"Nought loves another as itself,
Nor venerates another so,
Nor is it possible to thought
A greater than itself to know.
"And, father, how can I love you
Or any of my brothers more?
I love you like the little bird
That picks up crumbs around the door."
The Priest sat by and heard the child;
In trembling zeal he seized his hair,
He led him by his little coat,
And all admired the priestly care.
And standing on the altar high,
"Lo, what a fiend is here! said he:
"One who sets reason up for judge
Of our most holy mystery."
The weeping child could not be heard,
The weeping parents wept in vain:
They stripped him to his little shirt,
And bound him in an iron chain,
And burned him in a holy place
Where many had been burned before;
The weeping parents wept in vain.
Are such thing done on Albion's shore?
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language
From guest amity (contact)
what can i tell my year11 english class about the language in this poem? baring in mind they have short attention spans after doing the anthology for 2 years now.
MOD MESSAGE
As a former teacher myself I would read it aloud with dramatic emphasis. Then I would present them, in pairs or small groups, with the text and ask them to provide a vocabulary for a year 9 group.
You might even ask them to convert it to modern teen speak whilst trying to maintain the meaning. This will get some discussion going. -
Self as symbol...
Blake is always for me so 'tragique', however the symbols and language he uses are expressive in the same way as Jesus parables. Even to the symbol of the 'three', the 'son' and his weeping parents. They stripped him of his little shirt, did they not do the same to Christ? Was not He setting up reason against the holy mystery of the 'church' of his day, the temple priests? The first lines say all for me, as it is obvious Blake has a great love of self, a god complex even..,"Nought loves another as itself, nor venerates another so, nor is it possible to thought, a greater than itself to know." Still in all, he is a master of thought and pen. -
Would Blake have seen all this before the time of his trying times of treason, or might this be one of his radical moments, and did he simply see himself or another as a boy, i found this quite sad to have to see this boy go through this and to see his parents watch in vain, was it vain to see a priest and be admired by all as the same priest acted like a God, quite an older one piece of Blake's in his youthful time, and if someone can steer me along here, where am i?
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its really cool nice one blakey
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I loved the 5th stanza...
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This an excellent poem.It also reminds me the poem little girl found and the two aprill mornings.The idea of this poem is similar to some extent with those poems(well i think so)
The weeping child could not be heard,
The weeping parents wept in vain:
They stripped him to his little shirt,
And bound him in an iron chain,
well in short i like this poem.Big hand for Blake. -
i think this poem gives a great insight into the lives of little boys who have got lost such as peter blackman.
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Many eminent men and women were subjected to such ordeals for the beliefs they held. There is a thin line dividing deep faith and bigotry. Loved this poem.
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It was great!!!!!!!!! There is nothing else I can say.
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