The clod-and-the-pebble--autosaved-

The clod-and-the-pebble--autosaved-

• 1.
  The Clod andthe Pebble William Blake
• 2.
  William Blake (1757– 1827) • Early years • Began artistic career at 10 years old when his father sent him to the best drawing school in England • Apprenticed to an engraver at 14 • Adult life • Always worked as an engraver and professional artist • Was very poor, especially later in life • Always felt rich in spirit • Suffered in his last years “that Sickness to which there is no name.” • Probably biliary cirrhosis, caused by prolonged exposure to the fumes produced when acid is applied to copper plates • This was one of his methods of engraving
• 3.
  Blake’s Art http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/blake/ http://www.metmuseum.org/special/William_Blake/15.R.htm
• 4.
  http://4umi.com/image/art/blake/introduction.jpg http://wiredforbooks.org/blake/milton2a.jpg http://colophon.com/gallery/minsky/jpegs/blakemh2.jpg
• 5.
  Blake’s “Romantic” Tendencies •If we see with our imaginations, we see the infinite; if we see with our reason, we see only ourselves • Believed everything in life (every object, every event) was a symbol with a mystical or spiritual meaning • His poems spoke out against social injustice • His poetry and art reflect his struggles with the big spiritual questions: • Why is there evil? • Why do evil people sometimes prosper? • Why do the innocent suffer?
• 6.
  Context • William Blake’spoem “The Clod and the Pebble” was completed in 1794 in the second part of "Songs of Innocence and Experience." • In the title page which Blake etched for Songs, he defined them as showing “Contrary States of the Human Soul” – which is exactly what “The Clod and the Pebble” represents. • The contrasting views reflects the diverse range of human experiences of love. • Innocence: genuine love, trust toward humankind, unquestioned belief in Christianity • Experience: disillusionment with human nature and society • Poems in either “Innocence” or “Experience” are colored by the speaker’s state
• 7.
  "Love seeketh notitself to please, Nor for itself hath any care, But for another gives its ease, And builds a Heaven in Hell's despair.“ Suggesting that love must be an unselfish state. Love is personified as seeking something - significant towards understanding the clod’s view of love. The clod itself represents a state of pure, childlike innocence which only seeks altruistic motives. There is a degree of self- sacrificing, as all altruistic acts involve Shows the clod’s optimism to create a state of wellbeing despite being in a difficult environment.
• 8.
  So sung alittle Clod of Clay Trodden with the cattle's feet; But a Pebble of the brook Warbled out these metres meet: A clod is a lump or earth or clay which is easily malleable and soft  “soft love”? Sung  blissful joy **note semantic field of music Undesirable environment Semi-colon indicates a shift in tone – what is this shift? ”But” presents a shocking and abrupt change to the sweet, melodic sounds of the first stanza. Associated with a hard and immovable object Brook  Water, which could indicate reality of the world. Suggests a quavering voice which could be because of the pebble’s sad view of reality Metres – poetry? “meet” – the two views meet, they exist together
• 9.
  "Love seeketh onlySelf to please, To bind another to its delight, Joys in another's loss of ease, And builds a Hell in Heaven's despite." By imitating the speech and structure by stating that love is selfish, the pebble’s verse is satirical, mocking the clod’s innocent ideals. A very strong, masculine word – suggesting aggression, violence? There is a deliberate cruelty in this definition of love. An exact reversal of the clod’s ideals – love still sucks the pleasure from its wellbeing; love corrupts purity Capitalised “Self”: love is selfish! Repetition & rhyme of “please” and “ease”  pleasure
• 10.
  Literary Devices • Ingroups, analyse the different literary figures of this poem. • Note especially the following: • Imagery • Alliteration • Consonance • Rhyme scheme • Personification • Theme • Tone • Other? Esta foto de Autor desconocido está bajo licencia CC BY-SA-NC
• 11.
  Does Blake showpreference for either opinion? • Blake’s poem impresses the idea that love is both selfless and selfish and must always be so. • The unity comes from the pebble and the clod, with the pebble’s love to “bind” the clod and the clod’s love to “care” for the pebble. • The structure and imagery support this interpretation that both views hold equal weight, because Blake’s poem is perfectly symmetrical – devoting 6 lines to each figure and each line in the last quatrain is the mirror opposite of the corresponding line in the first. Esta foto de Autor desconocido está bajo licencia CC BY-NC-ND
• 12.
  Symbolism • The clod: •Moulded and shaped by its conditions and in spite of the negative experiences of being downtrodden, emerges as enlightened and believing in a more perfect and selfless love. • Remains malleable, soft and open in spite of its experiences and is ruled by its love for others. • Recent exposure to love? “little clod of clay” • The brook: • A small river in which the water symbolically represents a connection between the realm of innocence, virtue and purity and that of experience, materialism and worldliness. • The pebble: • Remains unchanged and yet experienced and set in its opinions. • Even though the pebble has never experienced being trodden upon and has only ever enjoyed the caressing comfort of the current in the brook, the pebble is hard and is ruled by it's love for itself.
• 13.
  Themes • Love • Whatis the meaning of love? • What does love do to you? • Contraries of existence • Range of human experiences