Analysis of I Saw a Chapel

William Blake 1757 (Soho) – 1827 (London)



I saw a chapel all of gold
     That none did dare to enter in,
     And many weeping stood without,
     Weeping, mourning, worshipping.

I saw a serpent rise between
     The white pillars of the door,
     And he forc'd and forc'd and forc'd,
     Down the golden hinges tore.

And along the pavement sweet,
   Set with pearls and rubies bright,
   All his slimy length he drew
   Till upon the altar white

Vomiting his poison out
   On the bread and on the wine.
   So I turn'd into a sty
   And laid me down among the swine.


Scheme XXAX XBXB XCXC ADXD
Poetic Form Quatrain  (75%)
Metre 11010111 11111100 01010101 1010100 11010101 0110101 0110101 1010101 0010101 1110101 1110111 1010101 1001101 1010101 1110101 01110101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 534
Words 94
Sentences 5
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 93
Words per stanza (avg) 23
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 19, 2023

29 sec read
190

William Blake

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

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