But in the Wine-presses the Human Grapes Sing not nor Dance

William Blake 1757 (Soho) – 1827 (London)



But in the Wine-presses the human grapes sing not nor dance:
    They howl and writhe in shoals of torment, in fierce flames consuming,
    In chains of iron and in dungeons circled with ceaseless fires,
    In pits and dens and shades of death, in shapes of torment and woe:
    The plates and screws and racks and saws and cords and fires and cisterns
    The cruel joys of Luvah's Daughters, lacerating with knives
    And whips their victims, and the deadly sport of Luvah's Sons.

    They dance around the dying and they drink the howl and groan,
    They catch the shrieks in cups of gold, they hand them to one another:
  These are the sports of love, and these the sweet delights of amorous play,
  Tears of the grape, the death sweat of the cluster, the last sigh
  Of the mild youth who listens to the luring songs of Luvah.----

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

45 sec read
132

Quick analysis:

Scheme XXXXXXX XXXAA
Closest metre Iambic octameter
Characters 836
Words 150
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 7, 5

William Blake

William Blake was an English poet, painter and printmaker. more…

All William Blake poems | William Blake Books

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