Analysis of To Summer

William Blake 1757 (Soho) – 1827 (London)



O thou who passest thro' our valleys in
Thy strength, curb thy fierce steeds, allay the heat
That flames from their large nostrils! thou, O Summer,
Oft pitched'st here thy goldent tent, and oft
Beneath our oaks hast slept, while we beheld
With joy thy ruddy limbs and flourishing hair.

Beneath our thickest shades we oft have heard
Thy voice, when noon upon his fervid car
Rode o'er the deep of heaven; beside our springs
Sit down, and in our mossy valleys, on
Some bank beside a river clear, throw thy
Silk draperies off, and rush into the stream:
Our valleys love the Summer in his pride.

Our bards are fam'd who strike the silver wire:
Our youth are bolder than the southern swains:
Our maidens fairer in the sprightly dance:
We lack not songs, nor instruments of joy,
Nor echoes sweet, nor waters clear as heaven,
Nor laurel wreaths against the sultry heat.


Scheme XABXAX XXCXXXX BCXXXA
Poetic Form
Metre 1111110100 1111110101 11111101110 111111101 0110111111 11110101001 01101011111 1111011101 1100111001101 1100101101 1101010111 11001010101 10101010011 101111101010 10111010101 10101000101 1111110011 11011101110 1101010101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 851
Words 156
Sentences 5
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 6, 7, 6
Lines Amount 19
Letters per line (avg) 36
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 227
Words per stanza (avg) 51
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 08, 2023

47 sec read
133

William Blake

William Blake was an English poet, painter and printmaker. more…

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