Simple, limited and without adventure, all describe the life of William Blake (Greenblatt, Abrams, Lynch, Stillinger). Blake was born on November 28, 1757 in London, England and his artistic abilities became evident from his early years. Blake had a very simple upbringing and little education. His formal education was in art and at the age of fourteen he was apprenticed to a well-known engraver who taught Blake his engraving skills. In his free time, Blake began reading and writing poetry. At the age of twenty-one, Blake completed his seven-year apprenticeship and began working on projects for book and print publishers. He also attended the design schools of the Royal Academy of Art, where he began to reveal his own personal works (William Blake Biography). Blake's creativity was evident at this time and he privately published his first collections of poems, Poetical Sketches, which Blake wrote over a period of fourteen years (William Blake Biography). In August 1782, Blake married Catherine Boucher, with whom he fell in love at first sight (Encyclopedia of World Biography). Blake taught Catherine to read and write, and she later became his assistant. Blake wrote Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience in 1794. With the help of his wife, Catherine, Blake hand-engraved his poems and paintings onto a bronze board while his wife, Catherine, helped to binding and coloring poems (Zhan). At first, Blake experienced great difficulty with his first publication of poems and achieved no profit or positive reviews. At first, many people did not appreciate Blake's works, but despite the poverty and hardship Blake faced, he insisted on publishing them without any contracts (Zhan). Blake overcame adversities...... middle of paper ......The Norton Anthology of English Literature, vol. 2. 9th edition. Boston: WW Norton, 2013. 129. Blake, William. “Maundy Thursday.” Songs of innocence and experience. 1794. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, vol. 2. 9th edition. Boston: WW Norton, 2013. 127. "Poetry Analysis of "London" Yahoo Contributor Network. Yahoo, July 29, 2009. Web. April 5, 2014. "William Blake Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, nd Web March 25 2014. .Blake, William (1757-1827). "Encyclopedia of World Biography." Detroit: Gale, 1998. Academic OneFile Internet. Zhan, Changjuan "William Blake and his poem 'London'." Theory and Practice in Language Studies 3.9 (2013): 1610+ Academic Internet.. 2014.