For Wednesday: from English Romantic Poetry: An Anthology
William Blake: The Clod and the Pebble, The Chimney
Sweeper, The Sick Rose, The Tyger, Ah! Sun Flower, The Garden
of Love
After reading all
of the poems above, choose any 2 of the poems to answer the following question:
In each poem
(discuss them separately), discuss how Blake uses a specific metaphor to help
us see his idea/situation more clearly.
If a metaphor compares an abstract idea to something tangible/visible,
how does this metaphor help us “see” something that cannot be seen? And how does seeing this idea change how we
read the poem or view the poem’s subject?
For example, in “London Man. London
Nathan Gilliam
ReplyDelete1. the Sick Rose
Here we see Mr. Blake comparing love to a rose. The worm is an evil, invisible because the rose, like love, is blind. This Beautiful rose has been infected by the worm, like love can become infected by an evil. The rose, unknowingly, is wilting and dying because of this infectious worm, or evil.
2. The Garden of Love.
I believe Mr. Blake is referring to a time of innocence he would like to return to. A once wonderful place, filled with flowers and colors, has been replaced with tombstones and shades of greys. A chapel has been established, its doors closed and the words "thou shalt not" represent the binding holds that the rules and laws have on blake. As the priests walk about "binding" his joys and desires, this shows us just how much Blake truly feels is being taken from him, how restrained he feels due to the many rules and that life has lost its color.
Good responses...as I've asked several people below, what is the "worm" in the first question? If the Rose is Love, or even a person, what could this worm be? Hmm...
DeleteCera Miller
ReplyDelete1. The Tyger
The Tyger is about the creation of darkness, mystery, and all that is horrible in the world by a higher being. The hammer, chain, anvil, and furnace are used to reference the creation (this makes one think of a blacksmith and his forge), and the being “twisted the sinews” of the tiger’s heart until it began to beat on its own (like a puppeteer and their puppet). The tiger represents what is both beautiful and fierce in this world.
2. A Poison Tree
In A Poison Tree, a man harbors hatred and treats it like a plant that he is trying to cultivate. He told his friend when he was angry, and they moved on, but he didn’t tell his foe and harbored the bad feelings, let them fester and grow; he waters the hatred in his tears and feeds it lies. And when the “plant” has grown to its full potential, it bears the fruit of an apple. The foe bites the apple and bites the dust and is found dead beneath the tree.
Great responses--the metaphor of the Tyger as a kind of machine, bent and twisted by its creator, is a powerful one. It shows a child trying to understand the construction and logic of evil, which he/she would naturally see as something inhuman--a machine, a mechanical monster. But who would make such a beast? :)
DeleteSrijita Ghosh
ReplyDelete1. The Clod and the Pebble
This poem analyses two views on the nature of love. The 'clod of clay'sees love as a selfless and giving act - "a heaven in hells despair" , - while the 'pebble of the brook' sees loves as seeking to please only itself in order to build "a hell in heavens despite".
The different perspectives are derived from the experiences of the two speakers. And this is also where the metaphor lies. The 'clod of clay' or the 'pebble of the brook' do not have mouths, feelins or any ability to think, they are just objects. But Blake beautifully uses these two things as the speakers in order to compare them to the two kinds of people existing in this world ; the soft and easily influenced one, and the experienced, tough and matured one. The 'clod of clay' has been "trodden with the cattle's feet" and believes that love is selfless and giving, here Blake is comparing this object to a person who has a soft heart and thus, is easily infuenced and shaped by others. The pebble on the other hand had been hardened by its time in the brook, like a person who has seen a lot of life and as a result has experience. He has learnt to stay hard headed and therefore offers resistance to any who would seek to use it for their own needs.
2.The Poison Tree
According to me, with this poem Blake suggests that holding a grudge (suppressed anger left unchecked) can be disastrous to the self as well as the object of 'wrath'. Blake warns that remaining silent about our anger only makes us bitter, and that a grudge left unchecked may become dangerous, even murderous.
In this peom he compares a misunderstanding between himself and his enemy to a plant. The misunderstanding, having been not clarified keeps growing like a plant. The misunderstanding turns into a vengeful grudge which he holds deep within him and even without his knowledge he nourishes it to grow, just like a seed grows into a plant. Finally it is seen that the plant bores an apple, a poisonous one, because of which one day his enemy dies. The metaphor lies in the illusional objects of the plant and the apple. What Blake actually wants to show to his readers is that a grudge held too long keeps growing and growing till one day it becomes so dangerous that it is capable of harming a person or killing a relationship.
Great responses--very strong reading of the metaphors in each poem, especially your analysis of the clod and the pebble. In many ways, Blake is saying, in love there are clods and pebbles, and experience seems to teach us that the pebbles are right. But who really wants to be a pebble and give up on the magic and promise of love?
DeleteAmira Jacobson
ReplyDeleteThe Clod and the Pebble
William Blake wrote the poem, The Clod and the Pebble, to reveal two different perspectives of love within human nature. For example, when the clod says, “love seeketh not itself to please,” he is saying that love is selfless and kind, showing that the clod is innocent and has not had much experience with love. The pebble on the other hand thinks exactly the opposite when he says, “love seeketh only self to please,” which means he sees love as a selfish and cruel thing. This leads us to believe that the pebble has more experience with the concept of love and has hardened to the point where he no longer believes in it. Hence him saying “builds a Hell in Heavens despair.”
The Sick Rose
In this poem, Blake is personifying the “rose”, one of the most common symbols of love, as a person. He is also referring to the “invisible worm” as a constant problem ruining the “rose’s” life. We figure this out just by reading this short poem, “O, Rose thou art sick, the inviable worm that flies in the night, in a howling storm, etc.” This poem is basically saying that the rose is dying because of all the destruction.
Great responses--clever reading of the personas in the Clod and the Pebble. In t he second qyuestion, what do you think the "worm" is? Why is it infected the Rose?
DeleteSammie Smith
ReplyDelete1. The sick rose
In this poem, Blake is uses a metaphor describing a sick rose. We all know this to be metaphorically speaking because a rose cannot actually be sick. Instead the rose is sick due to some sort on infection, sickness, or virus. If you keep reading we eventually find out that this sickness is due to a worm. The worms love for the rose is destroying the rose's life, however the rose is unaware of this parasite. This may be personifying that love is sick and love can be blind.
2. The clod and the Pebble
In this poem, Blake uses two inanimate objects to reveal and show two different interpretations of love. In this case, love is personified by a clod of clay and a pebble. The clod of clay is very soft, and will crumble if one were to step on it. This said implies that the clay resembles those who are soft to love, those who are selfless and those who who are willing to sacrifice in a relationship, just like the clod of clay sacrifices itself and smashes underneath the animals feet. On the other hand, the pebble is a hard solid object. This signifies those people who are hardened to love, those who are selfish and are not willing to make sacrifices to please the significant other. A pebble is very hard to break, kind of like this type of lover.
Good responses, particularly in the second response! For the first, what do you think the "worm" could be? If the rose is love (it could be other things, too) what is the nasty worm?
DeleteAshley Rinner
ReplyDeleteThe Chimney Sweeper
In this poem, I think he is talking about the children who are the chimney sweepers. They are the "little black thing among the snow" which kinda says they aren't considered to be people in referring to them as things. Also, clothes of death is probably their chimney sweepers clothing, as that is a near death sentence for the kids. Their parents go and pray and are thankful that their children are happy and in good health. But the children weren't happy. They were miserable, but put on a happy face to make better of the situation.
A Poison Tree
This poem seems to be about how holding things in is far more dangerous than letting them out. He uses the metaphor of it being a plant and furthers that with saying her "sunned it with smiles" and "water'd it in fears" which translates to the bad feeling growing with each fake smile, and over thinking of what may happen if he speaks his mind to the person about the problem. He basically says that it will lead you to kill (or abandon) that friend you have unresolved issues with. You can't leave things alone, for they end up causing far more damage when you do.
Great responses here--clever reading of the metaphors!
DeleteTHE GARDEN OF LOVE
ReplyDelete"And binding with briars my joys and desires" With this particular line i believe that Blake is bringing it all together saying that the joy and desires of love have been taken from him. I look at it as he has gone back to the girl that used to love him, and she no longer loves him, and has moved on and her heart is empty, leaving behind tombstones and priests in black gowns, where there used to be flowers, and green grass. so in essence her heart used to be filled with joy ( i know another metaphor) and love for him, but now is filled with emptiness.
A POISON TREE
Blake is making the point of this poem that when we get angry we should talk about it, and not keep it inside and let it well up. Because when we do that it just gets bigger and bigger and eventually when it's too big and we've had enough we will explode with that anger. The second stanza which says "And I water'd it in fears, night & morning with my tears: and i sunned it with smiles, and with soft deceitful wiles" This brings to light all the things we do to make the anger grow, by being afraid of what will happen, by crying about it, but not telling anyone, by smiling and pretending like we're okay when we're really not, and by again lying saying that every thing is fine, when it's truly not.
Good responses/readings of the metaphors; in the first question, though, what do you think the "priests" represent? Why are they the ones ruining his "garden"?
DeleteDarryn York
ReplyDelete"The Sick Rose"
I believe Mr. Blake was referring love as the tree and referring the evil to the worm. The worm is destroying the trees life. He uses the metaphor "his dark secret love", I think he was referring to maybe a love that can't be relieved.
"Ah! Sun-Flowers"
In this one I believe Mr. Blake was referring to a man that is struggling, "weary of time" and tired of being here on earth. He uses the metaphor "who contest the steps of the sun" meaning the sunflower struggles from either getting sun or too much sun.
Good, but what do you think the worm represents? If this is a poem about love, what could the worm be that relates to a "dark, secret love"?
DeleteMadelyn Lehr
ReplyDeleteThe Clod and the Pebble
This poem gives two different perspectives on love. In the first stanza this opinion of love says that it is selfless and blind to its own suffering and hurting because it wants to be sure that its companion is happy and content. The second opinion is much more pessimistic in its view, the complete opposite of the other. The second states that love is evil and selfish. It could actually be understood that maybe love is even absent. The only love that is present, if you could call it love, is the love for ones self. In the end one can not truly be happy with that kind of love.
A Poison Tree
In this poem Blake compares the grudge he holds against someone to a growing plant. All plants need sun and water to grow, he compares these vital needs to tears and smiles. With every tear and smile his anger grows like a weed, and grows very quickly. Sooner than later that anger and aggression he holds produces very poisonous and lethal grudge. He compares this to a poisonous apple, by this he means that those feelings can grow to be so powerful that they can end relationships.
Great readings of the metaphors!
DeleteAlex Fillat
ReplyDeleteThe sick rose
I think in this poem the rose is representing the love and the "invisible" worm something bad. The rose is dying because of the worm's infection. I think he is trying to show that the love is blind and the evil is always there.
The Clod and the Pebble
I think the author here wants to show two different kinds of love represented by two different objects. One love is suffering to make the most happy possible the other person of the relationship, and this is represented by the clod. The other kind of love is presented by the pebble, and for this one, the most important is itself.
Good response overall, but in the first question, what could the worm represent? What "evil" is it, and how might it relate to love? Try to decipher this a bit more, since the more you play with it, the more the poem will make sense for you.
DeleteALBERTO LAPIEDRA
ReplyDelete1. The chimney sweeper
That poem it reminds me a case that we talked in class the children in London, that it was a city full of misery, where children has to clean the chimneys and that produces a harmful effect in health. By the way clothes of death it refers to the clothes that the children wear when they are cleaning the chimneys. They parents thing that they are happy with it, and they try to pray but this action is killings children’s life.
2. Poisonous tree
In this poem shows how a man “cultivate a plant” an illusion object where it keeps growing as a plant, the seed is fed with lies and misunderstanding (full of bad things). Finally when the plant grows like that the fruit the apple which is an illusion object too. Is poisonous because it’s full of lies and bad things it uses as imaginably objects the plant and the apple. Those are metaphors.
Good responses--and good reading of the metaphors.
DeleteDax Walker
ReplyDeleteA Poison Tree
In this poem it seems the author is a very angry person first he is angered with his friend but he forgives but then he is angered with his foe and with him he does not forgive. The metaphor that stuck out to me was where he said "and I water'd it in fears, night & morning with my tears" it sounds great but of course you cannot water anything with your fears. This metaphor is telling of the growing rage inside of the poet and how each night and morning the anger is growing bigger and bigger like a tree.
The Tyger
In this poem the poet is writing from the perspective of an unknowing child talking about what he's heard of these mysterious "tygers." I think the poem can be taken as having a meaning of underlying darkness. I think the poet is talking about all the bad and evil things in the world. The fifth stanza say
"When the stars threw down their spears,
and water'd heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the lamb make thee?"
This metaphorical stanza kind of changes the way you read the poem once you read this stanza you might start to think yes why has god created all these bad things. And these metaphors really give this poem great meaning.