Literary Analysis Of The Garden Of Love By William Blake
Blake’s outer form of the poem creates a playful sound, which is contrasted with the serious undertones of the subject matter. The difference in these two elements has the reader to believe that the narrator of the trip to the Garden of Love is a young speaker, who has a distinct message for others embarking on their own trips. Blake’s poem is an extended metaphor for the transition into adulthood and a critique of the role of religion in deterring one away from their sexual desires. The comparison between original sin and premarital sex is supported by the imagery within the poem, as well as the tone and voice of the speaker throughout.
The use of the first person past tense voice leads the reader to assume that the speaker is recounting an experience of their own transition into their sexual years from childhood. Throughout the poem, the speaker maintains a relatively childlike voice specified by the simplistic word choice. This contrasts with “‘Thou shalt not’”, which the speaker reads on the Chapel, indicating that these are clearly not their own words. The combination of these two elements leads the reader to believe that the narrator of the poem has recently left their childhood behind.
Blake’s imagery of the “Chapel built in the midst”, combined with the past tense voice suggests a warning from the speaker to the reader of what you will find if you were to enter the garden. The warning continues in the second stanza where the speaker indicates the Garden of Love once bore “so many sweet flowers” saying that once you have seen the Chapel, you cannot return to the Garden as it once was. This rather melancholy detailing of the story denotes the speaker's recent shift into the next stage of their life and the want to return to the Garden they used to play in.
The outer form of Blake’s poem intentionally builds the childlike speaker voice that is recounting the poem. As previously mentioned, the naivety of the speaker leads us to believe that they have recently come into their adulthood and made the transition into their sexuality. The use of an abcb rhyme scheme within the first two stanzas creates a nursery rhyme tempo. Even with the imagery shift in the third stanza, the internal rhyme and the ten-beat shift in the last two lines lends itself to the continued rhythm from the previous stanzas. Blake achieves this ‘sing-song’ sound throughout the poem to contrast the argument against religious influence with the speaker's obvious age.
Blake uses a combination of imagery to make his argument against the restrictions of the Church. The poem itself is an extended metaphor for the original sin and the sin of premarital sex, comparing nature imagery in contrast to man and the structures they have built. The Garden of Love itself is symbolic of the Garden of Eden depicted in the Bible, representing the sin of disobedience. Blake establishes this relationship of original sin and the Chapel in saying “And the gates … were shut/ And ‘Thou shalt not’ writ over the door” which symbolizes the command of God. Additionally, he makes the comparison of the forbidden tree and the Chapel by indicating that the structure was hidden within the midst, much like the tree within the Garden of Eden. Blake makes the argument against this command of God by claiming the clergy is “binding with briars my joys & desires” of the speaker. The contrast of the thorny briars and the speaker’s wishes, denoting Blake’s disdain for the Church’s restrictions on sexuality.
The argument against the Church is continued with the relationship of the nature imagery of the Garden and the naturalness of sexuality. The “green” in which the speaker used to play is starkly broken by the image of the man-made Chapel and the “tomb-stones where flowers should be”. This intrusion upon the nature of the Garden is indicative of the imposition of the Church onto the naturalness of sexual desire. Additionally, the darker imagery Blake creates using structures of death such as “graves” and “tomb-stones” within the third stanza shifts the poem to a solemn tone. The speaker is again warning the reader of what they will now see this place become and that when you look upon the Garden, you can never again see the lushness it once was. The ominous warning from the speaker full circles Blake’s argument against sexual restriction when transitioning from youthfulness to sexual awakening; Blake is telling the reader to be wary of religious influence during this shift.
Within the poem, Blake makes a blatant criticism of the Church interfering in life. This is supported by his comparisons of the sin of disobedience with the sexual encounter, as well as imagery. The use of man and object imposing upon nature and the combination of death and religious symbols can be seen in his image of clergymen “in black gowns … walking their round” as to say they are patrolling our lives. The use of a relatively young voice for the poem creates a clear distinction between nature and the man. By the completion of the poem, Blake makes a compelling statement and implicates the reader in a meaningful way.
Works Cited
- Blake, William. “The Garden of Love.” Poems, Poets, Poetry: An Introduction and Anthology, edited by Helen Vendler, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2018, pp. 324.
