This poem was printed in 1808, in the preface to "Milton, a Poem." It is said to concern the legend that Jesus Christ, when a young man, visited England with his uncle, Joseph of Arimathaea. Joseph is said to have been a tin-merchant, and …
This poem was printed in 1808, in the preface to "Milton, a Poem." It is said to concern the legend that Jesus Christ, when a young man, visited England with his uncle, Joseph of Arimathaea. Joseph is said to have been a tin-merchant, and Jesus his ship’s carpenter. They first landed at Cornwall, and travelled as far as the Mendip Hills in Somerset. After the death of Jesus, Joseph returned to England, and built the first English church at Glastonbury.
The poet speculates that Jesus brought heaven to earth when he came to our country; and then resolves a moral and intellectual fight to rebuild heaven in the present day. This is why I emphasize the word "we" in the penultimate line, which seems to contrast the Jerusalem of ancient time against the one that is now to be built.
The popular title "Jerusalem" derives from the title of the hymn by Sir Hubert Parry, who wrote music for Blake's words in 1916. Jerusalem is often considered to be the English national anthem.
A minor note concerning pronunciation. In modern Received Pronunciation, it is most common to say the word pasture as /'pɑːstjə/ (pah-sture). But in Walker’s Pronouncing Dictionary, published in 1791, I find that what is now the American pronunciation, /'pæs.tʃɚ/ (pas-ture), was the standard one in Britain at the time of Blake; so I have preferred it in this recording. (Walker gives to “pasture” the same vowel-sound as in “pat,” “patch,” and "pasty,” and a different one from that in the word “bath.”) The same pronunciation is also used in many British dialects.
Transcript:
And did those feet in ancient time,
Walk upon England’s mountains green:
And was the holy Lamb of God,
On England’s pleasant pastures seen!
And did the Countenance Divine,
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here,
Among these dark Satanic Mills?
Bring me my Bow of burning gold;
Bring me my Arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my Chariot of fire!
I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand:
Till we have built Jerusalem,
In England’s green & pleasant Land.
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Beethoven's "Piano Concerto no. 5 in Eb 'Emperor', Op. 73 - II. Adagio un poco mosso" performed by Ursula Oppens and DuPage Symphony Orchestra is licensed and adapted under CC BY 3.0.
