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The Birds is a flowing lyrical poem of five stanzas, each stanza consisting of four lines. The poem is an exchange between two birds, a male and a female; the poet having fancied a translation of the meaning behind the birdsong. As a lover of walks in the countryside, and at this time of year hearing plenty of birdsong where I go, I could imagine the birds of the title calling to each other, and that perhaps the song could be translated as Blake has done so here. His translation might be romanticising the birds' motives a little, but this is poetry, and I think we can allow ourselves a little romance.
In using two birds calling to each other, Blake is able to explore a theme of lovers uniting, or reuniting. Blake was something of a radical, and he was forward thinking with regard to many issues. But, in this poem, we find him tackling nothing weightier than the beautiful imagery of nature and love at its purest. Still, it could be argued, love and nature is what it all comes down to eventually.
Dost thou truly long for me?
And am I thus sweet to thee?
Sorrow now is at an End,
O My Lover & my Friend!
This little poem charmed me. It's gentle cascade as it comes forth from the readers lips is lyrical and songful. And, the imagery, of two small birds singing to each other, calling to each other for the sake of love and coming together in natural endeavour, is simple but effective. But, as a dreamy headed country boy, maybe that's just me!
In my last post, I recommended a copy of Penguin Classics' selected Blake poems, here I will recommend the Vintage Classics copy of Blake poems, here, from bookshop.org, which supports independent bookshops.
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