"The Divine Image" is one of the most famous of William Blake's poems in his Songs of Innocence collection, first published in 1789. In this poem, a speaker proclaims that God's "Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love" appear on earth in "the human form." Because God's gentleness and kindness express themselves through humankind, every person has a bit of God in them. And this, the speaker argues, should create a feeling of connection and unity between all people.
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1To Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love,
2All pray in their distress:
3And to these virtues of delight
4Return their thankfulness.
5For Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love,
6Is God, our father dear:
7And Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love,
8Is Man, his child and care.
9For Mercy has a human heart,
10Pity, a human face:
11And Love, the human form divine,
12And Peace, the human dress.
13Then every man of every clime,
14That prays in his distress,
15Prays to the human form divine,
16Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace.
17And all must love the human form,
18In heathen, Turk, or Jew.
19Where Mercy, Love, & Pity dwell,
20There God is dwelling too.
1To Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love,
2All pray in their distress:
3And to these virtues of delight
4Return their thankfulness.
5For Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love,
6Is God, our father dear:
7And Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love,
8Is Man, his child and care.
9For Mercy has a human heart,
10Pity, a human face:
11And Love, the human form divine,
12And Peace, the human dress.
13Then every man of every clime,
14That prays in his distress,
15Prays to the human form divine,
16Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace.
17And all must love the human form,
18In heathen, Turk, or Jew.
19Where Mercy, Love, & Pity dwell,
20There God is dwelling too.
To Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love,
All pray in their distress:
And to these virtues of delight
Return their thankfulness.
For Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love,
Is God, our father dear:
And Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love,
Is Man, his child and care.
For Mercy has a human heart,
Pity, a human face:
And Love, the human form divine,
And Peace, the human dress.
Then every man of every clime,
That prays in his distress,
Prays to the human form divine,
Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace.
And all must love the human form,
In heathen, Turk, or Jew.
Where Mercy, Love, & Pity dwell,
There God is dwelling too.
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
Blake's Beliefs — Read noted scholar Kathleen Raine on Blake's ideas about how humanity relates to the divine.
Blake's Influence — Read novelist Philip Pullman's appreciation of Blake.
Songs of Innocence and Experience — Learn more about the Songs of Innocence and Experience, the famous collection this poem comes from—and see this poem in its original form as a hand-engraved, beautifully illustrated print.
The Poem as a Song — Listen to this poem set to music by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams.
The Blake Archive — Visit the Blake Archive to learn more about Blake's life and work, and to see images of his visionary art.
The Poem Aloud — Listen to the poem read aloud (complete with a creepy animation of Blake's face).