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.

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 19, 2023

29 sec read
189

Quick analysis:

Scheme XXAX XBXB XCXC ADXD
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 534
Words 94
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

William Blake

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

All William Blake poems | William Blake Books

25 fans

Discuss the poem I Saw a Chapel 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

    "I Saw a Chapel" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/39109/i-saw-a-chapel>.

    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
    7
    hours
    26
    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?

    »
    Which author is considered to be Scotland’s national poet?
    A Robert Louis Stevenson
    B Edwin Morgan
    C Robert Burns
    D Danny Boyle