“From out the Portals of My Brain”: William Blake’s Partus Mentis and Imaginative Regeneration
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThis is an interesting article that examines the topic of partus mentis in Blake's poetry from an interdisciplinary perspective, touching on different fields (philosophy, mythology, and medicine). The thesis is clearly stated in the introduction, and the essay is convincing, well-supported by evidence, and it establishes connections with other connected topics such as sight/vision and gender, that I find particularly interesting.
Here are some notes on the different sections:
1) Introduction: the "method" part (starting on line 54) is probably too detailed, advancing too much information that (to me) makes more sense within the different sections. By the end, it also creates expectations that are not completely satisfied. For example: "The interaction between males and females can either be productive or destructive. This is illustrated when the two combine without truly integrating, creating the monstrous figure of the hermaphrodite" (lines 85-87)--- This topic is not truly developed in the corresponding section, beyond this basic idea that appears already in the introduction. I would suggest to refine the introduction so that it does not give away as much information about the content of different sections, and also to actually explore this last idea in more detail later on.
2) Partus mentis in classical tradition -- This is my favourite part of the essay. Neatly organized and structured, appealing to scholars studying the same topic in other European literatures/cultures. I would suggest to introduce the Muses here too, since you mention them later on: in particular, I think the topic of "divine madness" could be connected to the partus mentis, since it is also related to the brain --i.e. an alteration of the brain through divine intervention that grants access to a particular form of knowledge? I am just thinking on Bernard of Gordon's Lillium medicinae, Chapter XIX, where he describes the symptoms of insanity: "when someone imagines and thinks of those things that are unthinkable, inimaginable..." (I am translating from the version in Spanish that I have at hand). This might be stretching the topic too far, but I think madness as a creative alteration of the mind might be connected to your topic.
3) Epigenesis: I would appreciate a bit more expansion on that topic on section 3. It is very succintly explained, and the connections with Blake's poetry are not completely clear to the reader (or to me). I am referring to the paragraph starting on line 202, where, by the end, you state that: "it represents a locus of contagion and contamination, to paraphrase Harvey, a hybrid seamless space where the medical and the poetical converge." --Why a locus of contagion and contamination?
Similarly, the page ends with a long ennumeration (line 241-44) whose different elements do not illustrate very clearly the "substitution of one form of the visible for another" claim. I would suggest getting into more detail with some of the examples provided in this ennumeration.
4. "The eyes of the viewer --...-- investigates and interacts..." (line 260) --Check out this sentence, please.
5. Page 9: "an element is essential for life" and "Enitarmon" --Check out this.
6. Conclusions: Brilliant!
Finally, this is a topic that I am not too familiar with, but you might wish to contact Enrique García Santo Tomás. He published a book titled Signos vitales: Procreación e imagen en la narrativa áurea (Iberoamericana, 2020), delving on maternity, childbirth, and midwifery in Spanish Renaissance and Baroque literature. Here, he also examines the gradual transformation of the midwife into a powerful image of mediation to reflect on art/literary creation once it was manipulated by/in media such as the printing press or theatre. Not sure whether there is a translation into English of this book though.
Thank you very much for such a original thought-provoking article.
Author Response
Dear Reviewer 1,
I'd like to express my gratitude for your detailed and insightful review, which helped me identify aspects of the article needing improvement.
In the introduction, I attempted to be more precise about the methods and provide a general idea of the argument's development without revealing too many details.
In the "Partus Mentis in Classic Tradition" section, I added a reference to the concept of "theia mania" as you suggested, relating it to inspiration.
In "The Brain and Uterus Analogy," I expanded on the concept of epigenesis in relation to Harvey.
For style and typos, I revised the sentences you pointed out.
I also appreciate your suggestion about Gordon's Lilium Medicinae and Enrique García Santo Tomás's study on procreation. Although I didn't include these references in the article due to word limit constraints, they will certainly be used in the monograph I'm writing on this topic.
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authorsplease, see my comments on the actual ms. The paper is great but in my view there are aspects of it, notably Blake's appreciation of the philosophical pedigree of imagination and its connection to intelligence, that need to be made more robust. I made some suggestions to this direction. The main connection that the author currently did not touch upon and I think should be included in the article is Blake's familiarity with Hermias' Commentary on Plato's Phaedrus where the Muses pose as mediators between poetry and philosophy and play an important role in Phaedrus' rebirth. I don't think that the extra research should take the author more than 10 days or so, and it will improve the article considerably. More extensive references could be also made not just to Socrates' noetic impregnation in the Symposium but to his maieutic method where he leads his interlocutors to giving birth to their own conclusions, discovering the knowledge they had all along.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
Dear Reviewer 2,
I want to express my deep gratitude for your detailed and insightful review, which has helped me improve various aspects of the article.
Specifically, I have added more depth to Blake’s engagement with Plato's philosophy, not just in the introduction, but throughout the article. I incorporated Hobbs’ study on Female Imagery in Plato into my analysis (I appreciate this suggestion, it was very helpful), and examined the role of muses and nymphs in relation to the Daughters of Beulah. I also referenced Hermias’ Commentary on Plato’s Phaedrus and the concept of rebirth in my discussion of the passage from Milton. Additionally, I included references to Thomas Taylor in a footnote. I expanded on the relevance of partus mentis in antiquity and clarified Aristotle’s view on women's role in procreation.
I also aimed to make my discussion of the analogy more clear.
Lastly, I revised the sentence structure as per your suggestions.
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThis article pursues an underexplored avenue in Blake studies by bringing him together with the partus mentis tradition, and it does so very effectively. I would say the author needs to strengthen his or her argument about Blake particularly by making a stronger argument for his or her specific reading rather than just asserting it -- but of course I'm unaware of space constraints.
The article's summary of the Genesis material is unsatisfying: God directly created Eve, but did so out of Adam's side rather than the dirt of the ground. Adam was asleep rather than serving as a mediator in Eve's creation. The biggest problem here, and missed opportunity, is failing to discuss the Lilith myth, which may add to the author's discussion of Blake and emphasize the more important differences between Adam's creation and Eve's.
The author's presentation of Aristotle similarly lacks nuance and needs to directly reference texts rather than repeat assumptions. Aristotle did view women as generally inferior, but that's far from saying he viewed them as incapable of reason: there's some debate about whether or not Aristotle banned women from governance, for example. Politics Books 1 and 8 have some relevant material.
On a sentence level the article is written in a good style, but it has some issues with subject/verb agreement and some comma issues. It needs further editing.
Author Response
Dear Reviewer 3,
I appreciate your detailed and insightful review, which helped me pinpoint areas of the article that needed improvement.
In the introduction, I have now endeavoured to be clearer about the methods used and provide a more accurate description of the argument's development.
I've included a discussion on the figure of Lilith (excellent suggestion that significantly improved the article) in relation to Genesis and Blake’s reinterpretation of *Laocoön*. I've also enhanced the reference to Aristotle and his views on women’s role in procreation, citing Connell’s study, *Aristotle on Female Animals: A Study of the Generation of Animals (CUP 2016).
