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Title
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William Hayley, Triumphs of Temper (1803)
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Original Date:
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1803
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Publisher:
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Cadell and Davies
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Physical Description:
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165 pages, 6 plates ; 17 cm.
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Background Information:
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The title page for The Triumphs of Temper names the artist behind the “new original designs” for the illustrations, Maria Flaxman, as prominently as the poem’s author, William Hayley. Blake’s engravings for these designs caused friction within his circle of friends, but they remain one of the chief interests of this edition. The copy in the Union College library was donated by Hans Rozendaal.
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Student Commentary:
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Overview: William Hayley (1745-1820) was an English poet and biographer. His epic poem The Triumphs of Temper, in a total of six cantos, is a satire about teaching girls to harness their tempers in order to become better wives for their husbands. Blake was commissioned to create engravings based upon drawings for this work by Maria Flaxman, half-sister to Blake’s friend John Flaxman. Hayley was also a friend, and offered his cottage at Felpham in Sussex for Blake to use while working on this commission and on his own illuminated books. Blake’s relationship to Hayley was rocky, however, and after three years he moved back to London, feeling that Hayley misunderstood who he was as an artist. Blake’s engravings of Maria Flaxman’s work also failed to satisfy. Only six were published with the poem. – Caitlin Williams ‘18
