Subject : English

C H A P T E R 9
The echoing green
- BY W I L L I A M B L A K E
When people grow old, they
remember with fondness the Have you ever asked your parents/grandparents about
memory of their childhood , their favorite memories ? Or have your parents/grandparents
especially their playtime and told you about their memories
friends
 Introduction
• The poem The Echoing Green by William Blake is
written in the appreciation of nature in simple
terms. However, if we go deep into it, we will find
the theme of life and death in the poem.
• It basically depicts how everything in the world
begins with cheerful, whether it’s the day or the life
of a person.
• Blake's idea was to portray the 'rising and setting'
of human life amidst the colourful vibes of Nature.
Lets learn about the poet
william blake
 Nandith
About the poet : William blake a

• William Blake Born in

November 28, 1757 in London,
England
• author of exquisite lyrics in
Songs of Innocence(1789) and
Songs of Experience (1794) ,The
Marriage of Heaven And Hell ,
The First Book of Urizen.
• He left the school when he was
ten years old .
• He was interested in drawing.
 Nandith
About the poet : William blake a

• Blake's first printed

work, Poetical
Sketches (1783) , his most
important work
was Jerusalem.
• He published his most
popular collection, Songs of
Innocence, in 1789 and
followed it, in 1794,
with Songs of Experience.
• He made a portrait of wife
that day and then died in a
happy mood on 12 August
About the poem
• "The Echoing Green" is a poem by William
Blake published in Songs of Innocence in 1789.

• Each stanza is divided into 10 lines

• The poem talks about merry sounds and

images which accompany the children playing
outdoors. Then, an old man happily remembers
when he enjoyed playing with his friends
during his own childhood. The last stanza
depicts the little ones being weary when the
sun has descended and going to their mother
to rest after playing many games.
Rhyming scheme
Rhyming scheme - Each of the 3 stanzas in this poem is made up of 5
rhyming couplets, that is, they follow the rhyme scheme –
AABBCCDDEE.
In addition to this, it must be said that the final rhyming couplet of all
the 3 stanzas is strikingly similar and ends with the same rhyming
words – “seen” and “green”.
 Hemashr
ee
Stanza 1 • The poet says that the sun rises and makes
the skies happy i.e., when the sun arises,
The sun does arise,
light spreads across the sky making it look
beautiful and fresh.
And make happy the skies.
The merry bells ring
To welcome the Spring: • Next, he says that the merry bells ring to
The sky-lark and thrush, welcome the Spring. ‘Merry Bells’ probably
The birds of the bush, refer to the Church Bells which ring in the
Sing louder around morning. They are merry because they
To the bells' cheerful sound, welcome the beautiful morning of spring.
While our sports shall be seen
On the Echoing Green. • In the next line, the poet says that while all
these things are going on, their sports are
going on the echoing green. Echo means a
reflection of sound. But here echo symbolizes
the cycle of life because all this happens
every morning and keeps repeating
• ‘Old John’ simply refers to an old man and
‘white hair’ depict his final years of
life. Thus, the lines mean that John, who Stanza 2
is an old man with grey hair is also in the
park and is laughing. Old john with white hair,
Does laugh away care,
• He is sitting under the oak tree along with Sitting under the oak,
other old people. There are other old Among the old folk.
people as well. All of them laugh at the
play of children. They laugh at our play,
And soon they all say,
• Seeing the children playing, they start 'Such, such were the joys
memorizing about their own youth-time. When we all, girls and boys,
Like the children, they too used to enjoy
In our youth time were seen
when they were young on the echoing
green. On the echoing green.'

• Here echoing green refers to the cycle of

life. Earlier it was the old men who used
Stanza 3
• The children get tired and no one can enjoy. It is the time
when the sun is about to descend i.e. darkness is about to
come. All of the children stop playing and go back to home.
Till the little ones weary,
• They (brothers and sisters) sit in the laps of their mothers
No more can be merry; like the bird chicks flock around their mother in the nest. It’s
The sun does descend, time for their rest as it is night now. Hence on the darkening
Green, no playing of children is seen.
And our sports have an end.
Round the laps of their mothers • There will be a new day, there will be new children and
those who were playing will get old and sit under the oak
Many sisters and brothers, tree and this cycle will go on.
Like birds in their nest,
Are ready for rest,
And sport no more seen
On the darkening Green.
 Setting of the poem
The poem Echoing Green by
William Blake is about the
different contrasting phases of
life that a person must
experience one at a time. This
is beautifully represented in
the poem through the picture
of a village field where both
young and old people gather
to play and talk and reminisce.
Theme

Nature's mirth is expressed in the

poem keeping in the mind the
human cycle. The poem consists of
dual theme. The theme of Nature;
Nature is vibrant and dynamic in
this poem of Blake. The other
closely relates to the human life
cycle, illustrating the rising and
setting of life.
 Mood of the
poem
The mode of the poem is happy
and cheerful. In the last stanza,
the mood is melancholic where
the "Echoing" green becomes
the "darkening' green. Spring
will always come, but it will
eventually end. Similarly, there
will always be young people to
celebrate their joy in this world,
but every young child will one
day grow into an adult like "Old
Tone of the poem
The tone of this poem is overall quite
cheerful. However, if we read between
the lines, we will see that the poet is also
commenting on the brevity of human life
Brevity means shortness of time.
Interpretation of the
poem
• This poem can be interpreted in many ways.
• The first interpretation relies on the fact that this
poem was included in Blake’s poetry collection
known as The Songs of Innocence.
• Hence it should not surprise us that the green is a
metaphor for innocence. Children play here in the
lap of nature without any worries, for they have
not yet experienced the harshness of life. They are
still under the care and protection of their
mothers
Interpretation of the
poem
• The other interpretation of this poem relies on the
passage of time that happens as each stanza of the
poem progresses into the next.
• The poem starts at break of day with birdsong and the
ringing of church bells.
• It ends with darkness coming down upon the green. At
first, the children are enthusiastic about their play.
• However, by the end of the day, they are tired and only
want to rest their heads on the laps of their mothers.
• This progression of time is analogous to the life cycle
of man. Just like the day comes to an end in the green,
a man also cannot avoid death. He is mortal and must
succumb to death at some point in time or the other.
That is why he should seize the day and cherish his
time on earth.
Summary
• The poem The Echoing Green by William Blake is written in
the appreciation of nature in simple terms. However, if we
go deep into it, we will find the theme of life and death in
the poem.
• The poem talks about merry sounds and images which
accompany the children playing outdoors.
• Then, an old man happily remembers when he enjoyed playing
with his friends during his own childhood.
• The last stanza depicts the little ones being weary when the sun
has descended and going to their mother to rest after playing
many games.
Summary
• In this poem ,the youth is compared to the bright and
comfortable morning of the day because like the
morning, youth is also the start of the long journey, and
it is a time of activities and energy. Blake compared the
old age to the dark evening because like the evening,
old ages is also the end of the journey and people are
no longer full of energy but have many memories to
cherish .
 Poetic devices
Poetic devices are a form of literary device used in poetry
They are essential tools that a poet uses to create rhythm, enhance a
poem’s meaning or intensify a mood or feeling
Simile
• It compares one thing with another of the different kind, to make the
description more emphatic and vivid.
• Like or as are used in the comparison
• Example from the poem – “many sisters and brothers , like birds in
the nest”
Personification
• It attributes human qualities to inanimate objects such that they
appear to be living
• Examples from the poem –
1. The birds of the bush sing louder around
2. The sun does arise and make happy the skies
3. The merry bells ring to welcome the spring
Alliteration
• It is a repetition of the beginning consonant sound in a verse
• Examples from the poem-
1. The birds of the bush.
2. Such, such were the joys.
3. While our sports shall be seen.
4. And sports no more seen
5. soon they all say
Visual imagery
• It represents objects, actions, and ideals in such a way that, it appeals
to our physical senses. It creates a visual representation of ideas in
our mind
• Example from the poem - The merry bells ring to welcome the spring
Consonance
• Consonance is a literary device identified by the repetition of identical
or similar consonants in neighboring words
• Examples from the poem –
1. The merry bells ring
2. Are ready for rest
Question and
answers
Answer the following
1. To what are old age and youth being
compared in this poem? Why?
Answer:
• Old age and youth are being compared to the
morning and the evening of the day in this poem.
• In the poem Echoing Green by William Blake, the
youth is compared to the bright and
comfortable morning of the day because like the
morning, youth is also the start of the long journey,
and it is a time of activities and energy. Blake
compared the old age to the dark evening because
like the evening, old ages is also the end of the
journey and people are no longer full of energy but
have many memories to cherish .
Answer the following

2. What do old John and his friends 3. compare the mode of the poem in
say? the first stanza with the last stanza
Old John and his friends • In the 1st stanza mode of the
poem is happy and cheerful.
remember their
• In the last stanza, the mood
childhood days when is melancholic where the
they enjoyed playing on "Echoing" green becomes the
the echoing green as "darkening' green. Spring
will always come, but it will
young girls and boys. eventually end. Similarly,
there will always be young
people to celebrate their joy in
this world, but every young
child will one day grow into an
adult like "Old John,"