Lyric Poem · Love

The Clod and the Pebble

by William Blake

"Love seeketh not itself to please,

Nor for itself hath any care,

But for another gives it ease,

And builds a heaven in hell's despair."

So sang a little clod of clay,

Trodden with the cattle's feet,

But a pebble of the brook

Warbled out these metres meet:

"Love seeketh only Self to please,

To bind another to its delight,

Joys in another's loss of ease,

And builds a hell in heaven's despite."

Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.

“The Clod and the Pebble” by William Blake — quilloak.com/poems/the-clod-and-the-pebble

Quick facts

Poem: The Clod and the Pebble
Poet: William Blake
Length: 12 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Love, Peace, Nature

Craft notes

How this poem works

Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.

Shape: 12 lines · 3 quatrains
End rhyme: ABAB in 67% of the stanzas — alternate rhyme. The remaining stanzas vary, often through slant rhyme.
Line length: Lines run 7-9 syllables (median 8), consistent with tetrameter. No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.

Want the rules this form is measured against? Read what makes a lyric poem, or run your own draft through the form checker to see the same measurements on your lines. How we measure · Report a mistake

Text, source & rights

A traceable edition

Full-text display is based on the committed source record and a United States term-expiry review.

Author record: William Blake1757–1827
Source record: PoetryDBThe Clod and the Pebble by william-blake, PoetryDB transcription
Display decision: Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record: Not recorded in the imported source
Text fingerprint: SHA-256 a4341c16001ef594…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

Jurisdiction-specific, never a worldwide claimRights policy Report a text or rights issue

Lyric Poem Love Peace Nature

Keep reading

Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

William Shakespeare · 1609

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?Thou art more lovely and more temperate:Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

14 lines · sonnet

Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds

William Shakespeare · 1609

Let me not to the marriage of true mindsAdmit impediments. Love is not loveWhich alters when it alteration finds,

14 lines · sonnet

Sonnet 130: My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun

William Shakespeare · 1609

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;Coral is far more red than her lips' red;If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;

14 lines · sonnet

More love poems →