Earth's Answer
William Blake 1757 (Soho) – 1827 (London)
Earth raised up her head
From the darkness dread and drear,
Her light fled,
Stony, dread,
And her locks covered with grey despair.
'Prisoned on watery shore,
Starry jealousy does keep my den
Cold and hoar;
Weeping o're,
I hear the father of the ancient men.
'Selfish father of men!
Cruel, jealous, selfish fear!
Can delight,
Chained in night,
The virgins of youth and morning bear?
'Does spring hide its joy,
When buds and blossoms grow?
Does the sower
Sow by night,
Or the plowman in darkness plough?
'Break this heavy chain,
That does freeze my bones around!
Selfish, vain,
Eternal bane,
That free love with bondage bound.'
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 17, 2023
- 33 sec read
- 351 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABAAB BCBBC CBDDB XBBDX EFEEF |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 639 |
Words | 111 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
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"Earth's Answer" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 Sep. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/39096/earth's-answer>.
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