The Fly

William Blake 1757 (Soho) – 1827 (London)



Little Fly,
 Thy summer's play
 My thoughtless hand
 Has brushed away.
 
 Am not I
 A fly like thee?
 Or art not thou
 A man like me?
 
 For I dance
 And drink, and sing,
 Till some blind hand
 Shall brush my wing.
 
 If thought is life
 And strength and breath
 And the want
 Of thought is death;
 
 Then am I
 A happy fly,
 If I live,
 Or if I die.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 02, 2023

21 sec read
790

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCB ADXD XECE XFXF AAXA
Closest metre Iambic dimeter
Characters 336
Words 71
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

William Blake

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

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