Analysis of The Book of Urizen: Chapter I
William Blake 1757 (Soho) – 1827 (London)
1. Lo, a shadow of horror is risen
In Eternity! Unknown, unprolific!
Self-closd, all-repelling: what Demon
Hath form'd this abominable void
This soul-shudd'ring vacuum?--Some said
"It is Urizen", But unknown, abstracted
Brooding secret, the dark power hid.
2. Times on times he divided, & measur'd
Space by space in his ninefold darkness
Unseen, unknown! changes appeard
In his desolate mountains rifted furious
By the black winds of perturbation
3. For he strove in battles dire
In unseen conflictions with shapes
Bred from his forsaken wilderness,
Of beast, bird, fish, serpent & element
Combustion, blast, vapour and cloud.
4. Dark revolving in silent activity:
Unseen in tormenting passions;
An activity unknown and horrible;
A self-contemplating shadow,
In enormous labours occupied
5. But Eternals beheld his vast forests
Age on ages he lay, clos'd, unknown
Brooding shut in the deep; all avoid
The petrific abominable chaos
6. His cold horrors silent, dark Urizen
Prepar'd: his ten thousands of thunders
Rang'd in gloom'd array stretch out across
The dread world, & the rolling of wheels
As of swelling seas, sound in his clouds
In his hills of stor'd snows, in his mountains
Of hail & ice; voices of terror,
Are heard, like thunders of autumn,
When the cloud blazes over the harvests
Scheme | AXABXCC XDBDA XXDXX XEXXX FXBX AXXXXEXXF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 101110110 00100011 111010110 111010001 1111011 11110110 101001101 111101010 11101110 0101101 01100101100 10111010 1110101 001111 111010100 111110100 0101101 10100100100 0101010 10100010100 011001 0010110 1111110 111011101 101001101 010100010 11101011 011110110 101011101 01101011 111011011 0111110110 11110110 11110110 1011010010 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,269 |
Words | 212 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 7, 5, 5, 5, 4, 9 |
Lines Amount | 35 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 170 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 35 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 25, 2023
- 1:06 min read
- 218 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Book of Urizen: Chapter I" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/39153/the-book-of-urizen%3A-chapter-i>.
Discuss this William Blake poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In