Simple, limited and without adventure describe the life of William Blake (Greenblatt, Abrams, Lynch, Stillinger). Blake was born on November 28, 1757 in London, England and his artistic ability became evident in his early years. Blake had a very simple upbringing and had little education. His formal education was artistic and at the age of fourteen he began an apprenticeship to a well-known engraver who taught Blake his printmaking skills. In his spare 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 personal works (William Blake Biography). Blake's creativity was evident during this period and he privately published his first collections of poetry, 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 on a bronze plate while his wife, Catherine, assisted in the binding and coloring of poems (Zhan). At first Blake encountered great difficulty with his first publication of poetry and did not achieve any profit or positive reviews. Many people did not appreciate Blake's works at first, but despite the poverty and hardships Blake faced, he insisted on publishing them without any contract (Zhan). Blake overcame adversity... middle of paper... The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. 2. 9th edition. Boston: W. W. Norton, 2013. 129. Blake, William. “Holy Thursday”. Songs of innocence and experience. 1794. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, vol. 2. 9th edition. Boston: W. W. Norton, 2013. 127. “Yahoo Contributor Network Poetry Analysis,” London. Yahoo, July 29, 2009. Web. April 5, 2014. “Biography of William Blake.” Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web March 25, 2014. .Blake, William (1757-1827). "Encyclopedia of World Biography". Detroit: Gale, 1998. Academic OneFile. Network. April 2, 2014.Zhan, Changjuan. "William Blake and his poem 'London'." Theory and Practice in Language Studies 3.9 (2013): 1610+. Academic OneFile. Network. April 4. 2014.