A Divine Image by: William Blake

Cruelty has a human heart,
And Jealousy a human face;
Terror the human form divine,
And Secresy the human dress.

The human dress is forged iron,
The human form a fiery forge,
The human face a furnace sealed,
The human heart its hungry gorge.

This poem by William Blake talks about the dark nature of humanity. He uses personification to express his ideas on human nature. He personifies cruelty as the human heart, jealousy as the human face, terror as the human body, and secresy as the way people dress. He then uses reverse personification to compare man to inanimate things. He compares man's clothing to iron, man's form to a forge, man's face to a furnace, and man's heart to a gorge. Throughout this poem he uses personification to express his belief that man is equal to the worst the world has to offer. He means this both through emotions and objects.