The Human Abstract

by William Blake



Pity would be no more

If we did not make somebody poor,

And Mercy no more could be

If all were as happy as we.



And mutual fear brings Peace,

Till the selfish loves increase;

Then Cruelty knits a snare,

And spreads his baits with care.



He sits down with holy fears,

And waters the ground with tears;

Then Humility takes its root

Underneath his foot.



Soon spreads the dismal shade

Of Mystery over his head,

And the caterpillar and fly

Feed on the Mystery.



And it bears the fruit of Deceit,

Ruddy and sweet to eat,

And the raven his nest has made

In its thickest shade.



The gods of the earth and sea

Sought through nature to find this tree,

But their search was all in vain:

There grows one in the human Brain.
1) Read these lines from the poem.



Then Cruelty knits a snare,
And spreads his baits with care.

The poet’s use of simple language —

a) keeps the poem simple in theme and message

b) exaggerates the mood of the poem

c) creates a light contrast to the dark mood of the poem

d ) reflects the poet’s light attitude toward human nature

2) The author compares Cruelty’s actions to those of a —

doctor

hunter

builder

teacher

3) The meter in the poem can best be described as —

irregular throughout the poem

the same on the last line of every stanza

patterned, but changing partway through the poem

strong and patterned throughout the poem

4) What meaning does the raven offer in the poem?

It is a metaphor for life that lives in every tree.

It builds a nest in the dismal tree that grows on the earth.

It represents man’s cruelty to animals as well as to man.

It symbolizes darkness that lives perpetually in the human mind.

5) What role do the virtues and vices play in the making of the tree?

They symbolize the good in humans and how it works to fend off despair.

They act as characters that feed off one another to create a world of despair.

They represent light and goodness in dismal nature.

They exaggerate the bad in the world and how despair can be inevitable.

6)Which of the following statements best describes the structure of the poem?

Free verse with no rhyme or meter

Quatrains of four successive rhyming lines

A regular pattern of rhyming couplets

Unrhymed lines with regular meter

7) The poet creates stanzas that mostly —

contain a single idea in each

tell a series of stories

repeat ideas for emphasis

do not connect with each other

8) The poem’s message is about —

nature’s ability to take over all of man’s best efforts

the dark side of nature

Cruelty’s power to take from others

the dark nature that can emerge from all mankind

Who ever answer it I will give him 100 points and brainliest I swear. Just do it right