William Blake
An amazing poet.
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On the bus ride home, me and Alex were talking about some of our favorite poems. I told him that one of mine was “Fair Elenor” by William Blake. Hey Alex, if you want to read the poem… here it is! : P
Fair Elenor
The bell struck one, and shook the silent tower;
The graves give up their dead: fair Elenor
Walk’d by the castle gate, and looked in.
A hollow groan ran thro’ the dreary vaults.
She shriek’d aloud, and sunk upon the steps
On the cold stone her pale cheek. Sickly smells
Of death, issue as from a sepulcher,
And all is silent but the sighing vaults.
Chill death withdraws his hand, and she revives;
Amaz’d she finds herself upon her feet,
And, like a ghost, thro’ narrow passages
Walking, feeling the cold walls with her hands.
Fancy returns, and now she thinks of bones,
And grinning skulls, and corruptible death,
Wrapp’d in his shroud; and now, fancies she hears
Deep sighs, and sees pale sickly ghosts gliding.
At length, no fancy, but reality
Distracts her. A rushing sound, and the feet
Of one that fled, approaches—Ellen stood,
Like a dumb statue, froze to stone with fear.
The wretch approaches, crying, “The deed is done;
Take this, and send it by whom thou wilt send;
It is my life—send it to Elenor—
He’s dead, and howling after me for blood!
“Take this,” he cried; and thrust into her arms
A wet napkin, wrapp’d about; then rush’d
Past, howling: she receiv’d into her arms
Pale death, and follow’d on the wings of fear.
They pass’d swift thro’ the outer gate; the wretch,
Howling, leap’d o’er the wall into the moat,
Stifling in mud. Fair Ellen pass’d the bridge,
And heard a gloomy voice cry, “Is it done?”
As the deer wounded Ellen flew over
The pathless plain; as the arrows that fly
By night; destruction flies, and strikes in darkness,
She fled from fear, till at her house arriv’d.
Her maids await her; on he bed she falls,
That bed of joy, where erst her lord hath press’d:
“Ah, woman’s fear!” she cried; “Ah, cursed duke!
Ah, my dear lord! ah wretched Elenor!
“My lord was like a flower upon the brows
Of lusty May! Ah, life as frail as flower!
O ghastly death! Withdraw thy cruel hand,
Seek’st thou that flow’r to deck thy horrid temples?
“My lord was like a star, in the highest heav’n
Drawn down to earth by spells and wickedness:
My lord was like the opening eyes of day,
When western winds creep softly o’er the flowers:
“But he is darken’d; like the summer’s noon,
Clouded; fall’n like the stately tree, cut down;
The breath of heaven dwelt among his leaves.
O Elenor, weak woman, fill’d with woe!”
Thus having spoke, she raised up her head,
And saw the bloody napkin by her side,
Which in her arms she brought; and now, tenfold
More terrified, saw it unfold itself.
Her eyes were fix’d; the bloody cloth unfolds,
Disclosing to her sight the murder’d head
Of her dear lord, all ghastly pale, clotted
With gory blood; it groan’d, and thus it spoke:
“O Elenor, behold thy husband’s head,
Who, sleeping on the stones of yonder tower,
Was ‘reft of life by the accused duke!
A hired villain turn’d my sleep to death!
“O Elenor, beware the cursed duke,
O give not him thy hand, now I am dead;
He seeks thy love; who, coward, in the night,
Hired a villain to bereave my life.”
She sat with dead sold limbs, stiffen’d to stone;
She took the gory head up in her arms;
She kiss’d the pale lips; she had no tears to shed;
She hugg’d it to her breast, and groan’d her last.
And there it is! And here is another one of his pieces:
A Poison Tree
I was angry with my friend;
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.
And I watered it in fears,
Night and morning with my tears:
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.
And it grew both day and night.
Till it bore an apple bright.
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine.
And into my garden stole,
When the night had veiled the pole;
In the morning glad I see;
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.
I like his work, just for the fact it can be based on different situations in your life. “A poison tree” can relate to my life now. *She* stole something very valuable to me (another person)… but, it will come back to haunt her in her sleep and destroy her soul. And she brought it all upon herself. If she would have watched my mistake with him, maybe she wouldn’t have made the same one…
He is a great poet… and no, not all of his works have to deal with death. : P He also (in my opinion) is a bit of a Philosopher. I have the book sitting out in front of me and I am reading this section called “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” and in that chapter is this section called “The Voice of the Devil” and here is the first part.
The Voice Of The Devil
All Bibles or sacred codes have been the causes of the following errors:
1. That Man has two real existing principles Viz: a Body and a Soul.
2. That Energy, called Evil, is alone from the Body, and that Reason, called Good, is alone from the Soul.
3. That God will torment Man in Eternity for following his Energies.
But the following Contraries to these are True:
1. Man has no Body distinct from his Soul; for that called Body is a portion of Soul discerned by the five senses, the chief inlets of Soul in this age
2. Energy is the only life and is from the Body and Reason is bound or outward circumference of Energy.
3. Energy is Eternal Delight.
Now, the only one I really don’t understand is the #3 in the first part… if you have any suggestions, feel free to help me figure it out! : P
Fair Elenor
The bell struck one, and shook the silent tower;
The graves give up their dead: fair Elenor
Walk’d by the castle gate, and looked in.
A hollow groan ran thro’ the dreary vaults.
She shriek’d aloud, and sunk upon the steps
On the cold stone her pale cheek. Sickly smells
Of death, issue as from a sepulcher,
And all is silent but the sighing vaults.
Chill death withdraws his hand, and she revives;
Amaz’d she finds herself upon her feet,
And, like a ghost, thro’ narrow passages
Walking, feeling the cold walls with her hands.
Fancy returns, and now she thinks of bones,
And grinning skulls, and corruptible death,
Wrapp’d in his shroud; and now, fancies she hears
Deep sighs, and sees pale sickly ghosts gliding.
At length, no fancy, but reality
Distracts her. A rushing sound, and the feet
Of one that fled, approaches—Ellen stood,
Like a dumb statue, froze to stone with fear.
The wretch approaches, crying, “The deed is done;
Take this, and send it by whom thou wilt send;
It is my life—send it to Elenor—
He’s dead, and howling after me for blood!
“Take this,” he cried; and thrust into her arms
A wet napkin, wrapp’d about; then rush’d
Past, howling: she receiv’d into her arms
Pale death, and follow’d on the wings of fear.
They pass’d swift thro’ the outer gate; the wretch,
Howling, leap’d o’er the wall into the moat,
Stifling in mud. Fair Ellen pass’d the bridge,
And heard a gloomy voice cry, “Is it done?”
As the deer wounded Ellen flew over
The pathless plain; as the arrows that fly
By night; destruction flies, and strikes in darkness,
She fled from fear, till at her house arriv’d.
Her maids await her; on he bed she falls,
That bed of joy, where erst her lord hath press’d:
“Ah, woman’s fear!” she cried; “Ah, cursed duke!
Ah, my dear lord! ah wretched Elenor!
“My lord was like a flower upon the brows
Of lusty May! Ah, life as frail as flower!
O ghastly death! Withdraw thy cruel hand,
Seek’st thou that flow’r to deck thy horrid temples?
“My lord was like a star, in the highest heav’n
Drawn down to earth by spells and wickedness:
My lord was like the opening eyes of day,
When western winds creep softly o’er the flowers:
“But he is darken’d; like the summer’s noon,
Clouded; fall’n like the stately tree, cut down;
The breath of heaven dwelt among his leaves.
O Elenor, weak woman, fill’d with woe!”
Thus having spoke, she raised up her head,
And saw the bloody napkin by her side,
Which in her arms she brought; and now, tenfold
More terrified, saw it unfold itself.
Her eyes were fix’d; the bloody cloth unfolds,
Disclosing to her sight the murder’d head
Of her dear lord, all ghastly pale, clotted
With gory blood; it groan’d, and thus it spoke:
“O Elenor, behold thy husband’s head,
Who, sleeping on the stones of yonder tower,
Was ‘reft of life by the accused duke!
A hired villain turn’d my sleep to death!
“O Elenor, beware the cursed duke,
O give not him thy hand, now I am dead;
He seeks thy love; who, coward, in the night,
Hired a villain to bereave my life.”
She sat with dead sold limbs, stiffen’d to stone;
She took the gory head up in her arms;
She kiss’d the pale lips; she had no tears to shed;
She hugg’d it to her breast, and groan’d her last.
And there it is! And here is another one of his pieces:
A Poison Tree
I was angry with my friend;
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.
And I watered it in fears,
Night and morning with my tears:
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.
And it grew both day and night.
Till it bore an apple bright.
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine.
And into my garden stole,
When the night had veiled the pole;
In the morning glad I see;
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.
I like his work, just for the fact it can be based on different situations in your life. “A poison tree” can relate to my life now. *She* stole something very valuable to me (another person)… but, it will come back to haunt her in her sleep and destroy her soul. And she brought it all upon herself. If she would have watched my mistake with him, maybe she wouldn’t have made the same one…
He is a great poet… and no, not all of his works have to deal with death. : P He also (in my opinion) is a bit of a Philosopher. I have the book sitting out in front of me and I am reading this section called “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” and in that chapter is this section called “The Voice of the Devil” and here is the first part.
The Voice Of The Devil
All Bibles or sacred codes have been the causes of the following errors:
1. That Man has two real existing principles Viz: a Body and a Soul.
2. That Energy, called Evil, is alone from the Body, and that Reason, called Good, is alone from the Soul.
3. That God will torment Man in Eternity for following his Energies.
But the following Contraries to these are True:
1. Man has no Body distinct from his Soul; for that called Body is a portion of Soul discerned by the five senses, the chief inlets of Soul in this age
2. Energy is the only life and is from the Body and Reason is bound or outward circumference of Energy.
3. Energy is Eternal Delight.
Now, the only one I really don’t understand is the #3 in the first part… if you have any suggestions, feel free to help me figure it out! : P
