Analysis of The Clod and the Pebble

William Blake 1757 (Soho) – 1827 (London)



'Love seeketh not itself to please,   
Nor for itself hath any care,  
But for another gives its ease,
And builds a heaven in hell's despair.'

So sung a little clod of clay,
Trodden with the cattle's feet;
But a pebble of the brook
Warbled out these meters meet:

'Love seeketh only Self to please,
To bind another to its delight,
Joys in another's loss of ease,
And builds a hell in heaven's despite.'


Scheme ABAB XCXC ADAD
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 1110111 11011101 11010111 010100101 11010111 101011 1010101 1011101 1110111 110101101 10010111 010101001
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 401
Words 77
Sentences 3
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 12
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 102
Words per stanza (avg) 24
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 01, 2023

23 sec read
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William Blake

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

All William Blake poems | William Blake Books

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    Quiz

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    What is the term for the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza.
    A Line break
    B A turn
    C Dithyramb
    D Enjambment