English poet & painter (1757-1827)
It is an easy thing to triumph in the summer's sun,
And in the harvest to sing on the wagon loaded with corn.
It is an easy thing to talk of patience to the afflicted,
To speak the laws of prudence to the houseless wanderer,
To listen to the hungry raven's cry in the winter season,
When the red blood is filled with wine and with the marrow of lambs.
WILLIAM BLAKE
Vala
No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings.
WILLIAM BLAKE
Proverbs of Hell
The weak in courage is strong in cunning.
WILLIAM BLAKE
Proverbs of Hell
He who would do good to another must do it in Minute Particulars;
General Good is the plea of the scoundrel, hypocrite, and flatterer.
WILLIAM BLAKE
Jerusalem
O thou who passest through our valleys in
Thy strength, curb thy fierce steeds, allay the heat
That flames from their large nostrils! Thou, O Summer,
Oft pitchest here thy golden tent, and oft
Beneath our oaks hast slept, while we beheld
With joy thy ruddy limbs and flourishing hair.
WILLIAM BLAKE
"To Summer"
I told my love, I told my love,
I told her all my heart;
Trembling, cold, in ghastly fears--
Ah, she doth depart.
WILLIAM BLAKE
"Never Seek to Tell", Poems from Blake's Notebook
I see the Past, Present & Future existing all at once Before me.
WILLIAM BLAKE
Jerusalem
Sleep, sleep, beauty bright,
Dreaming o'er the joys of night.
Sleep, sleep: in thy sleep
Little sorrows sit and weep.
WILLIAM BLAKE
"A Cradle Song", Poems from Blake's Notebook
The Goddess Fortune is the devil's servant, ready to kiss anyone's arse.
WILLIAM BLAKE
"The Goddess Fortune", Notes on Illustrations to Dante
But most, thro' midnight streets I hear
How the youthful Harlot's curse
Blasts the new born Infant's tear,
And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse.
WILLIAM BLAKE
"London", Songs of Experience
He who doubts from what he sees
Will ne'er believe, do what you please.
If the sun and moon should doubt
They'd immediately go out.
WILLIAM BLAKE
Auguries of Innocence
Reason, or the ratio of all we have already known, is not the same that it shall be when we know more.
WILLIAM BLAKE
There is No Natural Religion
Without Time's swiftness, which is the swiftest of all things, all were eternal torment.
WILLIAM BLAKE
Milton
Hear the voice of the Bard,
Who present, past, and future, sees;
Whose ears have heard
The Holy Word
That walked among the ancient trees.
WILLIAM BLAKE
introduction, Songs of Experience
A crash ran through the universe; the bounds of Destiny were broken.
The bounds of Destiny crashed direful, and the swelling sea
Burst from its bonds in whirlpools fierce, and roaring with human voice.
WILLIAM BLAKE
Vala
Every night, and every morn,
Some to misery are born.
Every morn, and every night,
Some are born to sweet delight.
WILLIAM BLAKE
Auguries of Innocence
The moon like a flower
In heaven's high bower,
With silent delight,
Sits and smiles on the night.
WILLIAM BLAKE
"Night"
How have you left the ancient love
That bards of old enjoyed in you!
The languid strings do scarcely move!
The sound is forced, the notes are few!
WILLIAM BLAKE
"To the Muses", Poetical Sketches
I will not cease from mental fight,
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand,
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England's green & pleasant land.
WILLIAM BLAKE
"Prefatory Poem", Milton
What is it men in women to require?
The lineaments of gratified desire.
What is it women do in men require?
The lineaments of gratified desire.
WILLIAM BLAKE
Gnomic Verses