| William Blake (1757–1827). The Poetical Works. 1908. | | | | Selections from ‘Milton’ | | [The Forge of Los] |
| | (Milton, f. 23, ll. 51–66.)
IN Bowlahoola Los’s Anvils stand and his Furnaces rage; | |
| Thundering the Hammers beat, and the Bellows blow loud, | |
| Living, self-moving, mourning, lamenting, and howling incessantly | |
| Bowlahoola thro’ all its porches feels, tho’ too fast founded, | |
| Its pillars and porticoes to tremble at the force | 5 |
| Of mortal or immortal arm; and softly lilling flutes, | |
| Accordant with the horrid labours, make sweet melody. | |
| The Bellows are the Animal Lungs, the Hammers the Animal Heart, | |
| The Furnaces the Stomach for digestion; terrible their fury! | |
| Thousands and thousands labour, thousands play on instruments, | 10 |
| Stringèd or fluted, to ameliorate the sorrows of slavery. | |
| Loud sport the dancers in the Dance of Death, rejoicing in carnage. | |
| The hard dentant Hammers are lull’d by the flutes’ lula lula, | |
| The bellowing Furnaces’ blare by the long-sounding clarion, | |
| The double drum drowns howls and groans, the shrill fife shrieks and cries, | 15 |
| The crooked horn mellows the hoarse raving serpent—terrible but harmonious. | | | | |
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