If I eer Grow to Mans Estate

by William Blake

________________________________________

Blake manuscript - Notebook - page 039

Edited text:^[1]

* * *

IF I e’er grow to man’s estate,
O! give to me a woman’s fate.
May I govern all, both great and small,
Have the last word, and take the wall.

The original text:^[2]

 
* * *

If I eer Grow to Mans Estate
O Give to me a Womans fate
May I govern all both great & small
Have the last word & take the wall

________________________________________

Notes

1. The Poetical Works of William Blake, including the unpublished French Revolution together with the Minor Prophetic Books and Selections from The Four Zoas, Milton & Jerusalem; edited with an introduction and textual notes by John Sampson, Hon. D.Litt. Oxon., 1862–1931. London, New York: Oxford University Press, 1908.
2. "The Complete Poetry & Prose of William Blake", ed. by David V. Erdman, Anchor Books, 1988, p. 502.