Paraphrasing

Question

would paraphrase the following poem from william Blake:

'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 metres 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.'

THANKS FOR YOUR COOPERATION

Doctor D · Accepted Answer

The poem contrasts two points of view (represented by the unhappy clod of clay and the happy pebble in the brook). The first one believes in a love that is selfless. Because it cares only for the one it loves, this love creates an oasis (heaven) in the midst of despair (****). The second character believes in a love that is selfish. Because it cares only for itself, it creates a **** in the midst of a heavenly world.

This is a fairly simple statement of the poem's meaning. There's more beneath the surface of the poem, especially in the choice of the two images of the clod and the pebble.

Paraphrasing

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