{{short description|Character in the writings of William Blake}} [[File:Birth of the sons of urizen.jpg|thumb|The birth of the sons of Urizen, depicted in The Book of Urizen, copy G, collection the Library of Congress. Fuzon appears at the top, in flames.]]
In the mythological writings of William Blake, '''Fuzon''' is the fourth and final son of Urizen, associated with the classical element of fire. In ''The Book of Ahania'' he fights Urizen for control of the world.
==Identifications== S. Foster Damon in his ''Blake Dictionary'' states that Fuzon represents fire in the four classical elements. His siblings representing the other elements are Utha, Grodna and Thiriel. Damon notes parallels in Greek mythology with the castration of Uranus, by Cronus (Saturn); and in the Freudian Oedipus complex.<ref name="Damon">{{cite book |last1=Damon |first1=Samuel Foster |title=A Blake Dictionary: The Ideas and Symbols of William Blake |date=1988 |publisher=UPNE |isbn=9780874514360 |page=148 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HOxpOMQ_Pa8C&pg=PA148 |language=en}}</ref>
David V. Erdman proposed an identification of Fuzon with Robespierre; Harold Bloom supported it as "probable" in "historical allegory", adding that in "moral allegory" he is a "Promethean version of Moses".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Blake |first1=William |last2=Bloom |first2=Harold |title=The Complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake |date=1982 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=9780520044739 |page=908 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z5WNsBo8Sq4C&pg=PA908 |language=en}}</ref> Northrop Frye finds a connection of Fuzon with the biblical Absalom.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Frye |first1=Northrop |title=Fearful Symmetry: A Study of William Blake |date=2013 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=9781400847471 |page=214 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4cOcHsKhzrgC&pg=PA214 |language=en}}</ref>
==Fuzon the rebel== Fuzon appears as a rebel in ''The Book of Ahania'', a sequel of sorts to ''The Book of Urizen''. Hobson writes
<blockquote>If the Fuzon material in ''Ahania'' is read continuously with ''Urizen'', the sequence of events is that Orc is bound, and his cries awaken the dead and, by implication, awaken Urizen's sons [...], one of whom, Fuzon, leads the revolt that begins in ''Urizen'' [...], and continues in ''Ahania''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hobson |first1=Christopher Z. |title=The Chained Boy: Orc and Blake's Idea of Revolution |date=1999 |publisher=Associated University Presse |isbn=9780838753859 |page=142 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HFJryDuqdgcC&pg=PA142 |language=en}}</ref></blockquote>
According to Davis, Fuzon, who leads an exodus of children of Urizen as a pillar of fire, is an "Orc-like rebel who represents Passion".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Davis |first1=Michael |title=William Blake: A New Kind of Man |date=1977 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=9780520034563 |page=[https://archive.org/details/williamblakenewk00davi/page/70 70] |url=https://archive.org/details/williamblakenewk00davi |url-access=registration |language=en}}</ref>
Fuzon's fate is bound up with the Tree of Mystery, introduced in the poem ''The Human Abstract''. Urizen shoots Fuzon with a poisoned rock, and crucifies him on the Tree, for a period of forty years.<ref name="Damon"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Damon |first1=Samuel Foster |title=A Blake Dictionary: The Ideas and Symbols of William Blake |date=1988 |publisher=UPNE |isbn=9780874514360 |page=410 |language=en}}</ref>
==Notes== {{reflist}}
{{William Blake|myth}}
Category:William Blake characters Category:Absalom Category:Male characters in literature