I see the Four-fold Man

William Blake 1757 (Soho) – 1827 (London)



I see the Four-fold Man, The Humanity in deadly sleep
   And its fallen Emanation, the Spectre and its cruel Shadow.
   I see the Past, Present and Future existing all at once
   Before me. O Divine Spirit, sustain me on thy wings,
   That I may awake Albion from his long and cold repose;
   For Bacon and Newton, sheath'd in dismal steel, their terrors hang
   Like iron scourges over Albion: reasonings like vast serpents
   Infold around my limbs, bruising my minute articulations.

   I turn my eyes to the schools and universities of Europe
  And there behold the Loom of Locke, whose Woof rages dire,
  Wash'd by the Water-wheels of Newton: black the cloth
  In heavy wreaths folds over every nation: cruel works
  Of many Wheels I view, wheel without wheel, with cogs tyrannic
  Moving by compulsion each other, not as those in Eden, which,
  Wheel within wheel, in freedom revolve in harmony and peace.

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 18, 2023

46 sec read
174

Quick analysis:

Scheme XXAXXBXA XXXXBXX
Closest metre Iambic octameter
Characters 918
Words 154
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 7

William Blake

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

All William Blake poems | William Blake Books

27 fans

Discuss the poem I see the Four-fold Man 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 see the Four-fold Man" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/39110/i-see-the-four-fold-man>.

    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!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    5
    days
    12
    hours
    15
    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?

    »
    The way the lines look on the page is known as ________.
    A Paragraph
    B Stanza
    C Form
    D Line