Jason Whittaker

William Blake expert Jason Whittaker explores the history and meaning of the poem and English anthem Jerusalem and explains how it has been fought over by different groups on the left and right trying to establish their idea of Englishness.

Whittaker says it is extraordinary that a poem written by someone the crown considered a traitor and then set to music by a composer, Hubert Parry, who devoted his life to German music until the outbreak of World War I should come to represent Englishness. He explains what Blake meant by building Jerusalem in England and traces the history of the poem and music through both world wars and its use in political controversies including the Brexit vote.

Whittaker is head of the School of English and Journalism at the University of Lincoln and co-editor of the series Pop Music, Culture and Identity. He has written extensively on Blake.