“The Ecchoing Green” Summary

“The Ecchoing Green” Themes

• 

  Life, Death, and Renewal

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Ecchoing Green”

• Lines 1-8

  The sun does arise,
  And make happy the skies.
  The merry bells ring
  To welcome the Spring.
  The sky-lark and thrush,
  The birds of the bush,
  Sing louder around,
  To the bells’ cheerful sound.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 9-10

  While our sports shall be seen
  On the Ecchoing Green.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 11-14

  Old John, with white hair
  Does laugh away care,
  Sitting under the oak,
  Among the old folk, 

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 15-20

  They laugh at our play,
  And soon they all say.
  ‘Such, such were the joys. 
  When we all girls & boys,
  In our youth-time were seen,
  On the Ecchoing Green.’

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 21-24

  Till the little ones weary
  No more can be merry
  The sun does descend,
  And our sports have an end:

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 25-28

  Round the laps of their mothers,
  Many sisters and brothers,
  Like birds in their nest,
  Are ready for rest;

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 29-30

  And sport no more seen,
  On the darkening Green.

  

  

  

  

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“The Ecchoing Green” Symbols

• 

  The Green

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• 

  The Oak

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• 

  Light and Darkness

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“The Ecchoing Green” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Juxtaposition

  

  

  

  

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• Repetition

  

  

  

  

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• Simile

  

  

  

  

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• Personification

  

  

  

  

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• Imagery

  

  

  

  

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• Assonance

  

  

  

  

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• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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• Consonance

  

  

  

  

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“The Ecchoing Green” Vocabulary

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.

• Sky-lark and thrush
• The bush
• Sports
• Green
• Care

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Ecchoing Green”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“The Ecchoing Green” Speaker

“The Ecchoing Green” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “The Ecchoing Green”

More “The Ecchoing Green” Resources

• External Resources

  • Blake's Illuminations — Visit the Blake Archive to see beautiful images of the poem as Blake originally designed and illustrated it.

  • More About Blake — Learn more about Blake's life and work at the British Library's website.

  • Blake's Music — Read a short article about the music of Blake's poetry.

  • The Poem as a Song — Listen to the poem set to music and performed by another important poet, Allen Ginsberg.

  • Blake's Influence — Read an interview with the writer Philip Pullman in which Pullman discusses Blake's deep influence on his work.

• LitCharts on Other Poems by William Blake

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  • Holy Thursday (Songs of Experience)

  • Holy Thursday (Songs of Innocence)

  • Infant Joy

  • Infant Sorrow

  • Introduction (Songs of Innocence)

  • London

  • Nurse's Song (Songs of Experience)

  • Nurse's Song (Songs of Innocence)

  • The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Experience)

  • The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Innocence)

  • The Clod and the Pebble

  • The Divine Image

  • The Fly

  • The Garden of Love

  • The Human Abstract

  • The Lamb

  • The Little Black Boy

  • The Little Vagabond

  • The School Boy

  • The Sick Rose

  • The Tyger

  • To Autumn

  • To the Evening Star