| Line 1: |
Line 1: |
| − | '''And did those feet in ancient time''' is the verse part of the prose/verse preface of a poem, "Milton – a poem", written and printed by the English poet [[William Blake]] in the first decade of the 19th Century. It recalls the legend that the Lord Jesus travelled to [[England]]. 'Jerusalem' is used as a metaphor for the kingdom of heaven, and the poem exhorts the audience to fight for a reassertion of God's rule on earth. It is a veiled protest against the conditions spreading throughout this "green and pleasant land" with the growing effects of the Industrial Revolution. | + | '''"And did those feet in ancient time"''' is the verse part of the prose/verse preface of the poem ''Milton'', written and printed by the English poet [[William Blake]] in the first decade of the 19th Century. It recalls the legend that the Lord Jesus travelled to [[England]]. Jerusalem is used as a metaphor for the kingdom of heaven, and the poem exhorts the audience to fight for a reassertion of God's rule on earth. It is a veiled protest against the conditions spreading throughout this "green and pleasant land" with the growing effects of the [[Industrial Revolution]]. |
| | | | |
| | ==Original Text== | | ==Original Text== |
| | | | |
| − | The text is as follows:
| |
| | :And did those feet in ancient time | | :And did those feet in ancient time |
| | :Walk upon England’s mountains green? | | :Walk upon England’s mountains green? |
| Line 30: |
Line 29: |
| | | | |
| | =="Jerusalem"== | | =="Jerusalem"== |
| − | The song, '''''“Jerusalem”''''' was written to the above text by English [[composer]] [[Hubert Parry]] during 1915-16, at the suggestion of the Poet Laureate, Robert Bridges, for a meeting of the “Fight to Right” universal suffrage movement, and had its first public performance during the celebrations marking the attainment of voting rights for women in 1918. | + | The hymn "Jerusalem" was written to the above text by English [[composer]] [[Hubert Parry]] during 1915-16, at the suggestion of the Poet Laureate, Robert Bridges, for a meeting of the “Fight to Right” universal suffrage movement, and had its first public performance during the celebrations marking the attainment of voting rights for women in 1918. |
| | | | |
| − | It was taken over by the “Women’s Institute”, and various other groups - cultural and political - and became extremely popular. These days, it enjoys its annual enthusiastic bellow at the “Last Night of the Proms”, and has a unique place in English culture as a sort of unofficial national anthem at sporting contests. (A song, “Fight for Right”, written by [[Edward Elgar]] at the same time for the same purpose, and with far more bellicose words, has failed to last the distance.) | + | It was taken over by the Women’s Institute, and various other groups--cultural and political--and became extremely popular. These days, it enjoys its annual enthusiastic bellow at the “Last Night of the Proms”, and has a unique place in English culture as a sort of unofficial national anthem at sporting contests. (A song, “Fight for Right”, written by [[Edward Elgar]] at the same time for the same purpose, and with far more bellicose words, has failed to last the distance.) |
| | | | |
| | ==External links== | | ==External links== |