty God and Vala is the first work to mention them. [90]