The Angel Michael Binding Satan ("He Cast him into the Bottomless Pit, and Shut him up") c. 1805

Editor: So, this is William Blake's "The Angel Michael Binding Satan." It's pretty intense! The angel seems almost sorrowful, even as he's restraining this monstrous figure. What do you make of that emotional complexity? Curator: Blake, that wild-eyed mystic, saw the world in swirling allegories. Michael isn't just some muscle-bound hero; he's wrestling with the very idea of rebellion, a part of himself, maybe? Do you see how the chains almost feel… delicate? Editor: You're right, they don't look as sturdy as you'd expect. So, it's more of an internal battle than a literal one? Curator: Precisely! It's about confronting our own demons, the "Satans" we carry within. Blake asks us, how do we bind our own darkness? It's pretty deep stuff.