Letter: Liberated Blake

Sir: Probably the best researched interpretation of Blake's "Jerusalem" lines is that which appeared as long ago as 1950 in the book English Poetry, A Critical Introduction by my late tutor Dr F W Bateson, of Corpus Christi College, Oxford.

Naturally, he considers the verses in their context of the larger work Milton. He concludes that "it would seem 'Jerusalem' is sexual liberty" and that "Satan's mills are the altars of the churches, on which the clergy of the 18th century were still plying their deadly Druidic trade".

His final comment is: "The adoption by churches and women's organisations of this anti-clerical paean of free love is amusing evidence of the carelessness with which poetry is read today. Will no one tell them what they sing?"

William Nicholas

London W6