The Clod and the Pebble
"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 meters 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 Clod and the Pebble - meaning Summary
Contrasting Views of Love
Blake stages two brief, opposing definitions of love through a clod of clay and a brook pebble. The clod offers an innocent, selfless account: love cares for and sacrifices for another. The pebble replies with a worldly, selfish view: love seeks its own pleasure even if it harms others. The poem compresses innocence versus experience into a paradoxical exchange, exposing love's moral ambiguity through contrast and irony.
Read Complete Analyses
Feel free to be first to leave comment.