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Comment 1 of 1, added on July 16th, 2006 at 6:27 PM.
There are some puzzles within this poem that make me wonder if Blake was merely writing in the style of his comtemporaries, or if he was designing deeper mysteries that he would later master in his longer works. The number seven is repeated quite often. After his seven sweet loves are killed, seven more loves come to weep/mourn; seven additional loves attend at night; seven more are in his bed. There is mention of a state of forgiveness for great and small transgressions, and then in the last two stanzas, there is a boast that this state of seeking will go on forever and that the final victory of sorts will be the amazing fact that at death, the speaker will be in the same grave.
There seem to be four sources involved in this poem: the spectre, the emanation, the speaker and the follower. The spectre follows and scents, while the emanation portion weeps within. A "we" forms, yet by the end of the poem, only I and the follower are distinct. The "night & morn the flight renew" remind me of the Phoenix in that the bird never really goes away, it resurrects itself.
There is no sunshine in this poem. All the work seem to be done in sorrow, fleeting hopes and fear. The virtues sought don't seem positive, and what is given is filled with natures of the seven deadly sins (Pride,scorn jealousies, fears).
Stanza seven is not even like a true mournful state. The seven loves put on a crown of wine, then the confessions of pitying and forgiving take place.
I like the spectre scenting the footsteps in the snow image.
dallas holsten from United States
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There are some puzzles within this poem that make me wonder if Blake was merely writing in the style of his comtemporaries, or if he was designing deeper mysteries that he would later master in his longer works. The number seven is repeated quite often. After his seven sweet loves are killed, seven more loves come to weep/mourn; seven additional loves attend at night; seven more are in his bed. There is mention of a state of forgiveness for great and small transgressions, and then in the last two stanzas, there is a boast that this state of seeking will go on forever and that the final victory of sorts will be the amazing fact that at death, the speaker will be in the same grave.
There seem to be four sources involved in this poem: the spectre, the emanation, the speaker and the follower. The spectre follows and scents, while the emanation portion weeps within. A "we" forms, yet by the end of the poem, only I and the follower are distinct. The "night & morn the flight renew" remind me of the Phoenix in that the bird never really goes away, it resurrects itself.
There is no sunshine in this poem. All the work seem to be done in sorrow, fleeting hopes and fear. The virtues sought don't seem positive, and what is given is filled with natures of the seven deadly sins (Pride,scorn jealousies, fears).
Stanza seven is not even like a true mournful state. The seven loves put on a crown of wine, then the confessions of pitying and forgiving take place.
I like the spectre scenting the footsteps in the snow image.
dallas holsten from United States