William Blake: The Human Abstract – Reading

"The Human Abstract": A reading. An introduction to the poetry of William Blake. PART 5

Blake's "The Human Abstract" shows the more cynical, "experienced" side of William Blake. Pity and mercy, he tells us, are not necessarily purely positive; they may serve to gratify the ...supposedly virtuous, rather than to help the suffering.

Click here to follow the Blake playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXBXodU5qKI&list=PLzVb6yL_jY69kJRNsa_3wE54b8Tf8jp-b


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Pity would be no more
If we did not make somebody Poor;
And Mercy no more could be
If all were as happy as we.

And mutual fear brings peace,
Till the selfish loves increase:
Then Cruelty knits a snare,
And spreads his baits with care.

He sits down with holy fears,
And waters the grounds with tears;
Then Humility takes its root

Underneath his foot.


Soon spreads the dismal shade
Of Mystery over his head;
And the Caterpillar and Fly
Feed on the Mystery.

And it bears the fruit of Deceit,
Ruddy and sweet to eat;
And the Raven his nest has made
In its thickest shade.

The Gods of the earth and sea
Sought through Nature to find this Tree;
But their search was all in vain:
There grows one in the Human Brain.Show More