William Blake expresses himself mildly

[Plane]

“The Liar” by William Blake.

Deceiver, dissembler
Your trousers are alight
From what pole or gallows
Shall they dangle in the night?

When I asked of your career
Why did you have to kick my rear
With that stinking lie of thine
Proclaiming that you owned a mine?

When you asked to borrow my stallion
To visit a nearby-moored galleon
How could I ever know that you
Intended only to turn him into glue?

What red devil of mendacity
Grips your soul with such tenacity?
Will one you cruelly shower with lies
Put a pistol ball between your eyes?

What infernal serpent
Has lent you his forked tongue?
From what pit of foul deceit
Are all these whoppers sprung?

Deceiver, dissembler
Your trousers are alight
From what pole or gallows
Do they dangle in the night?


http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100424202531AAk6ilr

[Michael Tee]

Wow.

Never fuck with a poet.  That must have been the Positively Fourth Street of its era.

[Xavier_Onassis]

Well written, I agree, but I find the poet referring to the accused liar in both the familiar (thee, thine) and the formal (you, yours) unlikely for someone who lived from 1757 to 1827 as Blake did. Perhaps it was written later and attributed to Blake. As a rule, you referred to another person in either the familiar or the formal, nor both. Quakers referred to everyone in the familiar (thou/thee/thine) in keeping with their brotherly love stance. 

[Plane]

Well written, I agree, but I find the poet referring to the accused liar in both the familiar (thee, thine) and the formal (you, yours) unlikely for someone who lived from 1757 to 1827 as Blake did. Perhaps it was written later and attributed to Blake. As a rule, you referred to another person in either the familiar or the formal, nor both. Quakers referred to everyone in the familiar (thou/thee/thine) in keeping with their brotherly love stance. 

Perhaps I should have been more suspicious?

I can't beleive I have been hoaxed about lies!

[Amianthus]

Well written, I agree, but I find the poet referring to the accused liar in both the familiar (thee, thine) and the formal (you, yours) unlikely for someone who lived from 1757 to 1827 as Blake did.

Don't know about in English, but in German referring to someone in the familiar, then later in the formal, is considered a mild insult.

[Plane]

Well written, I agree, but I find the poet referring to the accused liar in both the familiar (thee, thine) and the formal (you, yours) unlikely for someone who lived from 1757 to 1827 as Blake did.

Don't know about in English, but in German referring to someone in the familiar, then later in the formal, is considered a mild insult.

English has a lot of German roots but I beleive this feature has been lost , could it have been current in Blakes time?

[Plane]

http://www.theosophy-nw.org/theosnw/arts/ar-mclk6.htm

[Xavier_Onassis]

What changed with regard to the English usage of thou and you occurred as a result of the Quakers and other non-Anglican sects addressing everyone as "thou", beginning in the 1600's or so. This was mixed up with the Cromwell Revolution that deposed and beheaded the king, and the subsequent restoration of the monarchy, as the Cromwellians were not "high church" Anglicans.
Those who were not dissidents, as they were called, deliberately began to avoid the use of "thou".

In poetry, some words rhyme with you and others with thou. So perhaps Blake was using some sort of poetic license here. I really cannot say. But I do know that it is not typical to mix thou and you when referring to the same person. I do not know the relationship of German language customs here, either.