Analysis of If It Is True What the Prophets Write

William Blake 1757 (Soho) – 1827 (London)



If it is true, what the Prophets write,
That the heathen gods are all stocks and stones,
Shall we, for the sake of being polite,
Feed them with the juice of our marrow-bones?

And if Bezaleel and Aholiab drew
What the finger of God pointed to their view,
Shall we suffer the Roman and Grecian rods
To compel us to worship them as gods?

They stole them from the temple of the Lord
And worshipp'd them that they might make inspirèd art abhorr'd;

The wood and stone were call'd the holy things,
And their sublime intent given to their kings.
All the atonements of Jehovah spurn'd,
And criminals to sacrifices turn'd.


Scheme ABAB CCDD EE FFGG
Poetic Form
Metre 111110101 1010111101 1110111001 11101110101 011011 10101110111 11100100101 1011110111 1111010101 0101111111101 0101010101 01010110111 10110101 010011001
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 608
Words 113
Sentences 5
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 2, 4
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 121
Words per stanza (avg) 28
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 31, 2023

35 sec read
114

William Blake

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

All William Blake poems | William Blake Books

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