The Transitional PeriodThe Pre-Romantics

William blakeThe clod and the pebble

By Rania Al-Ghamdi

Pre-RomanticismThe Transitional Era

The term Pre-romantic “defines the sensibilities and spiritual states, trends, ideas and forms that developed at the end of the Neoclassical Period.”

The Pre romantics did not constitute a school of thought. They were a group of writers that were influenced by the new trends, feelings, of the end of the century.

William blake William blake (28 November

1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognized during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age

His paintings and poetry have been characterized as part of both the Romantic movement and "Pre-Romantic", for its large appearance in the 18th century.  

Much of his poetry has hidden meaning that are hard to understand. He did not believe in the reality of matter, or in the power of earthly rulers, or in punishment after death.

His best known works include Songs of Innocence (1787) and Songs of Experience (1794). The second is darker and heavier than the first; but it does contain some good poems.

The Clod and The Pebble by william blake

"Love seeketh not itself to please, Nor for itself hath any care, But for another gives its ease, And builds a Heaven in Hell's despair."

So sung a little Clod of Clay Trodden with the cattle's feet, But a Pebble of the brook Warbled out these metres meet:

"Love seeketh only self to please, To bind another to its delight, Joys in another's loss of ease, And builds a Hell in Heaven's despite."

The poem was published as a part of his collection Songs of Experience in 1794. His spiritual beliefs are evidenced of here, in which he shows his own distinction between the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Songs of Experience deals with the loss of innocence. Poems are darker, concentrating on more political and serious themes.

The poem is about two different points of view from love. One of view is from The Clod and other is from The Pebble. The two views coexist and each view insures each other. The one cannot never exist without the other.

The poem shows contrast between these two personalities (the clod and the pebble). The two contrasting points of view on love.We can see the theme of love and the different aspects form it: love is altruistic, selfish..

Love seeketh not Itself to please”,Nor for itself hath any care,But for another gives its ease,

”And builds a Heaven in Hell's despair

In the first stanza of the poem, Blake describes the clods perspective of love. In the clod's view, love is seen as a selfless, caring, and even amenable force. His perspective of love seems almost religious, with how pure and innocent his ideas are, and is further cemented as a religious perspective due to the fact that this love, "builds a

Heaven",…

So sung a little Clod of Clay Trodden with the cattle's feet But a Pebble of the brook Warbled out these metres meet:

In the second stanza, we have the two participants. The clod is described as “trodden with the cattle feet”, that means that the clod has been trampled on but he does not mind what is going to happen because he accepts that In the first line we have the word “clay”, that means that the clod is soft, not hard. Soft means something sentimental, unrealistic, weak.

Later we have the other participant, the Pebble. The Pebble is hard. Hard means something cinical, unsentimental, realistic. He has a different point of view from the Clod. He is someone who has suffered of love. He described love as selfish.

We have another image: the Pebble of the brook. This image says where is the Pebble. In the brook. This image explains the negative vision that love is or what will be .The Pebble has a negative tone.

In the last line of second stanza, the word

“meet” has the idea of “appropiate.” Why the Pebble´s metres are appropiated? Perhaps there is an ambiguity. The two views are balanced one and other. The one can not exist without the other.

"Love seeketh only Self to please, To bind anther to Its delight, Joys in another's loss of ease, And builds a Hell in Heaven's despite.“

In the third stanza, we have a dark image. The first line: Love seeketh only Self to please means

that love is selfish and for this reason the word “Self” is capitalized.

In the first and third line we can observe: please-ease. These words have an idea of pleasure.

We have another image. Heaven has two meanings: 1) it is associated with the idea of pleasure. 2) It is associated with the idea of pain, suffering.

When the poem says: builds a Hell in Heaven´s despite means that the Pebble believes that love corrupts purity, honesty

Rhyme The rhyme scheme in the first

and third stanza is the same: ABBA.

The figurative languageThere are two metaphors used to describe the

contrasting sides of love. Blake uses a Clod and a Pebble as his metaphors for love. The clod exemplifies a selfless kind of heavenly love, while the pebble represents a stubborn and selfish kind of love

Blake stated at the beginning of his poem, “Love seeketh not itself to please,/ Nor for itself hat any care,/ But for another gives it ease( 1,2,3).” The clod gets joy out of helping others. A clod is soft, and it will not hurt someone. It can be molded, changed stepped on, and squished without pain for anyone. The clod also represents a person full of innocence.

The pebble in Blake’s poem is a metaphor for a selfish person that desires everything only for himself. Blake states, “Love seeketh only Self to please,/ To bind another to its delight (9,10).” The pebble has no feelings for anyone except himself. The pebble is the perfect metaphor for selfishness. A pebble is hard, and it will not change. Just like the selfish love that the pebble represents. The pebble is also experienced and has lost its innocence, unlike the clod. The pebble has been jaded by life and expects the worst out of people. This is why the pebble is so self-centered.

Blake also uses heaven and hell as metaphors for the clod and the pebble. Talking about the clod, Blake states, “And builds a heaven in hell’s despair (4).” Heaven is a strong metaphor to use, and that is a very strong compliment to give the clod. However, Blake says the exact opposite about the pebble. Blake states, “And builds a hell in heaven’s despite (12).” These metaphors show that the clod is trying to make the best out of life. The clod wants to turn a hell into a heaven. However, the pebble builds a hell on earth for everyone around him. The metaphors of heaven and hell prove just how contrary the clod and the pebble are.

Theme The theme of the poem is the

two contrasting sides of love represented by a clod and a pebble. William Blake says loving others “builds heaven in hell’s despair.” That is the kind of love Blake thinks we should strive for in this poem

Sourceshttp://chisnell.com/APEng/LitCrit%20Wikis/The%20Clod%20and%20the%20Pebble.as

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http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20111123121008AAQJyj6

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCiki7Wte3ohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueXvRy7UoJk

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