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The Echoing Green

By William Blake

Topics: classic

The sun does arise,     And make happy the skies;     The merry bells ring     To welcome the Spring;     The skylark and thrush,     The birds of the bush,     Sing louder around     To the bells' cheerful sound;     While our sports shall be seen     On the echoing Green.     Old John, with white hair,     Does laugh away care,     Sitting under the oak,     Among the old folk.     They laugh at our play,     And soon they all say,     "Such, such were the joys     When we all--girls and boys--     In our youth-time were seen     On the echoing Green."     Till the little ones, weary,     No more can be merry:     The sun does descend,     And our sports have an end.     Round the laps of their mothers     Many sisters and brothers,     Like birds in their nest,     Are ready for rest,     And sport no more seen     On the darkening green.

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"The sun does arise,..."

"The Echoing Green" is a quintessential example of William Blake's signature style... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

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Author:William Blake

Public Domain: This work is in the public domain and free to use.

"The sun does arise,..." by William Blake

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"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

William Blake

About William Blake

William Blake (1757–1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker who created his own illuminated books. His collections "Songs of Innocence" and "Songs of Experience" contain poems like "The Tyger" and "London," exploring innocence, oppression, and visionary imagination.

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