And It Is Not Difficult. «In its usual sense, and could hardly be more simple, though lexicographers can split hairs about it. The usually wise R.W. Burchfield, editor of the latest Fowler's Modern English Usage, in passing implies that and is “complicatedâ€. It isn't. It has just two odd uses known to me. »
Did you notice the "Fiddler on the Roof" subjunctive?
Emmett
And the "And it please Your Highness ... " subjunctive!
I really like "try and ...". And I don't find it all that odd or inexplicable.
“And†in “And did those feet in ancient times…†is playing an curious role. Given that Blake hits you with it right off the bat, it creates a tension as if something else has come before, even though nothing necessarily has to come before it. It almost seems integral to the question that the narrator is asking; without it the line falls flat. It might just intensify the question to the point that it becomes not a real question at all, but an emphatic statement. It would be interesting to seek out other such uses of “and†in questions to suss out what, exactly, it is doing.
Hi Clint, welcome to the forum. Is that a Kindle you're holding in the photo?
I agree with you about the Blake line. But then, anything goes in poetry . . .