William Blake

“ Like a Wild beast guards my way
My Emanation far within t
Weeps incessantly for my Sin
5A Fathomless & boundless deep ”

“ Or is it because Secresy
10gains females loud applause [16]
________________________________________
"Are not the joys of morning sweeter..."
Are not the joys of morning sweetert
Than the joys of night
And are the vigrous joys of youth
Ashamed of the light
5Let age & sickness silent rob
The vineyards in the night
But those who burn with vigrous youth
Pluck fruits before the light [17]
________________________________________
"How came pride in Man..."
How came pride in Man
From Mary it began
How Contempt & Scorn
What a world is Man ”

“ Female ... female 1 st rdg del↑ "I asked a thief to steal me a peach..." N 114 rev Punctuation and line and stanza divisions follow the fair copy in Princeton University Library inscribed “W Blake / Lambeth / 1796”, the text of which is identical to final rdg in the Notebook (in which lines 5-6 were written as one and line 9 did not begin a new stanza) . ”

“ Thou wilt every secret keep 1st rdg del; Canst thou any secret keep 2 nd rdg changed to Thou canst any Secret keep, then del An abortive 2nd stanza was begun but deleted: “Yet a little while the moon / Silent” Lines 5-8 were written as the 4th stanza, then numbered "2" when all stanzas were numbered in the final sequence. ”

“ The Grave is Heaven's golden Gate,
And rich and poor around it wait;
O Shepherdess of England's Fold,
10Behold this Gate of Pearl and Gold! ”

“ Ah that sweet love should be thought a crime 1st rdg del↑ Merlins prophecy N 106 rev↑ "Why should I care for the men of thames..." N 113 rev Trace of an erased title, beginning with “T”—perhaps “Thames”; text is lined through vertically—perhaps when “chartered” was taken over to the “London” poem. 7 The Ohio shall ... ”

“ No plate is extant containing these five poems; indeed none of these poems is lined through vertically to indicate transfer to a plate, except the “lap full” poem. "O lapwing thou fliest around the heath..." N 113 rev↑ An answer to the parson N 103 rev↑ Experiment. "Thou hast a lap full of seed..." ”

“ To a lovely mirtle bound Blossoms showring all around Like to dung upon the ground Underneath my mirtle bound He then canceled, selected, and rearranged lines to make the present poem, all that remains not lined through in the Notebook, and he gave it a title. (A similar process of reduction takes place with the “Fayette” lines. See below.) ↑ [To go] on 1 Plate Five poems are grouped here in accordance with Blake's penciled memorandum, on p 101 reversed (see text p 695) . ”

“ Line added, on p 103, after cancellation of an introductory question: “Which are beauties sweetest dress”. The poem began as question and answer, was changed to pure answer.↑ "What is it men do in women require..." ”

“ Visually, the poem that immediately follows, “The Human Abstract” (see Songs of Experience) , looks like a continuation of the same poem, the title being inserted later.↑ How to know Love from DeceitN 107-106 rev Blake may only tentatively have considered these two stanzas, written on separate pages, as one poem ”

“ N 115 rev The poem developed out of the first four lines, and these were then deleted line by line. Editors are in agreement that the poem cannot stand without its first stanza—as Blake would surely have discovered if he had chosen to transfer it to copper. (Lines deleted in ms were restored in such poems as “Earth's Answer” [third stanza] .) 1 pain] seek 1st rdg del 12 O was no deny] He took her with a sigh 1 st rdg del↑ "I feard the fury of my wind..." N 113 rev 1 fury] roughness 1st rdg del 4 And] But 1st rdg del↑ "I saw a chapel all of gold..." N 115 rev 8 Down ... ”

“ And chains & fetters every mind 1st rdg del↑ The wild flowers song N 109, 107 rev The 2nd and 3rd stanzas were written first; the introductory stanza and explanatory title were written two pages later. Previous misreading of “fond” as “found” in line 5, 1st rdg, has obscured the original Innocence theme. ”

“ And Mercy & Pity & Peace descended The Farmers were ruind & harvest was ended 1st rdg del And Mercy Pity & Peace Joyd at their increase With Povertys Increase Are 2nd rdg del And by distress increase Mercy Pity Peace 3rd rdg del By Misery to increase Mercy Pity Peace 4th rdg del↑ "Silent Silent Night..." N 113 rev↑ To Nobodaddy N 109 rev Lined through vertically, as if after copying, but not extant elsewhere. Title crowded in after composition; first written without the “To”. ”

“ And he turnd 1st rdg del 4 Holy] And holy 1st rdg del 7 He] And he 1st rdg del 8 And] And he 1st rdg del 9 said] spoke 1st rdg del 11 And twixt earnest & game 1st rdg ; ... joke 2nd rdg, del 12 He enjoyd the da [me] 1st rdg; ... lady 2nd rdg↑ To my Mirtle N 106 rev Salvaging unused lines from the “Infant Sorrow” stanzas of p 111 (see above, p 798) , Blake first wrote down the “O how sick” couplet but then erased it before the ink was dry. ”

“ Till he broke the pearly door 1st rdg del↑ "I laid me down upon a bank..." N 115 rev↑ A cradle song N 114 rev Line 3 was written first, followed by 4, 1, and 2; after much revision these were rearranged by numbering in the present order. ”