Milton and Blake are considered representatives of what may be called the visionary tradition in English poetry. Focusing on Paradise Lost and The Four Zoas an attempt is made to first, delineate the myths embodied in these texts and second, to point out their differen- ces. After a few remarks about what is meant by the term »visionary«, the author gives a brief appraisal of the poems. Although both texts start from an identical starting-point, even the most superficial reading will uncover decisive divergences. The paper analyses the following five structural differences: (i) while Milton uses a linear, deterministic organization of episodes, in Blake's work their nature is thought to be cyclical, interchangeable, (ii) the selective and intergrative use of material, (iii) the different characterization of protagonists, (iv) the different modes of representing space/distance, and (v) dissimilarities that are evident on the level of language. Relying on certain judgements propounded by George Steiner, Joseph Campbell and Arthur O. Lovej-joy a proposal is put forward to explain these differences as originating in a changed perception of the world, different psychological types and in the emergence of a new stylistic formation (Romanticism).
