“The Clod and the Pebble”
Mollie Wodenshek
“The Clod and the Pebble” is a poem
from William Blake’s Songs of Experience.
The first speaker of the poem is a Clod of Clay who espouses love as unselfish
and, “for another gives its ease”. The second speaker comes in the form of a
narrative voice—a transitional voice—which bridges the Clod of Clay to the
third speaker: the Pebble. In opposition to the Clod of Clay, the Pebble
declares love as self interested, and a seeker of further company for Love’s
own benefit. This poem stands out for its active transition from innocence to
experience. For the Clay of Clod speaks of Love with a childish tone of
happiness and joy whereas the Pebble speaks of Love from a place of anger,
which seems to come from experience.
The Clod of Clay sings praise for
love as it is “Trodden with the cattle’s feet,” a less than ideal circumstance,
which speaks to the Clay’s ultimate naivety—ignorant of despair or suffering. In
fact, the Clay’s reverence to Love: “Love seeketh not Itself to please” parallels
Corinthians 13:5 in which Paul writes Love, “does not insist on its own ways”. Both
passages discuss Love as the highest of all virtues and thus in a sense an end.
The Clod of Clay proclaims that Love, “builds a Heaven in Hell’s despair”
insinuating a defeat of evil or hate. Similarly, Corinthians 13 ends by praising
Love as the greatest amongst faith and hope. The Clod of Clay and Corinthians
13 accept Love as a prevailing force and an answer to all.
However, this sentiment is quickly
turned over by the Pebble. Since the Pebble has the last say the poem further
reifies the Clod of Clay’s naivety—the Clay’s praise of Love is turned on its
head and the disavowal of Love is all that remains. This reversal parallels the
transition from innocence to experience and clearly lays down innocence as the opposite
of experience. There is no way to have one and the other. The structure of the
last stanza affirms this. The first line of the last stanza states, “Love
seeketh only Self to please” and with two words the Pebble has denied all the
Clay has said—“only Self” replaces “not Itself” from line one of stanza one.
Similarly, the third line of the Pebble also unravels the sentiments of the
Clay. The Pebble says Love, “Joys in another’s loss of ease,” whereas the Clay
said, “But for another gives its ease”. The repetition of “another” and “ease”
as well as the reversal of “gives” into “loss” denies the innocence of the Clay
and supports the position of the Pebble in his despair over experience.
Additionally, the Pebble “warbled” his
sentiments, meaning the Pebble’s voice wavered and changed notes. Also, the
Pebble rests at the bottom of a brook. These two things together insinuate an
uncertainty and lack of clarity. Corinthians 13:12 says, “For now we see in a
mirror dimly,” which in reference to the Pebble and William Blake’s religious
belief suggests that even with over bearing knowledge there is hope for a
return to innocence and clarity.
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