Milton: The Sky is an Immortal Tent Built by the Sons of Los

William Blake 1757 (Soho) – 1827 (London)



The sky is an immortal tent built by the Sons of Los:
     And every space that a man views around his dwelling-place
     Standing on his own roof or in his garden on a mount
    Of twenty-five cubits in height, such space is his universe:
    And on its verge the sun rises and sets, the clouds bow
    To meet the flat earth and the sea in such an order'd space:
     The starry heavens reach no further, but here bend and set
    On all sides, and the two Poles turn on their valves of gold:
  And if he moves his dwelling-place, his heavens also move
  Where'er he goes, and all his neighbourhood bewail his loss.
 Such are the spaces called Earth and such its dimension.
 As to that false appearance which appears to the reasoner
 As of a globe rolling through voidness, it is a delusion of Ulro.
The microscope knows not of this nor the telescope: they alter
The ratio of the spectator's organs, but leave objects untouch'd.
  For every space larger than a red globule of Man's blood
 Is visionary, and is created by the Hammer of Los;
 And every space smaller than a globule of Man's blood opens
 Into Eternity of which this vegetable Earth is but a shadow.
The red globule is the unwearied sun by Los created
 To measure time and space to mortal men every morning

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 28, 2023

1:11 min read
183

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDEBFGHIJKKKLMANOMP
Closest metre Iambic octameter
Characters 1,261
Words 232
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 21

William Blake

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

All William Blake poems | William Blake Books

25 fans

Discuss the poem Milton: The Sky is an Immortal Tent Built by the Sons of Los with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Milton: The Sky is an Immortal Tent Built by the Sons of Los" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/39125/milton:-the-sky-is-an-immortal-tent-built-by-the-sons-of-los>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    3
    days
    16
    hours
    6
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    An expression where the literal meaning is different from the intended meaning is called ________.
    A simile
    B metaphor
    C synonym
    D idiom