Jason Whittaker, Jerusalem: Blake, Parry, and the Fight for Englishness

Abstract

Blake famously stated “Without Contraries is no progression,” and the history of the hymn “Jerusalem” proves his dictum. Elevated to the status of anthem, the opening lines of Milton, set to music by Hubert Parry in 1916, have been adopted not only by national teams in sporting events but also by antagonistic political forces and by a diverse multitude of artists. Such a phenomenon demonstrates that Blake’s ode to England accommodates a polyphony of voices with different understandings of the meaning and implications of Englishness. This is precisely the sum and substance of Jason Whittaker’s Jerusalem: Blake, Parry, and the Fight for Englishness. By presenting a well-knit study of the hymn’s history and reception, Whittaker examines in detail how “Jerusalem” has been converted into an ambivalent and often problematic emblem of patriotism and nationalism, terms translated by George Orwell as the “love of home” in opposition to the “fear of the other” (Whittaker 19).