The Clod and the Pebble - Imagery, symbolism and

themes
Imagery and symbolismThemesThe contraries of existence

Imagery and symbolism

Love - In the clod's description of love, Blake makes use of the imagery of Paul's ‘hymn to love' (1
Corinthians 13:4-7). Further New Testament teaching emphasises that true love includes being
completely humble, gentle and patient, ‘bearing with one another' (Ephesians 4:2) and being devoted
to others, honouring them above the self (Romans 12:10). Blake's readers would be familiar with this
teaching and thus associate the clod's statements with ideal Christian love.
For another gives its ease – The idea of sacrificing personal liberty for the sake of others would
remind Blake's readers of Jesus who gave his life for others in a cruel death. According
to John's Gospel, this is the greatest demonstration of love (John 15:13) and is the motivation for
Christians to love others (Ephesians 5:2), including those who disregard them (Luke 6:27-35). This
association would elevate the worth of the clod.

Clay – The image of clay personified may allude to the biblical idea that
God is the ‘potter' who has fashioned humanity from the earth (see Isaiah 64:8). As such, it is not up
to the clay to protest at how it is used (Isaiah29:16) but to accept its role (Romans 9:21). Blake
echoes the lowly status associated with clay in the clod's selflessness and submission to the ‘cattle's
feet'
Heaven and hell - In traditional Christianity, heaven and hell are states to which people are sent after
death. Heaven means eternally dwelling in the presence of God, which is the fate of the faithful. Hell
means eternally being removed from God's presence and is thus a place of punishment for those who
have rebelled. God is the judge of the person's destination. See Big ideas from the Bible >
Judgement. For Blake, however, these were not ‘other worldly' places reserved for an after-life. He
believed heaven and hell co–existed in people's minds, and thus were created by people for
themselves.
Build heaven – The apparent paradox of creating heaven out of hell echoes the paradoxical Christian
teaching that new life is achieved through death (John 12:24-25), and that Jesus opened up access to
God / heaven by being cut off from God's presence / hell (prior to his resurrection). It also alludes to
the Romantic philosophy of human free will. See Literature in context > Making sense of the intangible
world > Determinism and free will.
Freedom and bondage – Picking up the prison imagery of Earth's Answer, the clod gives ease /
liberty to those it loves, whilst the pebble binds another to itself and rejoices in their bondage. The
pebble could therefore represent the ‘jealous', ‘cruel‘ God of Earth's complaint, or alternatively the
clod should be associated with the freedom Christians believe Christ offers (Luke 4:18).
Investigating imagery and symbolism

 Look up 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and some of the other references above

o What similarities do you find between these and the clod's viewpoint?
Themes
The contraries of existence
According to Blake, ‘contraries' are facts about the world and about the nature of the creative force
behind it. For example, ferocious power and energy exist alongside what is fragile and tender. When
either one of these dimensions is excluded from the picture, unhealthy splits between what are
understood as forces of good and forces of evil are created.
In The Clod and the Pebble, human experience includes both heaven and hell. It is people's choices
that mean their current life is heavenly and/or hellish. The powerful energies within the world and the
energies and instincts within human beings are necessary and beautiful. They become destructive
when they are denied or seen as the only factor in life and experience.
Investigating themes

 Compare the use of this theme with On Another's Sorrow where the existence of the pebble's
perspective is rejected.

William Blake (1757 - 1827)

“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 by William Blake is from a collection of poems called the Songs of Experience.
Succeeding the Songs of Innocence, Blake explores the themes of love and the human spirit through the
personification of a clod of clay and a pebble in a brook. Blake confers completely contrary convictions to
the clod and the pebble which compliment the diametrically opposed views on the nature of love expressed
in the poem.

The clod is depicted as believing that love is primarily a selfless, altruistic and compassionate emotion
which is evident in the line: ‘love seeketh not itself to please’. Even though the clod of clay has been
repeatedly ‘trodden with the cattle’s feet’ the clod remains forgiving, flexible and transformable as it accepts
this situation as its purpose with a sense of innocence. The clod sings with clarity its representation of love
as good and eternally giving and describes love as an unconditional and self sacrificing expression that
would give its own comfort for the sake of another, as it optimistically ‘builds a heaven in hell’s despair’.

The structure of Blake’s compact yet eloquent poem is in two contrasting halves which reflect the thematic
dichotomy of the poem. The tone of the first half speaks of a happiness and innocence that may exist
regardless of external circumstances. The second half which is succinctly introduced with an apprehensive
‘But’ as the pebble has quite the opposite tone as it warbles out its experienced and pessimistic belief that
love destroys an otherwise peaceful existence.

The pebble is described as viewing love primarily as a vain, arrogant and selfish emotion as denoted in the
line: ‘love seeketh only self to please’. Even though the pebble’s life is more tranquil than that of the clod, it
remains a hard and unmoving personification. The pebble ‘finds joy in another’s loss of ease’ rendering it
as sadistic and antithetical to the clod. The pebble believes the concept of love is a painful obligation or
entrapment that is to be endured and pessimistically ‘builds a hell in heaven’s despite’.

The poem uses a variety of literary devices to reflect the theme of love’s dichotomous nature. The
predominant figures are the personifications of the clod and the pebble which are represented as
possessing and expressing human emotions.

The clod has been moulded and shaped by its conditions and in spite of the negative experiences of being
downtrodden, the clod emerges as enlightened and believing in a more perfect and selfless love. The clod
remains malleable, soft and open in spite of it’s experiences and is ruled by its love for others.
The brook is a small river in which the water symbolically represents a connection between the realm of
innocence, virtue and purity and that of experience, materialism and worldliness. The water representing
the state of experience flows over the pebble leaving it unchanged and yet experienced and set in its
opinions. Even though the pebble has never experienced being trodden upon and has only ever enjoyed
the caressing comfort of the current in the brook, the pebble is hard and is ruled by it’s love for itself.

The symbolism inherent in the concepts of heaven and hell draws on pre-existing imagery of spiritual
places of peace and joy, and evil and suffering, respectively. The clod is optimistic and capable is creating
its own heavenly love in spite of its hellish circumstances whereas the pebble’s serene and comfortable
existence ironically leaves it pessimistic and capable of finding hellish flaws in an environment more
conducive to heavenly love.

The contrasting views Blake encapsulates in this beautifully succinct poem of innocence and experience,
reflects the diverse range of human experiences of love. The unconventional personifications of the
contented clod of clay and the propitious but peevish pebble are a timeless representation of the
selflessness and selfishness still evident in modern contemporary creative commentaries on the theme of
love.

 The Clod and the Pebble – William Blake

Background

Recognition came to Blake rather late, only when he was in his sixties. Blake was an ardent supporter
of all radical movements that challenged the existing order in his time. In all his writings he railed
against all forms of restrictions. The movements that touched him profoundly were the French
Revolution, the American War of Independence and the Industrial revolution. He is now considered to
be the true precursor of Romantics. The Clod and the Pebble was part of the Songs of Innocence and
Experience which presented opposing views without the poet taking sides.

Metaphorical Inference

It is easy to read this poem as merely setting out two conflicting views of love. Readers are
instinctively drawn to the clod’s view of love as it has elements of self-sacrifice and is in keeping with
ideas of feminine love or the Christian definition of love. The pebble, on the other hand, is said to
praise an aggressive and possessive love that seeks to overwhelm the object of love. Blake does not
take sides in this debate on love. In fact, a closer reading makes it clear that neither the clod nor the
pebble gets the notion of love right. Perfect love is neither completely acquiescent nor completely
aggressive.

Summary

Though the clod is a shapeless lump of earth, it believes that love is essentially a compassionate and
selfless emotion that “seeketh not itself to please”. The clod does not have an easy time as it gets
“trodden with the cattle’s feet” again and again but it remains a perfect example of the Christian notion
of self sacrificing love. It accepts whatever is happening to it as its lot and continues to be malleable
and forgiving. For the clod, love is unconditional and it is capable of fashioning heaven within the
confines of hell.
On the other hand, there’s the pebble. It is hard, it has a definite shape and nothing can crush it
underfoot. It says, love is for it to take as it deems fit. The pebble is not pushed about and views love
as “another’s loss of ease”. The pebble is a sadist that takes pleasure in another’s misery. And it is
perfectly capable of turning Heaven into Hell. To both the clod and the pebble, its own view was the
correct one.

Analysis

Line 1. Love does not try to please itself. This poem was written in the 18th century and uses
language that can be called archaic. Seeketh is an old form of “seek”. It means “seek” or “search”.

Line 2. It is not concerned about its own comforts. Hath is an old form of “has”.

Line 3. It is ready to sacrifice its comforts for another.

Line 4. Love can turn Hell’s sorrow into Heaven.

Line 5. These lines were sung by a lump of clay.

Line 6. It was repeatedly trampled by the hooves of cattle.

Line 7. Contrary to that, there was a pebble that lay at the bottom of a stream.

Line 8. It sang out these perfect lines.

Line 9. Love’s aim is only to please itself.

Line 10. It possesses another for its own joy.

Line 11. It takes pleasure in another’s discomfort.

Line 12. It can turn Heaven into Hell by its machinations.

This compact poem presents two conflicting views on love with the middle stanza acting as a link
between them. The clod is shaped by outside influences and has a hard life generally but views love
as being selfless and acquiescing. The pebble on the other hand is vain and arrogant. The pebble lies
at the bottom of the brook continuously washed by water but it remains set in its opinion that love is
only for oneself.

Overall Impression

The poet personifies the clod and the pebble in order to present opposing views of love. The clod
goes through negative experiences of being trodden by the hooves of cattle. It has no shape of its
own but takes whatever shape it gets after being stamped underfoot. Nevertheless its view is a
generous and enlightened one. The pebble on the contrary is hard and has a clear shape. It lies at the
bottom of the brook. The stream itself represents the state of experience which washes over the
pebble endlessly unable to change it. Personifying the clod and the pebble to represent the timeless
views of love as being selfish or selfless is an interesting literary technique.