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Comment 1 of 1, added on July 19th, 2006 at 5:02 PM.
This seems to be a poem that is "thinking out loud". Why should joys that are gained by deceit be enjoyed--or why should joys not be touched by sorrow; true joy is destroyed by harlotry, which implies a cheap substitute. Harlots do not give real love or substance.The usage of "harlot coy" makes me think this joy is weakened by not just sexual substitutes, but any type of substitute that is not of lasting quality.
The first stanza makes me think of evil vs. good, or in Blake's terminology, innocence and experience. Holy light is the eternal design that is being descended upon by the darkness of the human nature. As the day gains more of a foothold, the sweet joys begin to leave (stanza 2).
By the end of the poem, it is hard to tell what real joy is anymore. The pureness of joy has been corrupted, and what seems to be left are moments of joy that are gathered between various life experiences.
dallas from United States
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Copyright © 2003-2008 Gunnar Bengtsson, Poetry Connection. All Rights Reserved.
This seems to be a poem that is "thinking out loud". Why should joys that are gained by deceit be enjoyed--or why should joys not be touched by sorrow; true joy is destroyed by harlotry, which implies a cheap substitute. Harlots do not give real love or substance.The usage of "harlot coy" makes me think this joy is weakened by not just sexual substitutes, but any type of substitute that is not of lasting quality.
The first stanza makes me think of evil vs. good, or in Blake's terminology, innocence and experience. Holy light is the eternal design that is being descended upon by the darkness of the human nature. As the day gains more of a foothold, the sweet joys begin to leave (stanza 2).
By the end of the poem, it is hard to tell what real joy is anymore. The pureness of joy has been corrupted, and what seems to be left are moments of joy that are gathered between various life experiences.
dallas from United States