I. INTRODUCTION:
Thesis: Although the theme is untraditional for Romantic Poetry, the devices that Blake uses are in line with the style.
II. BODY PARAGRAPH 1:
Opening Sentence: It is generally well-known that Blake had a complex and problematic relationship with the Church of England.
Detail 1: this is at the heart of poem
Detail 2: garden has changed as it now has a chapel in it
III. BODY PARAGRAPH II:
Transition/Opening Sentence: Within this poem, there is an obvious feeling of both passing experience and that over a long period of time.
Detail 1: Romantic poetry is often lyrical rather than narrative
Detail 2: Narrator resents the changes in the garden and blames the chapel and priests
IV. BODY PARAGRAPH III:
Transition/Opening Sentence: The language becomes more emotional as the piece progresses, as is typical of a Romantic poem.
Detail 1: Pleasant scene changes to one of tension
Detail 2: the use of harsh sounding words emphasizes the atmosphere
V. BODY PARAGRAPH IV:
Transition/Opening Sentence: As with many romantic works, “The Garden of Love” adheres to a rigid structure.
Detail 1: Type of structure
Detail 2: Use of And
Detail 3: Disjointed final stanza
VI. BODY PARAGRAPH V:
Transition/Opening Sentence: As with much romantic poetry, there are certain stylistic devices used in “The Garden of Love.”
Detail 1: assonances
Detail 2: alliterations
Detail 3: anaphoras
VII. BODY PARAGRAPH VI:
Transition/Opening Sentence: Blake uses strong imagery within this poem, as in many poems of this type.
Detail 1: Garden of Love central image
Detail 2: chapel and the priests in black robes
Detail 3: briers
VI. CONCLUSION:
Reconfirmed Thesis: Although the central theme is unconventional, “The Garden of Love” corresponds with the Romantic poetic techniques used by many Romantic writers.
“The Garden of Love”
William Blake’s poem, “The Garden of Love,” adheres to many elements of Romantic poetic tendencies. In “The Garden of Love,” Blake shows his revulsion of the Church of England and of the boundaries it places on his pleasures and the way in which he expresses Love. Although the central themes of memory and of disappointment with the Church of England are not traditionally Romantic, many of his stylistic devices are. Through structure, imagery, alliteration, and other devices, Blake has written this intelligent poem similarly to many of his other Romantic works.
It is generally well-known that William Blake had a complex and problematic relationship with the Church of England. This relationship is at the heart of “The Garden of Love,” which condemns the Church of England. This poem was published in 1794. The central concept of the piece is that the narrator is looking around an unusual garden; this garden is the “Garden of Love”. The narrator realises that the garden is different from when he last saw it. The voice mentions that there were once flowers in the garden which are now gone. Instead, the narrator finds a chapel that has been erected in the garden. Furthermore, there are graves, tomb-stones and priests in the “Garden of Love”.
Within this poem, there is an obvious feeling of both passing experience and that over a long period of time. The poem moves forwards chronologically as the narrator looks around the garden and as his feelings towards it change. As Romantic poetry is often lyrical, it also often progresses in this way, focussing on the feelings of the narrator rather than on high end action or narrative aspects. The narrator of “The Garden of Love” is perturbed about the changes that have occurred in the garden. The garden is no longer beautiful and is no longer living the existence it once was. The narrator blames the priests, and the chapel itself, for this negative change as they are “binding with briars” his “joys & desires.”
The language becomes more emotional as the piece progresses, as is typical of a Romantic poem. The first stanza depicts a peaceful and pleasant scene. There is, at this point, no hostility or tension in the atmosphere. However, as the second stanza begins, the atmosphere changes to a less positive one. There is a conflict introduced between the idyllic garden and the locked chapel and the engraving. Tension begins to mount from here onwards. In the final stanza, the tension is at its most prominent. Blake adjusts his choice of language to include harsher sounding words that rouse negative association, such as “grave”, “black gowns” and “briars.”
As with many romantic works, “The Garden of Love” adheres to a rigid structure. Blake writes in iambs and uses the traditional ABAB rhyming scheme. A link exists between the strict structure and the sentiments conveyed in certain lines. For example, all lines which carry a negative sentiment of dissatisfaction or sadness start with “And”. The first instance of this is in the second stanza, when the narrator says, “And they told me how they were beguiled” Despite the growing negativity, the majority of the stanzas flow smoothly and the choice of language results in a melodious sequence of words. Conversely, the final stanza has a disjointed and changed feel to it, due to the inconsistent metre and the line length. Blake uses variation in his metre throughout the poem, but at the conclusion this inconsistency is more obvious and backs up the narrator’s feelings at this point.
As with much romantic poetry, there are certain stylistic devices used in the poem. Such devices include assonances, alliterations and anaphoras. An example of an assonance is in stanza three. Blake uses rhyme with “briars” and “desires”. A second example is just before this, with the words “gowns” and “rounds”. Alliterations can be found in many places throughout the poem. Some examples are in the third line of the third stanza, “were walking,” and in the third line of the second stanza: “turned to the.” Another stylistic device often used in romantic poetry is the anaphora. In each stanza in this poem, Blake has scattered the word “And” at the start of lines. The opening stanza uses “And” just once, in the second line. In stanza two, the technique is used in the first two lines.
Blake’s poem is typical of a romantic poem in its outer structure, which symbolises the meaning depicted within the piece. There exists a link concerning the words and the overall meaning. In both the structure and the language, we see the progression of an unbiased to an annoyed narrator, and from a melodious metre to something quite the opposite.
Blake uses strong imagery within this poem, as in many poems of this type. The central image is the “Garden of Love.” However, the “chapel” and the “priests in black gowns” are also prominent images that are memorable to the reader on finishing reading the poem. Furthermore, the “flowers”, “briars” and “graves” are also important images in the piece. Particularly interesting is the “briar” which is a thorny plant. In connection with the Church of England theme in the poem, this image relates to the thorny crown worn by Jesus before his death and is a torture device. Blake has used images such as this one to further emphasize the theme and message in the work.
“The Garden of Love” corresponds with the Romantic poetic techniques used by many Romantic writers. While the central theme isn’t traditionally romantic, the stylistic devices used, such as alliteration and imagery, for example, are classically Romantic. During the poem, Blake's rich use of imagery and symbolism demonstrates his bitterness towards the Church. He makes clear his feelings on this particular establishment; it is obstructive and impedes his expression of love, pleasures and wishes because of the vast and cumbersome rules. Like much Romantic poetry, Blake has depicted emotions both through his choice of words and in the overall structure of the poem. This poem is outstanding because of its perfect combination of, and connection between, theme, structure, form and stylistic devices.
