O/L Literature Help

Thou fair-hair’d angel of the evening,
Now, whilst the sun rests on the mountains, light
Thy bright torch of love; thy radiant crown
Put on, and smile upon our evening bed!
Smile on our loves, and while thou drawest the
Blue curtains of the sky, scatter thy silver dew
On every flower that shuts its sweet eyes
In timely sleep. Let thy west wind sleep on
The lake; speak silence with thy glimmering eyes,
And wash the dusk with silver. Soon, full soon,
Dost thou withdraw; then the wolf rages wide,
And then the lion glares through the dun forest:
The fleeces of our flock are cover’d with
Thy sacred dew: protect them with thin influence!

William Blake (1757-1827)

William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age. What he called his prophetic works were said by 20th-century critic Northrop Frye to form “what is in proportion to its merits the least read body of poetry in the English language”.[2] His visual artistry led 21st-century critic Jonathan Jones to proclaim him “far and away the greatest artist Britain has ever produced”.[3] In 2002, Blake was placed at number 38 in the BBC’s poll of the 100 Greatest Britons.[4] Although he lived in London his entire life (except for three years spent in Felpham),[5] he produced a diverse and symbolically rich œuvre, which embraced the imagination as “the body of God”[6] or “human existence itself”.

Overview

He paints the night sky with an image of Venus’ constant silver glow gently coaxing the world to bed and bringing stillness and silence to the world. Its light is positioned as being protective and keeping out the evils of the world, but only for so long. The poem ends with a plea for Venus to stay and protect his flock from the dangers of the night.

As always, the poem isn’t that simple and where Blake positions Venus, we can also see an analogy relating to mankind’s relationship with God.

Mini-Glossary
dusk – the moment before total darkness of night has descended;
dun – dull, grey/brown colour.

 

.Content

This poem is a sonnet of appreciation and love directed towards the brightest star in the night sky. This star is in fact a planet and not a star. Although it looks like a star, you can usually tell it is not because it is brighter than all the rest and has a constant light rather than the twinkle twinkling of actual stars off in the far reaches of the cosmos.

The opening line immediately connects this star with the idea of divinity and heaven by personifying it as an angel. Blake proceeds to create devastatingly beautiful imagery of this star emerging as the sun dips down below the mountains, as Venus becomes visible as the sun sets. This beauty is seen as a form of loving embrace that soothes us or watches over us as we retreat to our beds.

We also have a sexual connection as Venus looks out ‘on our loves’ and as we are rustling under the sheets, closing out the day and creates a romantically beautiful and sensuously calm scene for our slumber/rustling. This consists of a sprinkling of silver light and the star bringing the wind to a gentle, lightly rippling rest upon the water/world.

As the poem develops Blake fears the withdrawl of Venus’ light as the planet rotates and we (in the Westerner hemisphere) can no longer see it. With the loss of this protective light, the wolf and the lion begin to range and hunt, which represents spiritual dangers and the temptations that many lead us to stray from our religious morality.

However, Blake feels like the lingering silver dew left by Venus is enough to protect those bathed in it. This clearly links to spirituality and the light cast upon the darkness can be seen as the strength to resist temptation provided by religious faith and morality.

 

Themes

This is another poem that has a clear dual theme of the restorative power and beauty of sleep, while at the same time acknowledging a religious power that is represented through the protective power of the light in the dark.

Structure

This is a very unusual sonnet as it does not follow the rhyming conventions of either Petrarchan or Shakespearean sonnets and instead has no rhyme scheme at all.

The fact it is a sonnet demonstrates the love or appreciation that Blake directs towards faith, but the lack of rhyme could be seen in two ways. I interpreted it as a deliberate attempt by Blake to focus us on the simple natural beauty of this dusk time scene, stripping back the poem to allow the imagery to dominate. However, you could also see this as being an artistic challenge to the rules, as Blake was a bit of an individual.

Even without a rhyme scheme as such, we do see a number of internal rhymes within lines (bright – light; smile – whie; sky – thy), which I see as Blake indicating that even though this is a rustic, simple pastoral image, its sheer beauty inspires rhyme and order.

You should also make some mention of the consistent use of consonance alliteration throughout the poem. Throughout line 6-10 notice how much ‘s’ sounds we are given. The effect is much like the shushing of the wind being described as the poem soothes us towards silence and rest.

Tone

Throughout we have an air of worship and awe towards this celestial figure. At times Blake runs away with his enthusiasm for the beauty of the imagery, or of the act of physical love, but at the end of the poem he is very much back to recognising the vulnerability of man and thus is supplicant towards the heavens and their protective powers.

Sample Essay on Evening Star:

1.     To the Evening Star by Blake is about the wholesome effect of nature on man. Discuss.

Blake wrote this poem to possibly show the huge effect nature has on one’s everyday life. For instance, without the star, the night would be too dark and forbidding for us. However, the presence of the star lightens the ambiance and imparts a peaceful and romantic aura to the night. He also further proceeds to show how nature can protect our fragile lives. The poet claims that the star protects the people from the violent lion and the raging wolf lurking in the darkness amidst the forest. At the same time, he beautifies and portrays the innocence of nature. The flowers “shut its sweet eyes” brings forth a sweet and subdued tone to the poem.

Furthermore, the poet successfully illustrates how all the elements of nature can come together to create a beautiful, impeccable and perfect situation. For instance, the star shines brightly, the lake reflects the light, and the wind gently blows. These three actions come together to produce a beautiful and stunning scenery which humans can observe and relish. The poet through this poem fosters the feeling of deep appreciation and love for nature. As a result, the reader feels grateful and indebted to nature for providing us with its beauty and care.

2.     Comment on the use of symbolism in the poem "To The Evening Star."

In his poem "To the Evening Star," the speaker is addressing a personified evening star as "thou fair-hair'd angel of the evening." The personified star, then, symbolizes a protective presence, carrying a "bright torch of love" and wearing a "radiant crown." Thus crowned in light and spreading her love over the sleeping world, this star/angel seems to signify a Biblical angelic presence. We see this confirmed later in the poem as, towards the end, the poet describes how "the wolf rages wide" and "the lion glares" when the light is taken away. Meanwhile, "the fleeces of our flocks are cover'd with thy sacred dew," which will protect them. Language such as "flocks" recalls the "flocks" of The Shepherd—that is, Jesus Christ. The star, then, symbolizes faith or benevolence protecting the faithful from figurative wild animals, which seem to represent evil or disillusionment.