02-27-2016, 04:19 AM
This is written in irregular accentual verse. The first stanza is imitative of ballad meter, with the exception that it is not written in iambs. Note (accented syllables in bold):
Blow, blow, wintry diamonds, (4)
cloak the earth in death, (3)
in dust, we slumber through the night, (4)
and wait for summer’s breath. (3)
This would be a fairly regular pattern to follow with the xAxA rhyme scheme, however, the pattern does not hold, causing disruption in the reading as seen in the next two stanzas, although this continues throughout the poem.
While in repose my dearest,
I shall fertilize the earth,
like burning wood sends smoke to sky,
and ashes to the hearth.
Cogitate my shadow,
in bedded rainbow flowers,
that echo sunlit afternoons
and gloomy evening showers.
This is an interesting line, not withstanding that the word cogitate is completely out of place in this poem:
"Cogitate my shadow"
Does this mean for the speaker's "shadow" to "think", or for the reader to think about the speaker's "shadow"? Of course Blake used shadow often to describe the female emanation of one of the four Zoas, so the speaker could be speaking to his female counterpart. maybe whoever "Lila" is. In this case the most likely interpretation is the Hindu Lila, or loosely cosmos, everything that is, etc. It also finds resonance in the sense that Lila means "play":
"an enchanted song and dance,
pulsing, throbbing, flowing, changing"
I think a fairly apt description of Lila.
Leaving the speaker to be one of the three Guṇa, I would suggest probably "tamas" as the lines:
"Like rolling waves,
that fear the dreaded shore,
our lives, evaporating dreams"
seem the most indicative of tamas.
Of course the slender reed of lila is little indeed to base all of this conjecture on, but the poem would make sense within that context, where as outside of that context it makes much less sense. I think one would need to decide if it is or isn't before offering up much of a critique. Of course even if one decided on a Hindu interpretation, there are still problems, but it is beyond the scope of this forum for that kind of explication.
Best,
dale
Blow, blow, wintry diamonds, (4)
cloak the earth in death, (3)
in dust, we slumber through the night, (4)
and wait for summer’s breath. (3)
This would be a fairly regular pattern to follow with the xAxA rhyme scheme, however, the pattern does not hold, causing disruption in the reading as seen in the next two stanzas, although this continues throughout the poem.
While in repose my dearest,
I shall fertilize the earth,
like burning wood sends smoke to sky,
and ashes to the hearth.
Cogitate my shadow,
in bedded rainbow flowers,
that echo sunlit afternoons
and gloomy evening showers.
This is an interesting line, not withstanding that the word cogitate is completely out of place in this poem:
"Cogitate my shadow"
Does this mean for the speaker's "shadow" to "think", or for the reader to think about the speaker's "shadow"? Of course Blake used shadow often to describe the female emanation of one of the four Zoas, so the speaker could be speaking to his female counterpart. maybe whoever "Lila" is. In this case the most likely interpretation is the Hindu Lila, or loosely cosmos, everything that is, etc. It also finds resonance in the sense that Lila means "play":
"an enchanted song and dance,
pulsing, throbbing, flowing, changing"
I think a fairly apt description of Lila.
Leaving the speaker to be one of the three Guṇa, I would suggest probably "tamas" as the lines:
"Like rolling waves,
that fear the dreaded shore,
our lives, evaporating dreams"
seem the most indicative of tamas.
Of course the slender reed of lila is little indeed to base all of this conjecture on, but the poem would make sense within that context, where as outside of that context it makes much less sense. I think one would need to decide if it is or isn't before offering up much of a critique. Of course even if one decided on a Hindu interpretation, there are still problems, but it is beyond the scope of this forum for that kind of explication.
Best,
dale
How long after picking up the brush, the first masterpiece?
The goal is not to obfuscate that which is clear, but make clear that which isn't.
The goal is not to obfuscate that which is clear, but make clear that which isn't.