The Sky is an Immortal Tent Built by the Sons of Los (from

William Blake 1757 (Soho) – 1827 (London)



The sky is an immortal tent built by the Sons of Los:
   And every space that a man views around his dwelling-place
   Standing on his own roof or in his garden on a mount
   Of twenty-five cubits in height, such space is his universe:
   And on its verge the sun rises and sets, the clouds bow
   To meet the flat earth and the sea in such an order'd space:
   The starry heavens reach no further, but here bend and set
   On all sides, and the two Poles turn on their valves of gold:
   And if he moves his dwelling-place, his heavens also move
  Where'er he goes, and all his neighbourhood bewail his loss.
  Such are the spaces called Earth and such its dimension.
  As to that false appearance which appears to the reasoner
  As of a globe rolling through voidness, it is a delusion of Ulro.
  The microscope knows not of this nor the telescope: they alter
  The ratio of the spectator's organs, but leave objects untouch'd.
  For every space larger than a red globule of Man's blood
  Is visionary, and is created by the Hammer of Los;
  And every space smaller than a globule of Man's blood opens
  Into Eternity of which this vegetable Earth is but a shadow.
  The red globule is the unwearied sun by Los created
  To measure time and space to mortal men every morning.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 21, 2023

1:11 min read
262

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDEBFGHIJKKKLMANOMP
Closest metre Iambic octameter
Characters 1,266
Words 232
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 21

William Blake

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

All William Blake poems | William Blake Books

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