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Drawings

Illustration 3 to Milton's "Comus": The Brothers Seen by Comus Plucking Grapes

Type
Drawings(Opens in new tab)
Date
ca. 1801
Accession number
000.22
Maker
William Blake(Opens in new tab) (British, 1757–1827)
Dimensions
8 9/16 x 7 1/16 in. (21.7 x 18 cm.) mount: 21 15/16 x 17 7/8 in. (55.7 x 45.4 cm.)
Medium
pen and watercolor
Description
In Comus' dialogue with the Lady, he describes how he came upon her Brothers "plucking ripe clusters from the tender shoots" of a "green mantling vine/That crawls along the side of yon small hill" (294-96; see also the "cooling fruit," 186). Blake's portrayal of the Brothers recalls similar scenes of climbing and gathering fruit in "The School Boy" and the second plate of "The Ecchoing Green" among the Songs of Innocence. As in these designs of 1789, the graceful bodies of the youths harmonize with the shapes of the vines as they pluck clusters of grapes. The Brothers' garb is also similar to the clothing worn by boys and shepherds in Songs of Innocence. Their vulnerability is stressed by their having left their swords (mentioned 601 and 611) at the foot of the hill (lower center). They are distinguished in the text as the "elder" and the "second" Brother, but Blake gives no clear indication of their relative ages anywhere in the series. The Lady compares her Brothers to "Narcissus" (237), and some interpreters have found something narcissistic, even homoerotic, in their nearly identical lineaments, their rapt gaze at each other, and the intertwined straps of their swords. Although this scene in the masque is a flashback, Comus is pictured in the villager's costume he does not assume until he addresses the Lady (265). His expression of feigned humility does not disguise evil intent. [1]. In the middle distance are the "labor'd Ox/In his loose traces" and the farmer ("swink't heger") mentioned by Comus (291-93), even though the latter is described as sitting "at his Supper." In the background are the tiny figures of the Lady, seated by a tree, and the attendant Spirit hovering protectively above. Radiance illuminates the sky just above the trees. A few jagged pencil lines 4.2 cm. above and slightly to the left of the Spirit's head may indicate a single star. The small mark 5 cm. above the Spirit's head is a flaw in the paper. In the Boston version, the youth upper right places a cluster of fruit in his brother's extended right hand. The same action is pictured on the second plate of "The Ecchoing Green" (Songs of Innocence, 1789) and the second plate of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (ca. 1790-93). The vines are smaller and do not extend to the left of the lower Brother. The swords are omitted. Comus' face, raised a little and tilted to the right, is less obviously malevolent. There are two oxen and the Spirit is much larger. His wings touch above his head and a spiky radiance surrounds his entire form. The trees are placed higher in the design, with the result that there is greater distance between the farmer and the Lady but less sky. Notes 1. See Blake's criticism of mimickers of "humility and love" in his annotations to Lavater's Aphorisms (Blake 1982, 586).
Credit
The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
Department
European Art
Find out more
View in the Art Museum catalog(Opens in new tab)
Comus, still disguised as an old man, approaches the Lady's brothers while they pluck grapes. Their vulnerability is suggested by their having left their swords on the ground, lower left. The tiny figure of the Lady can be seen in the forest right of Comus; her attendant Spirit hovers in the sky above.

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