Art, Symbol & Imagination
The Clod of Clay Invites Thel
A seated woman bends over a small infant amid long curved stems and blue flowers. Above them, the engraved dialogue offers Thel entrance into the Clod of Clay’s house with freedom to return. The tender lower design places care beside the poem’s invitation to enter another form of life.
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Citation
William Blake. "The Clod of Clay Invites Thel" [editorial title]. In The Book of Thel, William Blake. Eight-plate digital facsimile assembled from individually catalogued Yale Center for British Art photographs; historical title dated 1789. Google Art Project images via Wikimedia Commons., undated edition, William Blake (historical plates). Source scan leaf 7. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/thel-clod
Source details
Editorial title and description. Source details from the Library catalogue.
Historical source image. Editorial titles and interpretations are identified as such; paper tone and historical marks retained.
Sources
From the book
The Book of ThelWilliam BlakeUndated editionMore from this book
The Book of Thel: Lettering and Entwined Figures
Thel’s Lament beneath the Branching Title
Thel and the Lilly beneath the WillowRelated illustrations
Explore in the Codex
Entries that reference this illustration.
- The Clod of Clay in ThelThe nurturing earth that tends the Worm and invites Thel into its house without compelling her to remain.
- The Land Unknown in ThelThe sorrowful realm of graves that Thel briefly enters through the eternal gates.
- The Worm in ThelThe helpless, infant-like creature whose vulnerability draws the Clod of Clay’s care.
Cite this illustration
William Blake. The Clod of Clay Invites Thel. The Book of Thel. Scan leaf 7. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/thel-clod