Milton: And did those feet in ancient time
Milton: And did those feet in ancient time
Original Text
William Blake, Milton (1804), plate 2, lines 1-16. Blake's Illuminated Books, ed. David Bindman (Princeton, NJ: William Blake Trust; London: Tate Gallery, 1991-). See Vol. 5. PR 4142 B46 1991 ROBA.
3And was the holy Lamb of God
4On England's pleasant pastures seen?
5And did the Countenance Divine
6Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
7And was Jerusalem builded here
9Bring me my bow of burning gold:
10Bring me my arrows of desire:
11Bring me my spear: O clouds unfold!
12Bring me my chariot of fire.
13I will not cease from mental fight,
14Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand
15Till we have built Jerusalem
16In England's green and pleasant land.
Notes
1] Milton was first engraved by Blake in or shortly after 1808, although it bears the date 1804 on its title-page. It is in two books, though originally planned to have twelve, and the most complete of its four surviving copies has fifty plates. The theme is the descent of Milton from heaven into Blake's body at a crucial point in Blake's life. Back to Line
2] mountains green: cf. Gen. 3: 8. In the unfallen world England's green and pleasant land and the garden of Eden in the Bible would be identical. Back to Line
8] Satanic mills: cf. the imagery of the extract from Plate 15 of Jerusalem. Back to Line
Publication Start Year
1808
Publication Notes
ca. 1808 (notwithstanding the date of publication)
RPO poem Editors
Northrop Frye
RPO Edition
3RP 2.297.
Rhyme